China has been salivating over exploiting Afghanistan’s mineral wealth ever since the brutal Taliban regime seized power in 2021, and on Wednesday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made an effort to seal the deal by offering the Taliban membership in China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Wang visited Kabul for talks with Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister for the Taliban junta. Wang is also scheduled to attend a trilateral meeting with Muttaqi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who arrived in Kabul on Wednesday.
A few international media outlets, such as Reuters, persist in referring to ministers like Muttaqi as “acting” or “interim” officials, but Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada last week ordered his henchmen to stop pretending they were only temporarily holding their offices pending a free and fair election.
According to the Taliban Foreign Ministry, Wang told Muttaqi that Beijing wants to explore mining rights in Afghanistan and is prepared to offer the Taliban membership in BRI as an incentive. Wang and Muttaqi reportedly discussed cooperation in a “range” of fields, including increased exports from Afghanistan to China.
Adding Pakistan to the conversation is important because China would bring Afghanistan into BRI through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC), a $60 billion umbrella project launched in 2015.
Pakistan almost immediately had second thoughts about CPEC and the project has badly underperformed during the first half of its projected 20-year span, in part because Pakistan’s inept and corrupt bureaucracy has canceled or delayed many of its key projects. Tellingly, China is usually very big on holding anniversary celebrations with exaggerated declarations of success, but the 10th anniversary of CPEC passed in April 2025 with barely a whimper.
Beijing may be reluctant to throw more money into CPEC these days, but it has never formally abandoned the project, in part because it views the corridor as a gateway to reaching Afghanistan’s valuable minerals.
The Taliban desperately craves diplomatic legitimacy and foreign money, but might be nervous about falling into the sort of Chinese debt trap that consumed Pakistan. The makings of a very profitable minerals deal have been on the table for almost four years, but Taliban bosses have yet to be ready to sign on the dotted line.
Another obstacle has been Pakistan’s deteriorating relationship with Afghanistan. Pakistan’s version of the Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been attempting to violently overthrow the government in Islamabad and create an “Islamic emirate” patterned on the Taliban junta in Kabul.
The Pakistani government accuses the Afghan Taliban of supporting TTP. Afghan and Pakistani border troops have opened fire on each other on numerous occasions. TTP has also attacked Chinese interests in Pakistan on at least 14 occasions since 2021.
Beijing wants those minerals and a big diplomatic win more than ever, while the Taliban’s hopes of achieving international legitimacy have been stymied by worldwide revulsion over the hideous human rights violations of the regime in Kabul.
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) warned this week that civilians in Kabul are “begging for rice” and “ready to accept death” due to widespread famine under Taliban misrule, while international donors have slashed their humanitarian contributions because so much of the aid is stolen by the Islamist regime, and no one wants to be seen as propping up the junta in Kabul. The Taliban is content to let the Afghan people starve, while blaming all of the regime’s problems on foreigners, especially the United States.
Russia became the first country on Earth to formally recognize Taliban rule over Afghanistan in July. China could offer to do the same as part of a trilateral CPEC deal with Pakistan and the Taliban, but Pakistan might balk at any such arrangement unless the Taliban cracks down harder on TTP.
China also has security concerns to discuss with the Taliban, including the safety of Chinese workers in Afghanistan and fears that the very terrorism-friendly Taliban might allow Uyghur militants to operate on their turf. China has been pressing the Taliban to break ties with the Uyghurs for years. Wang’s mission in Kabul could be offering bigger incentives for the Taliban to take the final steps needed to clear the way for BRI membership.
Read the full article here