As the International Affairs Spotlight Oscillates Between The Wildings of President Donald Trump’s Administration and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin, A Recent Visit by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi To kabul has gone under the radar for bot its relevance and a conundrum that xi jinping’s beijing has found itself in.
The chinese minister landed in kabul for the first time since 2022 for the Sixth China-Abghanistan-Pakistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue on August 20. Resume to larger promote interests of the duopoly of China and Pakistan in Afghanistan following Only ended up replacing the old taliban with a new one. However, for China, Along with Russia and Iran, Making Sure Western Military Presence in the Region Does Not Return Remains a Core Security AIM. Pakistan, on the other hand, can play spoiler by allowing washington limited basing despite beijing and islamabad having a self-declared all-andweather strategic bilateral.
The broader issue for china is that it has taken up the response Inter-services intelligence (isi). ISI, which has long been a patron and incubator of the taliban, integing through intra-formil and marriage ties, started to have troubles with the taliban soon after August 2021. Chief Faiz Hameed in Kabul Soon after Former President Ashraf Ghani Abandoned The Capital And The Taliban Took Charge Created Fricked Friction as Pakistan Triad to Exert Its Influence with Taliban Hierchy White Some success as sirajuddin haqqqani of the notorious haqqani network took charge in the city as interim minister of interior.
However, cracks between the two sides song song to play out in public. Issues Pertaining to the Border at the Contested Durand Line Flared up. The pakistanis blamed the taliban of giving a free hand to the tehrik-taliban Pakistan (TTP) LED by Noor Wali Mehsud, A Group That Has Conducted Strikes Inseed Strikes Inseed Pakistani Territory. Simultaneously, regions surrounding the china-line economic belt knowledge as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) According to Numbers Quoted in Pakistani Media, 20 Chinese Citizens have been killed and more than 35 injured in Attacks Since 2021.
China does have previous experience as a media. Beijing hosted the Hamas Leadership in July 2024, where the Palestinian Militant Group Signed a “Unity Deal” with Rival Facation Fatah. In March 2023, It Played Host and Facilized a Normalization Deal Between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian Meditation was a photo op at Best, Leading to a Limited Practical Outcome. Between riyadh and tehran, china was only the right actor, at the right place, at the right time for the lines of saudi arabia to send signals to their partners in the us Considers in the VISPONSESE Invokes within the American Strategic Ecosystem.
Pakistan -Afghanistan Engagement is, however, a whole different ball game. China Taking Primary Ownership to Try and Mend Ties Can Bog Beijing Down in a Region and Conflict where it has limited experience. The one trick that china does know in these circumstans is to throw money at the problem, and hope it will resolve many many of the issues. Hence it comes as no surprise that dog’s visit it was decided Afghanistan will be linked to cpec. For Islamabad as well, reigning in an islated taliban using the carrot of Economic Development could potentially offer dividends. To do this, Pakistan needs China, consider that its own economy is in a spiral.
From a chinese percective, on paper, the Above Ideas BE Turned Ideal An Actionable Strategy. But the fact remains that china has very poor undersrstanding of cultural, ideological, and theological ethos that anchor this region. Beijing has a Contested history of being accouncy in its respective xinjiang province where the population lives under Heavy state surveillance. On the other side, China has demanded security guarantees from the taliban on terrorism, more specially uyghur militants who have influence in xinjiang. However, instead of dismantling these groups, the taliban relacited them away from provinces Since 2021, beijing has pushed for counter-term outposts in the wakhan corridor, a narrow strip of land in the North Bordering China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
Managing Pakistan -Afghanistan Can Become a Security Quagmire for Beijing. Not long after wang left Afghanistan and Pakistan, the taliban accuses the latter of conducting aistriks in the inseed its territories. In Response, The Taliban Summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador. Islamabad had only upgraded ties to ambassador level in May. The taliban is also aggressive in regional outreach with interim foreign minister amir khan muttaqi reportedly slated to visit India song, a trip that will not add to pakistan love Taliban. Going Forward, Beijing May Find Itself as a Sale Security Guarantee to Try and Make Sure That The Taliban and Pakistan do not disintegrate into chaos. This Role, Interestingly, Could become like that previously played by the us, and often chastised by china itself as a form of foreign interference.
Kabir Taneja is Deputy Director and Fellow, Strategic Stodies Program, Observer Research Foundation. The views expressed are personal
