RASC News Agency: Aminullah Tayeb, the Taliban’s deputy governor of Badakhshan, has confirmed that China is poised to invest in the province’s mining sector. On Tuesday, October 15, Tayeb disclosed his meeting with Chinese investors in Badakhshan, stating that they are particularly interested in the extraction of the province’s rich gold and lapis lazuli deposits.
He underscored the Chinese investors’ commitment to mining activities, emphasizing that such projects would generate much-needed employment for the residents of Badakhshan. Tayeb further noted that the primary objective of these investments is to foster job creation for the local community by tapping into the province’s lucrative lapis lazuli and gold resources. Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, Chinese interest and presence in the country have intensified, with a particular focus on its vast mining opportunities.
China has emerged as one of the most significant political allies of the Taliban in the region, primarily motivated by its desire to access Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth. This partnership is less about ideological alignment and more about mutual economic benefit. China’s interest lies solely in exploiting Afghanistan’s resources, and it sees the current instability as a strategic opportunity to take advantage of Afghanistan’s unregulated mines. Despite the Taliban’s religious authoritarianism and China’s secular dictatorship, their shared economic interests have created an unlikely alliance.
In this partnership, China seeks to extract Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, particularly from the lapis lazuli mines of Badakhshan. Meanwhile, the Taliban benefits economically, using these resources to bolster its ethno-nationalist and religious dominance. This collaboration signals a concerning future for Afghanistan’s economy and sovereignty, as Chinese exploitation of Afghanistan’s resources deepens, with the profits flowing directly into the Taliban’s regime.
