Monday, November 10, 2014

"Why Afghanistan Courts China"

President Ghani recently visited China - probably in a belief ". . . that Beijing could offset the decline in American and Western support". In the short-term Afghan government is fiscally handicapped and unable to defeat the Pakistan-backed Taliban insurgency; so it desperately needs foreign assistance. However, in the long term, Afghanistan, with its vast natural resource base and central position between Central and South Asia can be an economic asset to China. The relationship between China, Afghanistan and Pakistan is a complex one - and China may soon be adjusting this relationship. Read more in "Why Afghanistan Courts China", by Zalmay Khalizad, The New York Times, November 3, 2014. Khalizad was the United States ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations.

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