China's Role in Post-Occupation Afghanistan and Prospects for U.S.-China Ties

With the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan approaching, the United States and China must put their differences aside and cooperate on building a stable Afghanistan.
This past September, Zhou Yongkang - at the time Beijing’s top security official - paid a visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, in the first visit by a senior Chinese leader in over 46 years. This move came as part of an effort by both countries to promote increased Chinese involvement in Afghanistan. Thus far, this partnership has produced a pledge from the Chinese government to provide security assistance to the Afghan government, including training for 300 police officers, in return for Chinese oil exploration and mining contracts.The United States, approaching its 2014 deadline for withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan, has ample reason to welcome this development. In spite of an almost 12-year occupation and counter-insurgency campaign by U.S. and NATO forces, Afghanistan’s security remains precarious, primarily due to the Taliban’s resilience and the country's porous border with neighboring Pakistan. Meanwhile, China’s rise has increased tensions with its neighbors in East Asia and prompted an enlarged U.S. military presence in the Pacific that threatens to set off a competitive spiral between the two powers.Their issues in Asia notwithstanding, China and the United States share an interest in a stable Afghanistan. The United States is concerned with a renewed base of operations for global terrorists and instability in Pakistan. China hopes for increased access to natural resources, and it harbors concerns over potential spillover into its volatile Xinjiang province. Furthermore, China and the United States have an interest in mitigating their growing security competition in East Asia. A strengthened partnership in a post-conflict Afghanistan can provide the two powers with an opportunity to build trust and cooperation on security issues.Throughout the Afghan war, the United States and its allies routinely expressed a desire for China to contribute more to the international effort. However, Chinese officials, while maintaining general support for U.S. and NATO objectives, eschewed involvement in an Afghanistan dominated by Western forces. Now that U.S. and NATO involvement is receding, China is poised to reap the benefits of a stable, Afghan-governed Afghanistan.The United States and China are currently cooperating in a limited fashion on Afghanistan’s political transition. For example, in May of 2012 the three countries agreed on a program by which Chinese and U.S. diplomats train their less-experienced Afghan counterparts.Political initiatives aside, the United States, China, and Afghanistan would benefit substantially more through security initiatives. For example, while the United States has been seriously burdened in trying to train the whole of the Afghan security forces, a cooperative training program run by the United States and China, or by the United States and the Chinese-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization, would offer increased resources and personnel, leading to a much greater impact.The United States should encourage Chinese assistance for Afghanistan’s domestic security. To accomplish this, U.S. leaders must facilitate Chinese participation in international conferences on Afghanistan’s future, including the upcoming NATO Summit scheduled for this June in Budapest. Similarly, the United States and its allies should support a greater role for Afghanistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which currently only accords it observer status.In an age of global economic interdependence and transnational threats, the United States and China need to cooperate on security issues. Although this cooperation is threatened by each side’s mistrust of the other’s intentions, a partnership in Afghanistan can build trust and lay the groundwork for a more productive U.S.-China relationship over the long term.

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