In the immediate aftermath of Afghanistan s collapse at the hands of the Taliban, China wasted no time in capitalizing on what it viewed as a public relations win. China's Foreign Ministry called the reckless end to U.S. presence, a lesson in military adventures, and issued a statement calling for friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan. But, Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer said Washington's unrest in Beijing created more headaches than opportunities for Beijing long term.
I think the Taliban sees a propaganda opportunity in rubbing America's nose in the fact that there are all kinds of horrible videos coming out in Afghanistan and China sees that they have won, he said. Bremmer said the Taliban takeover threatens to bring a deeply unstable and pretty radical government on China s doorstep. Beijing has expressed the concern that Afghanistan could oversee the resurgence of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a militant separatist group founded by militant Uyghurs.
Beyond Afghanistan's borders, Beijing is concerned about the security of others bordering Afghanistan, including Pakistan. Just last month, a suicide bomber attacked a Chinese transport bus in a remote city north of Islamabad, killing nine Chinese workers and four others. Which was followed by another bomb attack on a motorcade carrying Chinese personnel, killing two local children and one Chinese national.
If China had a free media and they don't have anything remotely close to it, you'll see in the next few years on Afghanistan, making more headlines in China, as it's making less headlines in the United States, Bremmer said. It is bad thing that Afghanistan is making headlines in your country. Regional instability also threatens to derail Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative BRI one of his key policies. Since 2013, the country has invested more than $200 billion in infrastructure projects in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Pakistan has been the biggest beneficiary, with investments in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC reportedly exceeding $60 billion.
While Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he was interested in expanding China's CPEC to Afghanistan, Bremmer said the lack of BRI successes is likely to prevent the country from becoming a big investment priority for Pakistan.
China has their own domestic priorities that are much more important in terms of what they want to spend their money on. And the investments they have already made in Afghanistan in Copper Mines for example and other heavy infrastructure, have not paid off as well, Bremmer said.
Beijing has taken a pragmatic approach towards Afghan so far, and is expressing a desire for friendly and cooperative relations with them. Just weeks after the fall of Kabul, China invited militant leaders to meet with Foreign Minister in Beijing, in its most public way of goodwill towards the Taliban group.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar responded with reiterating his pledge to leave Chinese interests in Afghanistan alone, saying the group would not allow extremist groups to use Afghanistan as a staging ground for attack China.
Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on twitter at AkikoFujita.com.