Original link: http://middleeastobserver.net/taliban-seeking-vital-chinese-investments-to-rebuild-afghan-economy-video-report/
Description:
News report on the Taliban movement’s efforts to secure vital Chinese investments to rebuild Afghanistan’s economy and infrastructure.
Source: Al Jazeera (YouTube)
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Transcript:
Reporter:
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s reception of leaders of the Taliban movement at the end of July is the first indicator of the nature of future cooperation between the two sides, even before the movement’s entry into the Afghan capital of Kabul in mid-August.
The Taliban has a cooperative relationship with China, which shares a border with Afghanistan that is only 76 kilometers long. The (Taliban) movement says it hopes to secure much-needed economic benefits and Chinese investment in Afghanistan.
The Taliban spokesman noted that China’s assistance will help the movement to revitalize the country’s economy, and added that China is a vital outlet for Afghanistan into the international market, especially because access to foreign markets is hampered by sanctions and the absence of international recognition. Thus, cooperation with China is a timely opportunity for the Taliban movement.
Access to these markets requires a modern transportation network, which prompted the Chinese Sany Group to express its willingness to invest in Afghanistan. The company contributes to establishing what is known as the Belt and Road Initiative, a project (through which) China plans to expand its international trade influence.
China has long sought to include Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan economic corridor, a part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Taliban confirmed that it supports this initiative since it serves the development and prosperity of the region.
Another vital challenge for the Taliban movement is the power crisis, an (area) which would form a major investment opportunity, as only 35% of Afghans have access to electricity, and 70% of Afghanistan’s electricity needs are imported from abroad.
As for the rich natural wealth and reserves that Afghanistan enjoys, they seem to be a priority in the joint plans for cooperation, considering that the Taliban confirmed that copper mines in Afghanistan will be back in operation with the help of China.
China $31 million in aid to Afghanistan.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/afghanistan-china-to-provide-taliban-with-dollar31-million-worth-of-food-and-covid-vaccines/ar-AAOf3Ok
Sirajudeen Haqqani in the inaugural meeting of the interior ministry yesterday in Kabul*
Points from his inaugural speech:
1. The best way to thank Allah for this victory is establishing Shari’ah and not our Tabi’ah (Inclinations)
2. Leadership is not anyones right, rather it is Allah’s amaanah. I am not worthy of this ministry but I was chosen, so I’ll do my best.
3. We had nothing against the invaders, but we defeated them. This was due to Allah’s help and our unity. We must stay united.
4. This new struggle that has begun (Governance) is more difficult than our old struggle
5. I implore the Mujahideen to not become intoxicated by victory
don’t let these new official posts, weapons, cars, buildings intoxicate you and make you act arrogantly with the people
6. The people of this nation has suffered a lot. They fed and clothed us without asking for anything in return.
7. We should combat the propaganda with kindness
8. The general amnesty was not political,it was islamic. We were subject to such atrocities that we could have never avenged. Yet, Islam has allowed us to forgive it all
9. We asked Allah for help during our difficult times, we should ask even more now so power doesn’t corrupt us
Sensational, these Haqqani plans to get things done and develop a minimum out of Afghanistan extreme poverty plight.
Yes, if China and Tajikis backed by Russia don t put a kick-the-ass boosting pressure on this Sharia looney, the new govt in Cabul will need a lot more of Allah assistance than they imagine.
btw, what does the Sharya say about the poppies plantations and their heroin output?
Aug
Control yourself.
He is an interior minister not the economic minister or welfare minister. I don’t think you even caught the very first sentence.
You appear to blame the poverty on the taliban but give no indication of freezing their own funds or withholding aid or bombing the country back to the stone age in a 20 year bombing campaign as well as a very corrupt govt.
In truth the country should receive reperations for an illegal war on the taliban and for all the destruction caused. Not going to happen in all likelihood but you took a very one sided blame game.
The actual points I thought stood out were granting amnesty based on a Islamic basis rather than a political one and that how is it even possible to pursue the crimes committed against us to enact retribution when they were so many.
Regarding what does sharia say about heroin and poppy fields. I’m sure you really know the answer to this question. You don’t find in Islamic history hardly any examples of the opium wars or control of substance supply through shipping or road routes. This huge criminal enterprise is a predominantly AZ affair in current times and is meant to destabilise all of us. There are criminal elements in all nations that profit from this enterprise. We hope that the talibs ban opium cultivation as per their past record and ad they have said. Or as some commentators noted perhaps it can be cultivated and sold for its medicinal use if possible.
https://youtu.be/lzEp2QTJmbc
Joel Skousen: China’s Long-Range Plan for War — “China doesn’t just want to conquer the world militarily. It wants to harness the world’s economy under its personal control”
The First Pearl is located at the Hainan Island in South China. The Chinese have already upgraded the naval base and military facilities. This massive underground submarine and warship base is built because of its strategic location in the South China Sea. The entrance is so huge that it can allow the fleet of 50 plus conventional and nuclear submarines to go in and out without Western spy satellites detecting.
* * *
China’s largest strategic concern – regime survival and domestic stability – directly links to its economy. To sustain its economic growth China has to be depending increasingly on its external supply of energy, raw materials and food. So the development of Sea Line of Communication or (SLOCs) is vitally important as more than 80% of China’s trade go through the sea. …
..China will then need to commit more resources towards maintaining security of the shipping lanes in the Middle East. Below is the map [click on the link to see these maps] of China’s SLOC and the oil shipping lanes from Hainan Island China till the Middle East.
This gave rise to the String of Pearls strategy. It is like pearls tied to a string and each pearl represents a country normally a port where China can get access to it. The string that attach to the pearls represents the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs). The String of Pearls will provide China with forward presence and military bases along the SLOCs from China to the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. A pearl normally comes with facilities like airstrips and naval bases.
The First Pearl is located at the Hainan Island in South China. The Chinese have already upgraded the naval base and military facilities. This massive underground submarine and warship base is built because of its strategic location in the South China Sea. The entrance is so huge that it can allow the fleet of 50 plus conventional and nuclear submarines to go in and out without Western spy satellites detecting.
The Second Pearl is the port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka despite much objection from India. However the project is already under way and China is underwriting a US$1.2 billion package for the facility. China investment in this area will increase significantly as it has some interest in oil drilling in Northeast Sri Lanka. Hambantota port will also include aviation fuel storage facility, LNG refinery and a bunkering facility to refuel ships.
The Third Pearl is located at the Chittagong port in Bangladesh. Fourth is the Woody Island located 300 miles east of the Paracel Archipelago. An airstrip has been upgraded for this purpose. And so does Port of Sittwe in Myanmar, Marao in the Maldives and Port of Gwadar in Pakistan. The Gwadar port comes with a naval base and it is is chosen because of its strategic value in the 240 km distance from the Straits of Hormuz.
In its Grand Strategy that encompassed the ‘Peace Development’, China has identified 3 stages in development spanning 50 years. This involves both the economic and military. In the first stage of development from 2000-2010 China hopes to double its GDP and upgrade its Navy from ‘Green Water’ to ‘Blue Water’ and operate within the First Island Chain that stretch from Japan to Philippines , has been achieved.
The second stage from 2010-2020 with total GDP to be double and the development of the ‘Aircraft Carrier’ fleet of up to six carriers groups, to operate beyond the First Island Chain to reach the Second Island Chain which stretch from Guam to Indonesia and Australia is already on target with the recent commissioning of its first Aircraft Carrier, The Liaoning.
Stage 2 is also behind schedule. The Liaoning is a refurbished Ukrainian ski jump style carrier with no catapults. China will only be able to build 4 American style carriers by 2024, not six.
And finally, from 2020-2050 to catapult the nation to the middle rung of the Advanced Nations and with its Navy upgraded to a truly ‘World class Blue Water’ which can project power forward in all Oceans of the World. [The dates proffered here are false—China doesn’t intend to wait that long to fulfill this stage]
India complained to the US that China’s String of Pearls strategy is more of a strategic than commercial and the String of Pearls is encircling it from north to south. And also it feel very uneasy because a few of the pearls are India‘s old foe like Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Thank you for sharing this. If war is coming, what do you think we should invest our savings in?
Buy a place at the cemetery.
This is an entirely QUAD-centric view of the maritime silk route. What the analyst has missed is that the countries which received Chinese investments opted for them because China didn’t enforce human rights or any other intervention measures as a trade off. Moreover,
Americans always look to grab strategic assets within sovereign countries. E.g. Trincomalee port in Sri Lanka and the most fertile strip of land in the island through the MCC agreement. Diplomacy and investment is a zero-sum game for the US. This is also true for India in the South Asian context where they try to be a regional hegemon.
The String of Pearls ties in with the BRI. The main goal of the BRI is to avoid being encircled by the Global West. Not to “conquer the world”. Skousen is just projecting his American world view that a rising China NECESSARILY wants to repeat what the West has done when it too rose.
Skousen forgets that this is not the first time China is rising. It does not have appetite for world conquest. Just like Europe’s world conquest days are gone, so is China’s.
Dreams of world conquest are a mark of young civilisations that become obsessed by their newly found power. The USA has displayed this tendency to a remarkable degree. Let us hope that the USA’s days of adolescent power displays are finally past.
China is an old man, smiling with indulgence at young USA. Knowing that it has just gone through another phase of life and will soon mellow down.
Dass says: “India complained to the US that China’s String of Pearls strategy is more of a strategic than commercial and the String of Pearls is encircling it from north to south. ”
India is over thinking and full of projection of their expansionist mentality. If China wants to invade India, it is much easier to invade from the North. New Delhi is over a few hundreds km from Chinese border. Given the record of 1962 border war, given the range of modern weaponry and current military gaps between the two countries, it is not difficult to conclude that a land invasion is order of magnitude easier than going around Indian Ocean to “encircling it from north to south”.
Dass says: “India … feel very uneasy because a few of the pearls are India‘s old foe like Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”
India has a very ridiculous self-view and sensitive. China’s commercial ties with India’s neighbors are causing India unease? What’s wrong with them?
It seems there is nothing to comment, but I cant resist “not to comment”.
The things flow as expected. The Talibans realised where they are, what are the circumstances where they act. Inclusive government is the next one.
It is peace in Afghanistan. (I still can’t believe my eyes, nevertheless it is a matter of fact).
We can’t expect the Talibans, as rigid islamists, with their proven reputation, to deny themselves, and become a democratic party overnight. Let them have some time.
They realy have an impossible situation to work on, but often the very difficult situations call for simple solutions. Sometimes, it is even easier to start from zero. Particularly if you have someone to help you.
Now already famous meeting Wang Yi – Taliban leadership was just one public manifestation of these relations (deliberately and demonstratively put in public). Can we imagine what all has been done behind?
There is no plenty room for the Talibans to act. There is a harmony between main and huge players around them. Not to forget Iran, Pakistan also. And with no the US.
In this way the things will find their places. Let’s make Afghanistan usual (country) again!
As for the US, it will be bussy with itself. Reading the excellent /9-11-twenty-years-later/ and many smart among 130 comments I realised there is a stage set up for a big show.
As for China, the comment of Mr. Dass is intriguing and should be considered carefully.
The String of Pearls strategy looks like another (economic) the Great Wall of Chinato to me.
Although, the hegemony can have various faces. We are used to the US style – with military means and war, and can’t see other, more hidden forms. Further elaboration – on some other occasion.
The Soviet Communists schools and hospitals and aid weren’t good enough for them but the Chinese communist aid is?
Taliban did not exist during soviet occupation. Mujahedin were not the only ones who fought against the soviets, even secular leaders like ahmad shah masoud fought the soviets.