Zhao Xing, China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said on Thursday that Beijing will soon offer “zero-tariff” trade to the Taliban regime.
China still has not formally recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, and neither has any other country on Earth, but China covets Afghanistan’s mineral resources, and the Taliban desperately need foreign investment money.
“Selling Afghanistan’s lithium, copper and iron deposits to the world’s biggest commodities buyer would help the Taliban prop up their ailing economy, which the United Nations says has ‘basically collapsed,’ and provide a much needed revenue stream as the country’s overseas central bank reserves remain frozen,” Reuters observed on Friday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian confirmed on Friday that Afghanistan will be granted duty-free export privileges to “promote bilateral trade cooperation and achieve mutual benefits.”
Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Maulavi Mohammed Abdul Kabir said he also discussed “plans to inaugurate a new economic passageway with Afghanistan via Tajikistan” during a meeting with Ambassador Zhao. […]
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