China’s Bold Move: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda Behind Zero-Tariff Offer to Afghanistan – A Quest for Mineral Riches and Taliban Ties

China intends to provide zero-tariff treatment for all Afghan products, strengthen relations with the Taliban regime through engagement, and develop Afghanistan’s mineral resources to improve supply chain security.

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Zhao Xing wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday (October 24) that China will provide zero tariff treatment for 100% of Afghan products. Zhao Xing also included a photo showing his meeting with Afghan interim Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Kabir, and said the two exchanged views on strengthening bilateral cooperation.

An Afghan netizen left a message under Zhao Xing’s post to express his gratitude, saying he hopes China will arrange doctoral scholarships for Afghan students and help open the Wakhan Corridor connecting the two countries. But others criticized the Taliban government and “infidels” for plundering Afghanistan’s resources.

Zhao Xing became the first foreign ambassador to the Taliban interim government in Afghanistan last September. He regularly published in X his meetings with officials of the Taliban regime responsible for the economy, trade and transport.

According to Reuters, although the Chinese government does not recognize the Taliban regime, it intends to strengthen relations to develop its mineral resources and strengthen supply chain security. The Taliban regime also seeks to integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative and save its economy from collapse through mineral development.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Yu Minghui, head of Aqab’s “China Town”, said that the Aynak copper mine project of MCC and the 19th China Metallurgical Corporation has made substantial progress, and that the mining contract leading to the Lugar mining area has been concluded. signed and is being implemented. More than 200 truckloads of machinery and equipment needed for the development of the Salep oil field on the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River have been sent to the construction site.

“Chinatown” has coordinated investment and trade in Afghanistan for over 20 years and is the local distribution center for Chinese goods. Yu Minghui believes that the tax exemption will help expand the economic and trade space between China and Arab countries and promote trade cooperation and industrial complementarity.

Halimi, advisor to the Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan, attended the Afghan Mining Project Promotion Conference in Tianjin last week and is interested in continuing to deepen cooperation in geological survey and mining investment with China . Afghanistan is rich in lithium, copper, iron and other mineral deposits.

Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Afghanistan Research Center at Lanzhou University in China, analyzed in an interview that the tax exemption will however play a certain role in promoting mining cooperation between the two countries, as the volume of trade bilateral is very limited; The tax exemption is primarily to strengthen Afghanistan’s economic strength and comprehensively address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Chinese customs data shows that Afghanistan exported US$64 million (S$84.49 million) worth of goods to China last year, nearly 90% of which were shelled pine nuts. As of December 2022, China has implemented zero tariffs on 98% of Afghan products.

Zhu Yongbiao said that many Afghan women participate in economic activities related to the pine nut trade, which is helpful in improving their economic income and even family status. This is also in line with China’s proposal to encourage the Taliban regime to adopt inclusive policies through dialogue and contact.