see url:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/china-has-a-big-plan-for-post-us-afghanistan-and-its-worth-billions
see full story...That's the belt and road policy for you...Where the USG
fears to tread, the Chinese are pleased to trade...😉 Perhaps if the USG
had done that in the first place instead of going to war the outcome
would have been a lot different...
Quote<<<
KARACHI, PAKISTAN—As the U.S. exits Afghanistan, Beijing is preparing to
swoop into the war-torn country and fill the vacuum left by the departed
U.S. and NATO troops.
China is poised to make an exclusive entry into post-U.S. Afghanistan
with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Speaking on condition of
anonymity, a source close to government officials in Afghanistan told
The Daily Beast that Kabul authorities are growing more intensively
engaged with China on an extension of the $62 billion China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC)—the flagship project of BRI, which involves the
construction of highways, railways and energy pipelines between Pakistan
and China—to Afghanistan.
American troops exited the main and final U.S. military base in
Afghanistan on Friday, and though the initial withdrawal date was slated
for Sept. 11, security officials told Reuters that the majority of
troops would be out by July 4.
According to another source privy to conversations between Beijing and
Kabul, one of the specific projects on the table is the construction of
a China-backed major road between Afghanistan and Pakistan's
northwestern city of Peshawar, which is already linked with the CPEC
route. “There is a discussion on a Peshawar-Kabul motorway between the
authorities in Kabul and Beijing,” the source told The Daily Beast on
condition of anonymity. “Linking Kabul with Peshawar by road means
Afghanistan’s formal joining of CPEC.”
In other words: The Afghan government, behind the scenes, is welcoming
China immediately after saying goodbye to America.
China has been keen on extending its BRI to Afghanistan, and has been
asking Kabul to join it for at least half a decade. But the U.S-backed
Afghan government was hesitant to join BRI for fear it could raise
eyebrows in Washington.
>>>End of Quote
