#头条创作挑战赛#
Sentence / Eggplant
Since the Taliban "came to power for the second time," they have changed their past appearance and worked hard to establish good relations with neighboring countries, and their desire to "live a good life" is very strong.
According to Afghan media reports, a few days ago, Mohammed Mujahid, the acting "defense minister" of the Afghan Taliban and the Taliban's top military official, met with Chinese diplomatic representatives in Afghanistan.
First of all, he made a clear commitment to the Chinese side, saying that the Atta authorities attach great importance to the security of China's investment projects in Afghanistan, and promised that Atta will "spare no effort and unswervingly" protect Chinese assets and personnel in Afghanistan -- a commitment that can be said to be quite heavyweight given his military background.
(Atta's "Defense Minister" meets with Chinese representatives)
But why did a senior Atta official suddenly find a senior Chinese official to talk about "security guarantees"? It turned out that what he said later was the real point -- Mujahid specially stressed to the Chinese side that the Atta side was very concerned about the development of the "Wakhan Corridor" bordering China and Afghanistan, and hoped to have further communication with the Chinese side on the development of the economic potential of the region.
In other words, the security guarantee of the Atta side is actually to gain the trust of the Chinese side, and then ask the Chinese side to "do a big favor", that is, to reopen the Wakhan corridor.
(Wakhan Corridor Area)
This is not the first time that the Atta authorities have shown an almost urgent interest in the Wakhan Corridor – as early as October last year, Atta's acting "Foreign Minister" Amir Khan Muttaji specifically met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Third Trans-Himalayan Forum for International Cooperation, and emphasized the need to improve bilateral trade relations and build a "new trade corridor" between China and Afghanistan through the Wakhan Corridor. Subsequently, a number of high-level figures, including Atta's "Acting Minister of Commerce", "Acting Minister of Rural Reconstruction", "Development Committee", and diplomatic spokesman, took turns meeting with Chinese representatives over the course of several months.
According to sources, Atta officials even meet with Chinese diplomats "almost once a week" – and it is not difficult to see that they really want China to open up the Wakhan Corridor and promote further development of Sino-Arab trade.
(Atta's Acting Minister of Commerce, Haji Nuruddin Aziz, also met with the Chinese representative)
And they're not just bragging – the Atta authorities have announced since 2023 that they will build the Pamir Highway in the Wakhan Corridor. The 5-metre-wide road, which runs from the Wakhan region to the Chinese border, has a total project cost of 369 million Afghani. The money, which was allocated directly by the central government of Atta and overseen by the Development Committee, was "officially opened" earlier this year.
However, so far, the Chinese side has not made an official statement and commitment on this matter, otherwise the Atta side would not be so anxious. But why has China not responded to this matter?
(Atta is building the Pamir Highway)
China certainly doesn't want to invest in Afghanistan – in fact, Afghanistan is rich in natural resources, especially rare earth and lithium deposits. At the same time, Afghanistan's strategic location is extremely important in Central Asia, serving as a hub connecting Iran, Pakistan, China and Russia.
However, it is clear that China still has concerns about the opening of the Wakhan Corridor, which may be due to a crucial reason: the Atta authorities do not have full control over the entire territory of Afghanistan, and a series of terrorist groups represented by ISIS-K are still operating in Afghanistan. The Wakhan region is connected to China's western region, and China fears that once the corridor opens, it will lead to the re-infiltration of foreign terrorist forces into China. Therefore, China has repeatedly urged the Taliban to fulfill its anti-terrorism commitments and eliminate terrorist forces as soon as possible.
(Atta has not completely eliminated terrorist groups in Afghanistan)
Enrique Schneider, a well-known political scientist, predicted that China may participate in Afghanistan's reconstruction and development, given the risk of potential security crises in Afghanistan, but will not immediately start large-scale cooperation with Afghanistan. China is likely to commit to limited assistance and investment, and to lay a foundation of trust for the subsequent construction of the China-Arab Economic Corridor. It is not until the Atta authorities have achieved stability in Afghanistan that China can truly and boldly cooperate with the Atta authorities so that the Afghan people can truly live a happy life.