Relations between

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

have been mostly friendly throughout history, with trade relations between these regions date back to at least the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

with the profitable

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

. Presently, both countries have embassies in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

respectively, and the two countries share a narrow international border. Since the establishment of the modern nation of Afghanistan (1709), relations have been variously positive or tense, but in recent history have been more friendly including during most of the 20th century, with China extending economic aid and multi-million dollar loans to develop Afghanistan during the early

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

period. This friendship was briefly interrupted after the Sino-Soviet split and the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(1979), with the USSR installing pro-Soviet and anti-Chinese regimes in Afghanistan. However, since the withdrawal of Soviet troops and détente of Soviet and subsequent Russian-Chinese relations, China-Afghan relations have also improved significantly in the 21st century. Since the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

invasion initiating the War in Afghanistan, Chinese political involvement initially has been somewhat limited, but trade relations have still been continuing with China as Afghanistan's largest trading partner and China giving Afghanistan millions of dollars in aid throughout the war. China's influence and shuttle diplomatic role in Afghanistan has also been growing over the years, and China could help broker peace in the war-torn country. After the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021, China, like all other countries as of , does not recognize the reinstated Islamic Emirate.

History (Han to Qing)

Various Chinese dynasties have also occupied parts of Afghanistan and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

around their current border; and Afghanistan has historically been at the center of the lucrative

Han dynasty

The Han defeated the

Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < LHC: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese

in the

Han-Dayuan war The War of the Heavenly Horses () or the Han–Dayuan War () was a military conflict fought in 104 BC and 102 BC between the Chinese Han dynasty and the Saka-ruled (Scythian) Greco-Bactrian kingdom known to the Chinese as Dayuan, in the Fergha ...

, thereby establishing Chinese control over parts of northern Afghanistan. Later the Han dynasty set up the Protectorate of the Western Regions to protect Silk Road trade through Central Asia. In antiquity, the region that is now Afghanistan was known for its devotion to Buddhism, which had been founded in India in the 5th century BC. Chinese records from the Han dynasty refer to Kabul as "Kao-fu", which is described as a wealthy cite located in the Hindu Kush mountains on a strategic location on the trade routes linking Central Asia to India. A Buddhist monk from what is now Afghanistan arrived in China in 2 BC and converted the first Chinese to Buddhism. Afghanistan was often visited by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on their way to India in antiquity, and Buddhist sites such as

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

and the Buddhas of Bamyan attracted many Chinese visitors. Chinese records credit craftsmen from Afghanistan with producing the first glass in China between 424 and 428 AD, through archaeological evidence suggests that glass was being produced earlier in China.

Tang dynasty

In 605, emissaries from what is now Afghanistan arrived in Luoyang (at the time China's capital) to pay tribute to the Emperor in exchange for greater rights to trade with China. When the Tang dynasty was established in 618 AD, the claim to see Afghanistan as part of China's sphere of influence was inherited, a claim that successive Tang emperors were willing to enforce via military means. During the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

parts of Afghanistan were under the control of China's Protectorate General to Pacify the West. In 659,

Soghd Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

and

Ferghana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...

, along with cities like Tashkent, Samarkand, Balkh, Herat, and Kabul, became part of the protectorate under Emperor Gaozong. Afghanistan's Herat and Uzbekistan's Bukhara and Samarkand became part of the Tang protectorate. The Indian historian K. P. S. Menon wrote about the Chinese "performed the remarkable feat of sending an army of 100,000 men which marched up the Pamirs from Kashgar" and then crossed Afghanistan to occupy the Hunza Valley in what is now Pakistan under Tang General Gao Xianzhi. The defeat of the Western Turks and the defeat of the Sassanids by the Arabs had facilitated the Chinese expansion under Emperor Gaozong into

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

, northeastern Iran and Afghanistan (Tukharistan), Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Soghdiana, which previously belonged to the western Turks. During the Tang dynasty, a period of prosperity and wealth that many Chinese see as one of the highlights of their history, trade flourished along the Silk Road between Afghanistan and China. The Chinese Buddhist monk

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

passed through Afghanistan on his way to India and described with awe his wonder at viewing the Buddhas of Bamyan. Religions such as Nestorian Christianity first reached China in the Tang dynasty via Afghanistan, to be followed later by Islam. The

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

Christians like the

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...

n Priest Yisi of

helped the Tang dynasty general

Guo Ziyi Guo Ziyi (Kuo Tzu-i; Traditional Chinese: 郭子儀, Simplified Chinese: 郭子仪, Hanyu Pinyin: Guō Zǐyí, Wade-Giles: Kuo1 Tzu3-i2) (697 – July 9, 781), posthumously Prince Zhōngwǔ of Fényáng (), was a Chinese military general and pol ...

militarily crush the Sogdian-Turk led

An Lushan rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

, with Yisi personally acting as a military commander and Yisi and the Church of the East were rewarded by the Tang dynasty with titles and positions as described in the Xi'an Stele.

Mongol Empire

Both regions were briefly unified under the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

. This also contributed to the sustenance and growth of the Silk Road.

Silk Road

Trade relations between Afghanistan and China mostly involved trade of fruit and tea via caravans through

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

and the Wakhan Corridor on the border between the two countries. Buddhist monks from the area of what is now Afghanistan were involved in the

Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Buddhism entered Han China via the Silk Road, beginning in the 1st or 2nd century CE. The first documented translation efforts by Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE via the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory bordering the ...

China. Faxian traveled to Afghanistan in the 5th century. In the 21st century, China and Afghanistan are making efforts to revive a New Silk Road through the

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...

Qing dynasty

Around 1760, tensions in

and

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

(including

) were high due to threats by China's

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

empire against the various Muslim rulers in the region. Relations between the Afghan

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

s and

was cold - Ahmad Shah Abdali, the powerful Afghan emir, was unhappy with China's expansion into that region, with the Chinese having dispatched an envoy to the

Kazakh sultanate Kazakh sultanate or Gazakh sultanate was established at the end of the 15th century. During the Safavid Empire, it was part of the Karabakh principality. In 1605, by the decree of Abbas the Great, Shamsaddin sultan of Kazakh was given the ran ...

. Rulers in the region including Irdana Khan (the Khan of

Khokand Kokand ( uz, Qo‘qon/Қўқон/قوقان, ; russian: Кока́нд; fa, خوقند, Xuqand; Chagatai: خوقند, ''Xuqand''; ky, Кокон, Kokon; tg, Хӯқанд, Xöqand) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the sou ...

) and

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

chiefs asked Ahmad Shah to protect the area from an attack by "non-believers".. Ahmad Shah sent a letter to a Qing court in 1762 demanding a withdrawal from Muslim territories. He also mentioned (likely as a threat) the Third Battle of Panipat that occurred a year earlier, when he defeated the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

in northern India. Subsequently, Ahmad Shah sent troops to Khokand and

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

(probably as a precaution) in case of a Qing attack; however according to Russian records the Afghans had a coordinated plan to attack Chinese territory. Chinese troops were also at

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...

ready for a potential war with the Afghans. Horse Lingkunbai

War between Afghanistan and China however did not break out. In a change of mood, the Afghans sent an envoy to Beijing gifting four splendid horses to emperor Qianlong in 1763. The horses became the subject of Giuseppe Castiglione's series of paintings, ''

Four Afghan Steeds ''Four Afghan Steeds'' (Chinese: 爱乌罕四骏图) is a series of four portraits of Afghan horses donated to Emperor Qianlong of China in 1763 by Emir Ahmad Shah of Afghanistan, and painted on a silk roll by the Milanese Jesuit missionary Gius ...

''. However, the envoy failed to make a good impression to Qianlong after refusing to perform the '' kowtow'', a bow to the emperor that was customary for visitors as a sign of respect. The Qing courts viewed the Afghans as troublemakers and discouraged Ahmad Shah from sending more envoys, pointing out that other visiting Muslim envoys as well as Russian and European ones had performed the bow. Qianlong further disapproved the Durrani conquests of India in a letter, in which he also demonstrated himself to Ahmad Shah by saying that he was: Later that decade, Ahmad Shah together with the

Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara (or Khanate of Bukhoro) ( fa, , Khānāt-e Bokhārā; ) was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1500 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its ...

invaded

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

and killed its ruler Sultan Shah for betraying

Khojas The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India. Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajp ...

to the Qing. Qianlong did not intervene to save Sultan Shah from the Afghans.

20th century

Sino-Afghan relations remained ambiguous in the early part of the 20th century, with mainly opium and horses being traded between the border.''China and Afghanistan'', Gerald Segal, Asian Survey, Vol. 21, No. 11 (Nov., 1981), University of California Press

World War II

Chinese Muslims fought against Japan in World War II. In order to gain war support for China from Muslim countries,

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

Muslim Ma Fuliang (馬賦良) and Uyghur Muslim

Isa Yusuf Alptekin Isa Yusuf Alptekin or ʿĪsa Yūsuf Alptekin ( (عيسى يوسف الپتگین or عيسى يوسف الپتكین); Turkish: İsa Yusuf Alptekin; ; 1901 – 17 December 1995), known in China as Ai Sha (), was a Uyghur politician who served t ...

visited Egypt, Syria, and Turkey in 1939. The

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n leaders

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter ...

and Gandhi and Pakistani leader Jinnah both discussed the war with the Chinese Muslim delegation led by Ma Fuliang. In Turkey

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

met with the Chinese Muslim delegation. Newspapers in China reported the visit. Ma Fuliang and Isa were working for Zhu Jiahua. The bombardment of Chinese Muslims by the warplanes of the Japanese was reported in the newspapers of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Afghanistan,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon were all toured by the Chinese delegation. The Foreign Minister, Prime Minister, and President of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

met with the Chinese Muslim delegation after they came via Egypt in May 1939. Gandhi and Jinnah met with the Hui Ma Fuliang and Uyghur Isa Alptekin as they denounced Japan.

Early Cold War and creation of PRC

The Kingdom of Afghanistan recognized the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in January 1950, although diplomatic relations did not begin until January 20, 1955. Abdul Samad was the first Afghan Ambassador posted to Peking in 1955. Afghanistan was also one of the first countries to recognize the PRC.

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

and Vice Premier He Long visited Afghanistan in January 1957. This was the first ever visit taken by Chinese leadership to Afghanistan in the history of Sino-Afghan relations. During the visit, the Chinese Premier and Vice Premier met with King Mohammad Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, and held respective talks with

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mohammad Daud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...

Vice Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Ali Mohammed and Vice Prime Minister and

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Mr.

Mohammad Naim Mohammad Naim Sheikh (born 22 August 1999) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his international debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in November 2019. Domestic career Naim made his List A debut for Legends of Rupganj in the 2017–18 Dhaka Pr ...

. The Chinese Premier's visit to Afghanistan enhanced mutual understanding between the two countries and laid a solid foundation for the development of friendly relations between China and Afghanistan. In October 1957, Prime Minister Mohammad Daud of Afghanistan visited China under China's invitation. During the visit, he held meetings with Chairman Mao Zedong, Vice Chairman Zhu De and Chairman

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and C ...

of the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

. China's lack of support for Afghan claims in Pakistan's

Pashtunistan Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...

was disapproved by Kabul, and the Sino-Soviet split (with Afghanistan being close to the Soviet Union) was also a negative; however relations remained generally positive. Trade pacts as well as a treaty of friendship and non-aggression were signed between the two nations in 1960. On 22 November 1963 Beijing and Kabul signed the

Boundary Treaty Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film *Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pla ...

. This treaty settled the territorial dispute over the Afghan-controlled Wakhan on the border between

Badakhshan Province Badakhshan Province (Persian/ Uzbek: , ''Badaxšān'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower ...

in Afghanistan and the

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

in China. The China-Afghanistan border is 92.45 kilometers long.

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

Following the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution or Sowr Revolution ( ps, د ثور انقلاب; prs, إنقلاب ثور), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ...

in Afghanistan, China reacted negatively to the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA),, renamed the Republic of Afghanistan, in 1987, was the Afghan state during the one-party rule of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) from 1978 to 1992. The PDPA came to power ...

as it viewed it as a Soviet advance and a threat to its friendly relations with Iran and Pakistan. Beijing recognized the new government two weeks after the revolution. On 27 December 1979, Soviet troops were deployed in Afghanistan. On December 30, Chinese government made announcement condemning the Soviet military invasion, and refused to recognize the Soviet-backed Karmal government. The official relationship was stopped, and the Chinese embassy was degraded to representative office, and only dealt with consular and visa issues. During the Sino-Soviet split, strained relations between China and the USSR resulted in bloody border clashes and mutual backing for the opponent's enemies. China and Afghanistan had neutral relations with each other during the King's rule. When the pro-Soviet Afghan Communists seized power in Afghanistan in 1978, relations between China and the Afghan communists quickly turned hostile. The Afghan pro-Soviet communists supported China's then-enemy

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and blamed China for supporting Afghan anticommunist militants. China responded to the Soviet war in Afghanistan by supporting the Afghan mujahideen and ramping up their military presence near Afghanistan in Xinjiang. China acquired military equipment from America to defend itself from Soviet attack. By the early 1980s, China viewed Afghanistan as posing a moderately high risk because of its ties with the Soviet Union. Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan was one of the conditions pushed by China for any détente in China-Soviet relations. China saw the Soviet presence as a regional threat to itself (to prevent the USSR from encircling China) and a threat to its ally

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. With possible

support, China supplied weapons to Afghan guerrillas against the Soviet puppet government.

Post Soviet collapse (1991)

China distanced itself from Afghanistan following the rise of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

in the 1990s. China severed its diplomatic relationship with the Taliban and did not recognize the Taliban government. Concerned by the Taliban's connections to East Turkistan terrorist organizations, Chinese security concerns increased. China also feared that chaos in Afghanistan could spill across the countries' border. Motivated by its concerns about violence in Xinjiang, China sent a delegation to meet with the Taliban in early 1999. In November 2000, China's then ambassador to Pakistan, Lu Shulin, became the first senior representative of a non-Muslim country to meet with

Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of ...

21st century

For the past two decades, China has kept a low profile in Afghanistan, focusing more on resource and material mining than on peace brokering. However, since 2014 China has assumed an increased responsibility in maintaining regional stability.

Afghanistan war

After the fall of the Taliban regime after the

intervention in 2001, relations between China and Afghanistan had greatly improved and were reestablished. In December 2001, China sent to Afghanistan a working team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which attended the Afghan Interim Administration's foundation ceremony and sent a message of congratulations to President

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

. The establishment of Afghanistan's new government drew the two countries closer. In January 2002, President Karzai visited China, and met respectively with Chinese President

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...

and Premier

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji (; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003 and CCP Politburo Standing Committee member from 1992 to 2002 along with the Chinese Communist ...

. The two sides exchanged the notes of China providing 30 million yuan of emergent material aid and US$1 million in cash to Afghanistan. President Jiang Zemin announced that China would provide US$150 million-worth of assistance to Afghanistan for its reconstruction. The 30 million yuan of emergent material aid had been delivered to Kabul by the end of March 2002. The Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan was reopened on February 6. In May 2002, Chinese Foreign Minister

Tang Jiaxuan Tang Jiaxuan () (born January 17, 1938) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who was foreign minister of the People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world' ...

visited Afghanistan. During the visit, the Chinese Foreign Minister met with Hamid Karzai, Chairman of the Interim Administration of Afghanistan and ex-King Zahir, and held talks with his counterpart Mr. Abdullah Abdullah. The two sides signed the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation of US$30 million Chinese aid to Afghanistan. In November, Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah visited China. During his visit, the Chinese and Afghan sides exchanged the notes of China providing US$1 million of material aid to Afghanistan. In December, China, together with the other 5 neighboring countries of Afghanistan signed Kabul Declaration on Good Neighborly Relations, reaffirming its commitment to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and to continuously support Afghanistan's peace process and reconstruction. In February 2003, President Karzai passed through China twice. In May, the Vice President of Afghan Islamic Transitional Government Nematullah Sharhrani paid a working visit to China. During the visit he held talks with Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong and met with NPC Chairman

Wu Bangguo Wu Bangguo (born 12 July 1941) is a retired high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China. He was the Chairman and Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to ...

and Premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...

. The two sides signed three cooperative documents including the Agreement of Economic and Technical Cooperation, under which the Chinese Government provides US$15 million grant to the Afghan Government. After 2012, China began to occupy a more prominent place in China's foreign relations towards its neighboring countries, particularly under China's new neighborhood policy established during the early years of the

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

administration.

Chinese peacekeeping efforts

China expanded its peacemaking role in the Afghan war. Since 2017, foreign minister Wang Yi initiated

shuttle diplomacy In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...

between Pakistan and Afghanistan, who over the course of the war have accused each other of attacks and bombings. The three countries—China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan—have agreed to establish a trilateral dialogue forum and revive the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Contact Group on Afghanistan. Some claim the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor would be the most effective way to integrate Afghanistan into the regional

. To counter regional instability, China has since 2015 joined the Quadrilateral Coordination Group and the Moscow Format. In 2015, China hosted negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan officials in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi. In 2014 to 2018, China developed good ties with the Taliban by meeting them several times. The US has also stepped up negotiation efforts with the Taliban.

2021 US withdrawal and Taliban offensive

In 2021, following the

withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan The United States has conducted two withdrawals of United States troops from Afghanistan: *Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016), draw down of United States Armed Forces in the Afghanistan war *Withdrawal of United State ...

and the ensuing Taliban offensive, the Chinese government signaled its willingness to work with a new Taliban-led government. The Chinese government is concerned about the possibility of Taliban support for militants in

2022 earthquake

In June 2022, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed over 1,150 people and caused widespread destruction in southeastern Afghanistan. China participated in the humanitarian efforts by providing worth of humanitarian assistance for the affected. At least seven Chinese planes arrived to distribute aid. The Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan also provided 18 tons of supplies and to the Afghan Red Crescent Society. In a press conference, the Taliban thanked Chinese officials for the assistance.

Military cooperation

The Chinese

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

trained and supported the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan war. The training camps were moved from Pakistan into China itself. Anti-aircraft missiles, rocket launchers and machine guns, valued at hundreds of millions, were given to the mujahideen by the Chinese. Chinese military advisors and army troops were present with the Mujahidin during training. In September 2018, Afghanistan's Ambassador to China, Janan Mosazai, announced that China will train Afghan soldiers in China, joining plane crews already training in China.

Badakshan base

China is reportedly building a base for the

Afghan Armed Forces ("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah") , founded = 1997 , current_form = , branches = * Afghan Army * Afghan Air Force , headquarters = Kabul , website = , commander-in-chief ...

, with the goal of strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation. Per General Dawlat Waziri of the Ministry of Defense, China will cover all of the base's material and technical expenses. China wants to ensure stability of the region to counter the

East Turkistan Islamic Movement The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) or the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), formerly known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other names, is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Western China. Its stated goals ar ...

(ETIM). The ETIM has bases in Afghanistan, and China wants to prevent them from 'radicalizing' Uyghurs in Xinjiang and prevent them from carrying jihadist and terrorist attacks on the mainland. According to

Ferghana news The Ferghana Information Agency is a certified Russian media outlet, serving the central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental count ...

The Afghan delegation led by Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami visited China during which the parties agreed to build the base. Tariq Shah with his Chinese colleague General Chang Wanquan and other military officials discussed security issues and agreed to cooperate on fighting terrorism in the Afghan province of Badakhshan and the entire northern region.

According to General Amarhel of Afghanistan, many Chinese Uyghurs were seen receiving training from the

and

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

. In June 2014, at China's request, Pakistan launched a successful military counterattack against the Taliban in North Waziristan. The Taliban movement in North Pakistan allegedly hosted the ETIM. As of December 2017, China has promised to provide $85 million for Afghan army to create a 'mountain

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

' to defend the Afghan-Chinese border, a move welcomed by the Afghanistan military. According to Rupert Stone of ''

TRT World TRT World is a Turkish public broadcaster international news channel which broadcasts in English 24 hours a day, operated by the TRT and based in Taksim Square, Istıklal Avenue, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. It provides worldwide news and current affair ...

'',

Beijing has also been concerned about what they call the threat posed by Uighur and other terrorists using Afghanistan as a base for attacks against the Chinese mainland. In response, China has intensified security on its border, reportedly engaging in joint patrols with Afghan forces and building a base in Badakhshan province, while also launching the Quadrilateral Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism (QCCM) with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

Economic cooperation

Belt and Road Initiative participant map

China is Afghanistan's largest foreign investor. Since 2007 it has provided Afghanistan telecom equipment. China also purchased rare mineral rights, an investment the US supported. Since 2010, China has increased its economic aid and investment in Afghanistan, notably with announcement by Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) pledging $3.5 billion to develop

Aynak Aynak is a place in Afghanistan's Logar province, about 30 km south-southeast of Kabul. It is the site of a large copper deposit. See also * Mes Aynak Mes Aynak (Pashto/Persian: , meaning "little source of copper"), also called Mis Aina ...

Copper mines. China has since been mining copper outside of

. Between 2012 and 2013 China lent $240 million in aid and pledged a similar amount over the next four years. In 2016 the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding, with Beijing pledging at least $100 million to Kabul. In September 2016, the first direct train crossed from China to

Hairatan Hairatan ( prs, حیرتان; ps, حیراتان; Uzbek Cyrillic: Ҳайратон, Uzbek Latin: Hayraton) is a border town in northern Balkh Province of Afghanistan. The Hairatan dry port and border checkpoint is located in the eastern section ...

. There are also plans of air corridors between

Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...

and

. Since 2017 it has built fiber optic cables for Afghanistan. As of June 2018, China started extracting oil in the Amu Darya basin. In January 2023, Chinese oil extractor Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) signed its first major contract with the Taliban-led government worth US$150 million a year to further expand oil extraction from the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin language, Latin name or Greek ) is a major rive ...

basin and develop an oil reserve in the country's northern

Sar-e Pol Province Sar-e Pol, also spelled Sari Pul (Dari/Pashto: ), is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country. It borders Ghor and Bamyan to the south, Samangan to the east, Balkh and Jowzjan to the north, and Faryab ...

. The projects would create about 3000 jobs in the region. A Chinese mining company is also in talks to extend a resource contract over the continued operation of a copper mine in eastern Logar province.

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Success of China's BRI depends on the stability and success of China's neighbor Afghanistan. Afghanistan would fit nicely into the BRI, providing the shortest route between China and the Middle East, Persian gulf and Arabian sea; as well as helping develop and repair Afghanistan's infrastructure. Regional instability could threaten not just BRI but also the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). One major initiative is the ' Five-nations railway' linking China, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, with routes also connecting Afghanistan to Pakistan. The CPEC would be the most efficient way to integrate Afghanistan into the BRI, providing Afghanistan the most direct access to the sea via Pakistan. Despite enmity between Pakistan and

, with mutual Chinese cooperation, India has agreed to cooperate with Pakistan on the effort. China and India have cooperated on training Afghanistan diplomats in New Delhi as security is a common ground for the two countries. Both see al-Qaeda, ISIS-Khorasan, ETIM, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani Network, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) as threats to regional peace and prosperity. China has also cooperated with the US on increasing stability. According to Zhao Hong, Afghanistan also helps China implement its 'March West' strategy to 'expand economic and strategic influence in Central Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.' Zhu Yongbiao also sees China playing an increased role in the region in the near future.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan

Embassy of Afghanistan in Beijing, China

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanistan-China relations

Bilateral relations of China