Russia and China rolled up their sleeves for Afghanistan. In this partnership, where Moscow prioritizes security and Beijing prioritizes the economy, the two countries will try to expand their fields of activity in Central Asia through Afghanistan.
While the turmoil and uncertainty continued in Afghanistan, where the 20-year occupation of the USA came to an end and the Taliban seized power, Russia and China took the offensive. Moscow and Beijing, which have acted together in the Middle East and Central Asia in recent years, joined hands for Afghanistan this time. Moscow and Beijing, which want to take advantage of the chaos and uncertainty environment and increase their activities both in Afghanistan and in the region, have agreed to work together, although they have different goals.
AFGHANISTAN IS THE GATE OF CENTRAL ASIA FOR RUSSIA
The chaos in Afghanistan is a unique opportunity for Moscow, which lost its influence in Central Asia and the Middle East after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and left these areas to its rival the USA. After the Arab Spring and the civil turmoil in Syria, Russia, which increased its influence in the Middle East and opened space for itself, increased its interest in Afghanistan in order to open the door to Central Asia. Before the US and other Western powers began to withdraw from Afghanistan, the primary aim of Moscow, which accepted the Taliban as its interlocutor and interacted with, is to control radical groups. The Moscow administration, which does not want a chaos that could endanger its interests in the countries that are active in Central Asia and in the entire region, sees Afghanistan as an important position.
CHINESE COMPANIES' EYE ON AFGHANISTAN'S MINE
For China, which has a short border with Afghanistan, the economy is the most important pillar of the bridge it has established with Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a big mine for China, which is poor in terms of underground resources and needs imports in this sense. The fact that the mineral reserves in Afghanistan are more than 1 trillion dollars brings the Beijing administration closer with the Taliban under the pressure of the Chinese companies. So much so that the first statement after the Taliban entered Afghanistan's capital Kabul and took power was made by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the statement, it was emphasized that China could play a role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan and the Taliban was officially recognized.
THE SECURITY OF THE SILK ROAD PROJECT PASSES THROUGH AFGHANISTAN
Increasing Beijing's effectiveness in Afghanistan will actually open the door for Chinese companies to miners in the country. Because rare elements in Afghanistan are of great importance in the production of microchip and other advanced technology products by Chinese companies, which have made great strides in the field of high technology besides heavy industry in recent years. Another importance of Afghanistan for Beijing is the New Silk Road Project. Afghanistan serves as a crucial crossroad for the Belt and Road Initiative, which includes trade and infrastructure projects with Iran and Pakistan.