Taliban-led Afghanistan joins China's $60 billion CPEC project

By Asianet Newsable English | First Published Sep 6, 2021, 3:52 PM IST

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced Afghanistan's inclusion in the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and vowed to extend all kinds of cooperation in this regard.

The Taliban's press conference in Kabul on Monday has given China enough reason to celebrate and India ample reasons to worry.

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Terming the project as useful for the whole of Asia, Zabihullah Mujahid announced that Afghanistan is determined to implement its part of the project.

Also Read: Taliban takeover disrupts India's mega Mumbai-Chabahar plan

The remarks come just days after Mujahid confirmed Taliban support for China's One Belt, One Road initiative that seeks to link China with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of shipping ports, industrial parks, roads and railways lines.

The CPEC, one of the key components of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, is a bilateral project with a large network comprising roads, railway lines and pipelines spanning across 3,000 km that will smoothen trade between China, Pakistan and other countries in the region.

Terming China as its most important partner, Mujahid said that the Taliban looked forward to working with Beijing to rebuild Afghanistan and exploit its rich copper deposits.

The two announcements come as a major setback for India, which was trying to rope Afghanistan into its International North-South Transit Corridor project that aims to connect the Mumbai port with Chabahar in Iran and further to the Caspian Sea.

Also Read: China seeks common stand with Iran on Afghanistan under Taliban

While India has been adopting a wait-and-watch policy over Afghanistan, China has been lobbying with the Taliban to cooperate economically with the new power centre in the war-torn country.

Beijing also seems to be warming up to Iran. On Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during which the situation in Afghanistan was discussed.

According to Beijing's handout of the call, as common neighbours of Afghanistan, China and Iran stressed the need to strengthen coordination to play a constructive role in the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Also Read : Resistance ready for talks if Taliban withdraws from Panjshir

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