China the economic rival? NOPE. This is FOR REAL. China and the Taliban

GERTZ:

Holbrooke hits the wall: Beijing said to have covert ties with Taliban

U.S. special envoy Richard C. Holbrooke is trying to convince China to help the United States pacify Afghanistan, but the effort has been rejected by Beijing, which views U.S. problems in Southwest Asia as benefitting its strategy of weakening America, according to U.S. sources.

Holbrooke has tried on several occasions to win Chinese support for both civilian and military efforts in Afghanistan but the appeals have fallen on deaf years.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, left, and U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke speak to the media while visiting the Krtsanisi military base, outside Tbilisi, on Feb. 22. AP/David Mdzinarishvili

An intelligence source said the Chinese have had long-standing ties to the Taliban dating to the late 1990s, when Beijing was constructing a fiber optic telephone system for the Taliban when they ruled in Kabul, and also several factories.

The source said the Chinese are not interested in defeating the Taliban and are only concerned about Islamist terrorism in western Xinjiang province. As long as the Taliban do not assist Uighur terrorists there then Beijing will continue to back them, the source said.

China also has a multi-billion dollar mining deal in Afghanistan. The China Metallurgical Group Corporation, a state-owned conglomerate, is investing $3.4 billion to develop the strategic copper deposits in Afghanistan near the village of Aynak.

The deal was given to China rather than U.S. or Canadian mining firms because of corruption within the Afghan government, sources said.

China also has ignored NATO calls to open the strategic Wakhjir Pass connecting Xinjiang and Afghanistan with the eastern end of the Wakhan Corridor.

Beijing’s refusal to help the United States provide security for Afghanistan is in keeping with Beijing’s long-term strategy that the United State is a declining power and also China’s efforts to support that decline by backing U.S. adversaries.

Related articles by Zemanta

• China looking to become dominant military power (tech.bl0x.info)
• When You Treat India Like a Stranger and China Like a Friend...: (brothersjuddblog.com)
• Loading more related articles...

Continue reading China the economic rival? NOPE. This is FOR REAL. China and the Taliban.