BEIJING/KABUL: China has declined to open the Wakhan Corridor to Afghanistan, holding firm that its border will stay closed until its security concerns are addressed. The decision is a significant setback for the Taliban regime, which had hoped for a new trade link with its eastern neighbour.
The report comes from the Afghan outlet Atlas Press News Agency. It also points to a wider problem: the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil under the Taliban regime has affected the security of neighbouring countries.
According to the Afghan publication, Beijing did not attend the opening ceremony for the Wakhan road. It has also not formally recognised the project at the diplomatic level.
The absence sends a clear signal. A road may exist on the Afghan side, but China has not endorsed it as an official crossing.
The report says border security is the main concern for China. Beijing views the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as a threat to Xinjiang, its western region that shares a frontier with Afghanistan through the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Until those worries ease, the Afghan outlet says, China is unwilling to allow movement across the border.
Zhu Yongbiao, a Chinese scholar of international affairs, offered a sober assessment. He said the chances of the Wakhan crossing opening are extremely slim.
His reasoning is economic as much as political. In his view, trade with Afghanistan offers China limited benefits, while the security risks and the costs of managing them are considerably higher. For now, the Wakhan Corridor remains closed to trade, and the Taliban regime’s hopes of a direct route to China appear to be on hold.
