British MP Tom Tugendhat on China, Afghanistan and the Taliban


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Taliban fighters patrolled the streets of Kabul in a vehicle on August 23, 2021, while the Taliban imposed a sense of calm in the capital, in a city marked by violent crime, with their armed forces patrolling the streets and manning checkpoints.

Wakil Kohsar | AFP | Getty Images

China is likely to work with the Taliban to achieve two key goals – building an economic corridor with Afghanistan and ensuring stability in its neighborhood, said Tom Tugendhat, a UK MP.

“I’m sure Beijing will try to open an economic corridor in a similar way to what they tried to do in Pakistan,” Tugendhat, head of the UK government’s China Research Group and chair of the special committee on foreign affairs, told Sri Jegarajah . from CNBC.

“But the reality is that they are trying to secure their ‘near abroad’ as the old Soviets put it,” said Tugendhat, MP for the ruling Conservative Party of Great Britain.

The term “near abroad” was reportedly coined by Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was used to refer to a group of independent ex-Soviet states near Russia.

Analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group made similar statements about Beijing’s goal of safeguarding regional security.

“In addition to the immediate security of Chinese people and organizations in Afghanistan, Beijing’s priority is not to become a source of regional instability that would harm China’s economic and security interests in Central Asia and South Asia,” they said.

Other analysts said China could also benefit economically from allying itself with the Taliban.

The vacuum left by the US could be an opportunity for Beijing to offer Afghanistan development aid and other forms of assistance – while also giving China the opportunity to exploit the country’s vast reserves of rare earth metals or drive investment projects like the Belt and Road initiative.

China is proceeding with caution

Read more about developments in Afghanistan:

Tugendhat said Beijing now faces the challenge of working with a country “that is extremely difficult to work with, and especially now with a regime that doesn’t even really represent itself.”

Perception of western decline?

Developments in Afghanistan have raised some doubts about Washington’s engagement with its allies.

When asked whether the chaos in Kabul implied a perception that the Western powers were in “final decline”, Tugendhat pointed out that the West “has the patience to persevere and be successful”.

“You just have to look at the US troop pledges, as I said, to South Korea and Japan,” he said, referring to the US military presence in the two countries. “You just have to look at the partnership we had – very deep partnerships that we had – in places in East Africa or even the Caribbean to really see the US or the West, if you will.” The strategic one Patience if she can muster it. “

He admitted, however, that “somewhere like Afghanistan, to put it politely, it’s a shame that we haven’t been able to make it clear to the President of the United States that this is a moment when we have to hold on.”

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