With its ambition to displace the United States (US), China is looking to start a propaganda war against America in Afghanistan, a top diplomatic source told CNN-News18 exclusively, adding that they want to “research the US occupation of Afghanistan from a Chinese point of view and fund TV channels and websites".
“China wants to invest in institution, research and information centres. They want to bring in Afghani officers on short-term scholarships," the source said. “They want to start a propaganda war…They want to research the US occupation of Afghanistan from a Chinese point of view and fund TV/websites."
According to the source, the Chinese are aiming for Kabul TV channels and news websites. “They have supported the Afghani media in the past too. Their clear aim is to enter through the media and research centres," he said. The source said they are also looking for investigators, who they could eventually use for other assignments too.
The Taliban came back to power in Afghanistan in 2021, two decades after US-led forces toppled their regime in what led to the United States’ longest war.
US-CHINA STRAIN
China wants to be at the centre of a new world order, overthrowing the US. The friction between the two nations has only increased since with disputes over trade, technology, security and ideology.
US ‘WAR’ IN AFGHANISTAN
President George W Bush had launched his “war on terror" in response to the September 11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people, with air strikes on Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. The Taliban government had sheltered Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda movement, which masterminded 9/11.
In 2009, President Barack Obama, who had campaigned on a pledge to end the Afghanistan war, doubled the number of US troops to 68,000. In 2010, it reached around 100,000. Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011 in a US special forces operation in Pakistan. On June 22, Obama announced the beginning of a troop withdrawal, with the departure by mid-2012 of 33,000 soldiers. In December 2014, NATO ended its 13-year combat mission, but a number of troops remained to train the Afghan military.
On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a historic deal in Doha under which all foreign forces were to leave Afghanistan by May 2021. The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 31, 2021.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM CHINA IN AFGHANISTAN
Once the US left the country, China came to Afghanistan to set up lucrative business deals with the new regime, mainly in the infrastructure sector. Experts said China first made infrastructure deals to make inroads into any territory.
The Taliban rulers have been seeking foreign investments in hopes of halting the downward spiral of the Afghan economy since their takeover.
Geologists have earlier identified that Afghanistan might have one of the largest copper deposits in the world, along with significant deposits of lithium, iron ore, and rare earth elements. China has economic and mining interests in the country, but those familiar with past talks between the Taliban and Chinese officials said Beijing wanted Taliban commitments to prevent China’s Uyghur opponents from setting up operations in Afghanistan.
Chinese firms, with strong government backing, have tentatively sought to pursue opportunities in exploiting Afghanistan’s vast, undeveloped resource deposits, especially the Mes Aynak mine that is believed to hold the world’s largest copper deposit.
ISIS FACTOR
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan arm of the Islamic State is targeting Chinese nationals in a bid to “avenge" Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
China had ordered all its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country “as soon as possible" following a terrorist attack on a Chinese-owned hotel in the heart of Kabul on December 12, 2022, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
These orders came as a big blow to the Taliban regime amid the investment plans.
With Agency Inputs
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