ABSTRACT
This chapter examines China’s foreign policy approach to Afghanistan by assessing the historical and contemporary relationship between the two countries. The authors argue that Beijing is wary entangling itself in Afghanistan, having learned from challenges that have confounded other foreign would-be security sponsors entering the country. However, the highly strategic location of the country and huge investments in Central Asia and Pakistan are drawing a reluctant China into the orbit of the conflicts in Afghanistan.
Beijing’s approach to Kabul has so far largely been linked to domestic concerns with fears of a spillover of instability into China’s restive border province of Xinjiang. Recent trends in Afghanistan and the wider region, however, have begun to drive a shift in China’s Afghanistan policy. A northward expansion of fighting toward the former Soviet republics, which is pivotal to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the rise of an internationalist faction of pro-ISIS jihadists near the border with Pakistan have driven Chinese engagement with the Taliban. As Beijing’s influence in regions adjacent conflict hotspots has grown, so too have the risks for Chinese stakeholders. As a result, a delicate balancing act will likely continue to dominate the relationship between Beijing, Kabul and other actors in the conflict.
