Taliban rolls out red carpet to China's Belt and Road Initiative

Afghanistan's vast mineral wealth beckons but Beijing has reason to wait

20210910 Xi and Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada

Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada must demonstrate his government is capable of good governance and eradicating terrorism if he wants to benefit from President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

KARACHI -- With the U.S. departed in disarray, Afghanistan's newly ensconced Taliban regime is looking to China for major investments in the coming six months, but experts expect Beijing to tread a very cautious line.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said earlier this week that the new government wants to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, the flagship $50 billion Pakistan component of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored ContentThis content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.