China sees new opportunities in Afghanistan as the US withdraws its troops from the country, but about increased instability at the same time. Earlier in May, China said it wants more security cooperation with Central Asian countries to safeguard BRI projects in the region.
On May 24, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was in talks with Pakistan and Afghanistan to extend the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan [CPEC to be extended to Afghanistan]. The CPEC is often referred to as a “flagship BRI project”. It aims to connect Pakistan’s southern ports with China via a vast network of roads, railways, pipelines, and cables. The CPEC includes port and airport construction, power plants, and various urban public transport systems. CPEC projects are regularly delayed due to funding-related problems in Pakistan and due to worries about security in northern Pakistan. But as a whole, the CPEC is moving forward. So far, it has largely been a Chinese-Pakistani affair. Recently, however, China and Pakistan have launched several new plans to expand CPEC to other countries.
There are two possible options for extending CPEC into Afghanistan. The first option would be via Quetta, in southern Pakistan. It lies relatively close to Gwadar and Karachi. However, there aren’t many other CPEC projects in the isolated region and the security environment is challenging. The second option would be Peshawar, already a major channel for trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan. There is a lot of CPEC activity in the area, but it is much further from the coast. Afghanistan isn’t the only country on the radar for a CPEC breakout. On May 25, Pakistan and Tajikistan discussed the possibility to extend CPEC to Tajikistan, giving the landlocked country access to Pakistan’s seaports.
Tycho de Feijter
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