(DID Press): \u201cChina would be welcomed as an arbitrator in negotiations [for peace in Afghanistan] and should not leave matters of such a great importance solely to the US,\u201d said Maulana Samiul Haq, the so-called \u201cFather of the Taliban\u201d, in 2018. Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban finally began in September in Qatar \u2013 long after the stop-start US negotiations with the Taliban that have preceded the anticipated departure of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan. Both Pakistan and the US have strongly encouraged the peace process. But the idea of bringing China to the table has never manifested. China does have a strong interest in resolving conflict in Afghanistan. Yet Beijing has kept a conspicuously low profile, to the point of invisibility, even though its close ties with the involved parties \u2013 the Afghan government, the Taliban and Pakistan \u2013 put it in perhaps the best position to mediate talks. The time has come for China to step forward and use its influential economic clout and political power to help bring an end to Afghanistan\u2019s 40 years of conflict. While China has shown little interest in the root causes of the conflict in Afghanistan, it does have two strategic goals in the country. China is nonetheless well-equipped to assume the role of peacemaker in Afghanistan. At a local level, the Taliban have previously supported and welcomed Uighur Muslims fighting in Afghanistan\u2019s insurgency, so China fears the potential of threats and influence crossing the border and returning home to Xinjiang province. In line with its overarching concern for the \u201cthree evils\u201d informing its foreign policy \u2013 extremism, separatism and terrorism \u2013 China\u2019s interests and involvement in Afghanistan have increased as US involvement in the region has decreased.\u00a0 Following Afghan President Ashraf Ghani\u2019s first visit to China in 2014, he reportedly approved the extradition of 15 Uighur militants who had taken refuge in Afghan territory. In 2015, Taliban representatives met secretly in China with Stanekzai, of the Afghan Peace Council, in a bid to de-escalate the conflict. China appears willing to work with both Taliban and more moderate Afghan leadership to interrupt the nexus between external Islamic extremists and Xinjiang Uighur separatists. The recent measures China has taken against the Uighur population \u2013 including 2 million detained in \u201cre-education camps\u201d, sterilisation of women and pervasive surveillance of the \u2013population are indicative of lengths to which its fear of insurgency and terrorism from within govern its perception of threats against the state and its foreign policy. Stability and reconciliation in Afghanistan would potentially reduce one source of internal anxiety which currently besets Beijing. But Beijing also has a far larger goal in promoting economic investment as part of its larger plan for regional development through its Belt and Road Initiative. A resolution or even a reduction of conflict in Afghanistan would ensure a more stable economic environment for the further economic growth of China. Although the border China shares with Afghanistan is only 76 kilometres long, this small portal opens to a vast expanse of markets and supplies necessary for China\u2019s ongoing economic development. China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, along with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), seeks to connect Central Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the Middle East, Africa and Europe, through infrastructure and markets necessary for China\u2019s supply chain. To miss this opportunity would cost China dearly, and without stability and peace in Afghanistan, China will struggle to benefit from the desired outcome. China\u2019s direct financial investments \u2013 Today China is the biggest foreign investor In Afghanistan, having acquired the US$4.4-billion extraction contract to develop the Mes Aynak copper mines. Even with increased investment in the mining sector, China has been unable to operate fully, due to continuing conflict and insecurity in the country. Stability in Afghanistan would help China, with a large economy that relies on energy and raw materials, while helping Afghanistan end its dependence on international assistance. If China is to become the leader in Central Asia area it aspires to be, it will have to utilise its strong and enduring relationship with Islamabad to increase Pakistan\u2019s involvement in Afghanistan\u2019s affairs by putting pressure on Pakistan to play a constructive role in the Afghan-Taliban talks. Pakistan, China\u2019s \u201call-weather friend\u201d, is still in the best position to put pressure on the Taliban to reduce its use of violence. Beijing invited Taliban representatives to China in September of last year, and one month later announced that it would host intra-Afghan talks, but the event never materialised. China\u2019s leaders have long expressed support for peace negotiations, and media reports have suggested that Beijing is prepared to join Pakistan as a \u201cguarantor\u201d of the peace agreement. \u201cAs long as there is an opportunity, China will promote peace talks in a private way,\u201d according to Dr. Shi Yinhong, foreign affairs adviser to China\u2019s State Council. China also claims to continue to \u201cclosely cooperate\u201d with all parties for reconciliation, if required. As such, China\u2019s potential contribution could well be accepted by all parties in the peacebuilding process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(DID Press): \u201cChina would be welcomed as an arbitrator in negotiations [for peace in Afghanistan] and should not leave matters of such a great importance solely to the US,\u201d said Maulana Samiul Haq, the so-called \u201cFather of the Taliban\u201d, in 2018. Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban finally began in September in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archived-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3117,"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions\/3117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caps.af\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}