THE TALIBAN TAKEOVER IN AFGHANISTAN: WHERE DOES CHINA STAND?

Abstract

The Afghanistan takeover by the Taliban after the hasty and irresponsible US withdrawal starts a new debate among experts over the future of the country under hardcore Taliban. China a next door neighbor of Afghanistan, arguably, views the evolving situation of the country heedfully. The hasty withdrawal of the US for many experts is a part of the great power competition between the US and China where the former calculatedly desires to bring a civil war making Afghanistan an epicenter of terrorism and extremism that invariably would pose a grave threat to the latter’s Belt and Road Imitative (BRI). China, on the other hand, appears to be wary of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Beijing hopes that the Taliban would crack down on the ETIM. Afghanistan’s conundrum has certainly been creating innumerable challenges for Beijing but China is well known for handling the hard times. As the saying goes that “every challenge creates an equal opportunity”, the emerging challenges of Afghanistan for China also create abundant opportunities. Moreover, the current situation in Afghanistan is also indicating more alliances in the region either new ones or strengthening the old ones. The Taliban want to be a part of China led economic web in the region to resist ongoing economic crisis where the west once again showing its back. This paper, thus, will analyze the threats emanating from Afghanistan to China and will also shed lights on China’s role of preserving its core interest and rebuilding of war-torn Afghanistan.