Tag: Pakistan

China Pledges to Stop Building Coal Plants Abroad: Explained

Chin@Strategy

Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, said on Tuesday that his country would stop building coal-burning power plants overseas, a major shift by the world’s second-biggest economy to move away from its support of the fossil fuel. China “will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad,” he told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. The news comes amid a broad international effort to reduce coal use and to keep global temperatures from rising at their current pace, which scientists have warned could be disastrous. The announcement by China, which is…

Why Nation-Building Failed in Afghanistan

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ISTANBUL – The United States invaded Afghanistan 20 years ago with the hope of rebuilding a country that had become a scourge to the world and its own people. As General Stanley McChrystal explained in the run-up to the 2009 surge of US troops, the objective was that the “government of Afghanistan sufficiently control its territory to support regional stability and prevent its use for international terrorism.” Why Nation-Building Failed in Afghanistan Afghan Presidential Palace via Getty Images Daron Acemoglu explains why the West’s top-down approach to establishing state institutions…

How the U.S. Exit from Afghanistan Helps China

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Beijing is now also positioned to hold greater influence over the country’s political landscape. Afghanistan’s history tells us that one group is rarely in control of the entire country, and given the Taliban’s lightning takeover, it’s reasonable to expect some civil strife. China — already the largest troop contributor to U.N. peacekeeping missions among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — has also registered a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops — a move that could make it one of the largest contributors overall. If a…

Why China’s rise is a ‘wildcard’ for how things could play out in Afghanistan

Chin@Strategy

While several countries are evacuating their embassies in Kabul and scrambling to get their citizens out of Afghanistan, there are three notable exceptions.  Australia closed its embassy back in May, but China, Russia and Pakistan are staying put for now. Afghanistan has geographical significance, positioned as a bridge between Asia and Europe, and all three countries have an interest in regional stability and want to avoid the country becoming a hotbed of extremism. Afghanistan is also sitting on to $US1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) worth of mineral deposits, including rare earths and…

China Won’t Repeat America’s Mistakes in Afghanistan

Chin@Strategy

As the United States departs Afghanistan and Kabul falls, China is not showing up with an army. It is showing up bearing gifts to all parties, not least the ascendant Taliban. Beijing’s prospects, therefore, are already looking much better—and cheaper—than the U.S. state- and military-building project. Beijing’s traditional worry in Afghanistan has been regional instability and the prospect of cross-border aid to Uyghur militants in Xinjiang—or the provision of a safe refuge for Uyghurs fleeing Chinese oppression. But the Taliban will likely have learned from the experience of the past…