China's Ambitions in Asia - Abdullah Sharif

While China's ambitions in the South China Sea have made headlines, its outreach to other parts of the world under the guise of economic development have mostly gone unnoticed. One case in point is China's friendly overtures and increasing involvement in Afghanistan. Afghanistan needs any help it can get and China is interested in the untapped mineral riches of its neighbor.

Afghanistan shares a small but important border with China in the rugged extreme northeast of the Wakhan corridor located in Badakhshan province. On the Chinese side lies the restive province of Xinjian with a mostly Muslim population. China is concerned that terrorist groups from central Asia such as The East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement will be able to infiltrate the country through an unsecure Afghanistan.

Security in Afghanistan will also enable China to move aggressively in the area of gaining access to Afghanistan's natural resources. China was the first country to secure an exclusive contract for the copper mining rights in Afghanistan. The Aynak copper deposit, located in the eastern province of Logar, is thought to be one of the largest in the world. It was alleged that China secured the contract by giving a $30Mbribe to the then Afghan minister of mining in 2007, beating competition from the U.S. and other countries. But the state owned mining behemoth, China Metallurgical Group Corporation, has yet to mine any copper. Not only is the area unsecured, but the mine is located under the ruins of an ancient Buddhist city. The fear is that the mining operations will destroy a priceless ancient heritage. Additionally, the price of copper has fallen drastically and the Chinese are demanding that Afghanistan substantially lower the royalty rate. So both countries are currently at an impasse

Afghanistan also has large deposits of iron ore, gold and other raw materials that China needs. But exploiting these riches is not possible in the near future. Therefore, China is prepared to engaged in Afghanistan for the long run. To show that China's goal in the country is not purely driven by the selfish wish to secure raw materials, it has embarked on a charm offensive. China recently indicated that it will undertake the construction of 10,000 apartment units in Kabul. This project is aimed to reduce the housing shortage in the capital. Although the details are sketchy, China will assume the full financial burden as a gift to Afghanistan.

While China was slow to show interest in Afghanistan after the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S. forces in 2001, it has changed course as part of its overall ambitious strategy in Asia and Africa. The U.S. and its NATO allies spent much blood and treasure in Afghanistan, but China will reap the economic benefits on a free ride. - Read More at the Huffingtonpost

China's Ambitions in Asia