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China expects Pakistan to accelerate Afghan settlement
The meetings Chinese President Xi Jinping had with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Ufa on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] summit give much insight into the Chinese approach to the Afghan situation.
In a nutshell, we see a proactive policy, with China willing to man up like never before on the Afghan problem. Xi told Ghani:
Strengthening of security cooperation is in mutual interests;
China will continue to provide security-related equipment, technology and training;
China is prepared to expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields;
China considers that a “realistic” settlement in Afghanistan involves “an extensive and inclusive national reconciliation”;
China is willing to work with “all parties involved” and play a constructive role to find an early solution;
China supports SCO’s “due role in resolving the Afghan issue.”
China favors SCO member states boosting their cooperation with Afghanistan in curbing drug trafficking and in training the police personnel.
The three key points Ghani made were:
Kabul appreciates China’s support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity;
Afghanistan is willing to make “joint efforts” with China to safeguard regional peace and stability”; and,
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is of “vital importance” to Afghanistan, and Kabul hopes for more Chinese investments. (Xinhua)
On the other hand, Xi told Sharif:
China appreciates Pakistan’s efforts to push forward the Afghan peace process;
China will work together with Pakistan constructively to realize Afghan reconciliation at an early date.
Sharif responded by pledging to work together with China to push forward the Afghan peace process. (Xinhua)
The most striking part is the note of optimism in Xi’s remarks, which are forward-looking. Xi didn’t look back to voice any concern over the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and was confidently estimating that the Afghan peace process has begun.
Xi stressed to both Ghani and Sharif China’s interest in seeking a settlement “at an early date”. Xi pointedly flagged to Sharif the expectation that Pakistan will “push forward” the Afghan peace process. Sharif has committed himself in this regard.
This degree of optimism can be attributed to the encouraging outcome of the first face-to-face talks held between delegations of Afghan government and Taliban in Murree near Islamabad last Tuesday. A Chinese “observer” was present at the talks in Murree.
A Xinhua commentary noted that Tuesday’s meeting “revived hopes for peace and normalcy to return” to Afghanistan. Another Xinhua report from Kabul had noted, “Afghans from all walks of life have welcomed the talks … as the first step towards finding negotiated settlement”.
What emerges from Xi’s remarks is that China intends to beef up the capabilities of the Afghan security forces while at the same time supporting the reconciliation with the Taliban and other Afghan insurgent groups. Put differently, China will do what it can to prevent an outright Taliban takeover and instead will be encouraging the formation of a broad-based power structure in Kabul that accommodates the Taliban.
Ghani’s reference to China’s support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity can be taken as an indirect reference to his appreciation for the moderating influence that Beijing has been exerting on the Pakistani policy.
Without doubt, China hopes to use the “Belt and Road” projects to leverage both Kabul and Islamabad. Xi disclosed that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects have entered the implementation stage and “a batch of projects have been officially launched”.
China expects that Pakistan has become a stakeholder in an Afghan settlement, since without regional security and stability, the Silk Road projects (in which China promised to invest $46 billion) would be a non-starter. Xi candidly told Sharif that China desires an early Afghan settlement and expects Pakistan to accelerate the Afghan peace process.
Delhi seems to lack a proper understanding of the nuances of the Chinese approach on Afghanistan, which is highly focused on reaching a ceasefire and end to fighting, leading to an early Afghan settlement. In fact, Delhi doesn’t seem to realize that China and India are on the same page here.
China has developed a full-bodied approach to the Afghan situation and it is running on parallel tracks in Kabul and Islamabad. Against this backdrop, to put it mildly, Delhi’s objection to the Economic Corridor projects in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir [POK] and raising such brouhaha over it is plainly unrealistic and short-sighted – except if some dim-witted policy maker really fancies that Pakistan will let POK to return to India as an integral part of our country.
Ironically, if the Chinese projects succeed in developing the POK’s impoverished economy, there will be less scope for that region to be a breeding ground for militants. Which of course can only be in India’s interests.
Equally, Delhi’s inability to figure out why this is a most inappropriate time to press the case against Pakistan in the UN Sanctions Committee – and to make it such a tendentious bilateral issue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi – is simply mind-boggling.
[MENTION=1498]ComradePashtun[/MENTION]
The meetings Chinese President Xi Jinping had with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Ufa on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] summit give much insight into the Chinese approach to the Afghan situation.
In a nutshell, we see a proactive policy, with China willing to man up like never before on the Afghan problem. Xi told Ghani:
Strengthening of security cooperation is in mutual interests;
China will continue to provide security-related equipment, technology and training;
China is prepared to expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields;
China considers that a “realistic” settlement in Afghanistan involves “an extensive and inclusive national reconciliation”;
China is willing to work with “all parties involved” and play a constructive role to find an early solution;
China supports SCO’s “due role in resolving the Afghan issue.”
China favors SCO member states boosting their cooperation with Afghanistan in curbing drug trafficking and in training the police personnel.
The three key points Ghani made were:
Kabul appreciates China’s support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity;
Afghanistan is willing to make “joint efforts” with China to safeguard regional peace and stability”; and,
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is of “vital importance” to Afghanistan, and Kabul hopes for more Chinese investments. (Xinhua)
On the other hand, Xi told Sharif:
China appreciates Pakistan’s efforts to push forward the Afghan peace process;
China will work together with Pakistan constructively to realize Afghan reconciliation at an early date.
Sharif responded by pledging to work together with China to push forward the Afghan peace process. (Xinhua)
The most striking part is the note of optimism in Xi’s remarks, which are forward-looking. Xi didn’t look back to voice any concern over the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and was confidently estimating that the Afghan peace process has begun.
Xi stressed to both Ghani and Sharif China’s interest in seeking a settlement “at an early date”. Xi pointedly flagged to Sharif the expectation that Pakistan will “push forward” the Afghan peace process. Sharif has committed himself in this regard.
This degree of optimism can be attributed to the encouraging outcome of the first face-to-face talks held between delegations of Afghan government and Taliban in Murree near Islamabad last Tuesday. A Chinese “observer” was present at the talks in Murree.
A Xinhua commentary noted that Tuesday’s meeting “revived hopes for peace and normalcy to return” to Afghanistan. Another Xinhua report from Kabul had noted, “Afghans from all walks of life have welcomed the talks … as the first step towards finding negotiated settlement”.
What emerges from Xi’s remarks is that China intends to beef up the capabilities of the Afghan security forces while at the same time supporting the reconciliation with the Taliban and other Afghan insurgent groups. Put differently, China will do what it can to prevent an outright Taliban takeover and instead will be encouraging the formation of a broad-based power structure in Kabul that accommodates the Taliban.
Ghani’s reference to China’s support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity can be taken as an indirect reference to his appreciation for the moderating influence that Beijing has been exerting on the Pakistani policy.
Without doubt, China hopes to use the “Belt and Road” projects to leverage both Kabul and Islamabad. Xi disclosed that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects have entered the implementation stage and “a batch of projects have been officially launched”.
China expects that Pakistan has become a stakeholder in an Afghan settlement, since without regional security and stability, the Silk Road projects (in which China promised to invest $46 billion) would be a non-starter. Xi candidly told Sharif that China desires an early Afghan settlement and expects Pakistan to accelerate the Afghan peace process.
Delhi seems to lack a proper understanding of the nuances of the Chinese approach on Afghanistan, which is highly focused on reaching a ceasefire and end to fighting, leading to an early Afghan settlement. In fact, Delhi doesn’t seem to realize that China and India are on the same page here.
China has developed a full-bodied approach to the Afghan situation and it is running on parallel tracks in Kabul and Islamabad. Against this backdrop, to put it mildly, Delhi’s objection to the Economic Corridor projects in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir [POK] and raising such brouhaha over it is plainly unrealistic and short-sighted – except if some dim-witted policy maker really fancies that Pakistan will let POK to return to India as an integral part of our country.
Ironically, if the Chinese projects succeed in developing the POK’s impoverished economy, there will be less scope for that region to be a breeding ground for militants. Which of course can only be in India’s interests.
Equally, Delhi’s inability to figure out why this is a most inappropriate time to press the case against Pakistan in the UN Sanctions Committee – and to make it such a tendentious bilateral issue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi – is simply mind-boggling.
[MENTION=1498]ComradePashtun[/MENTION]
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