China–Afghanistan Geoeconomic Cooperation and Regional Economic Integration During the Taliban Period (2021–2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31947/hjirs.v6i2.48504Keywords:
China–Afghanistan Relations, Geoeconomics, Taliban, CPEC, Regional Economic IntegrationAbstract
China’s engagement with Afghanistan entered a new phase after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, prompting Beijing to recalibrate its westward geoeconomic strategy. This article examines how China seeks to advance regional economic integration during the Taliban period (2021–2025) through a combination of geoeconomic instruments, security–development logic, and corridor-based connectivity. Using qualitative analysis supported by secondary data, the study evaluates China’s post-2021 diplomatic initiatives, including trilateral mechanisms with Pakistan, exploratory infrastructure cooperation, and renewed interest in extending the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and assessing the feasibility of the Wakhan Corridor. Findings show that the Taliban’s diplomatic shift from isolation in the 1990s to pragmatic engagement today, creates new opportunities for China’s integration agenda, particularly as the group publicly supports regional connectivity and foreign investment. However, significant structural constraints persist, including fragmented governance, militant threats, contractual instability such as the collapse of the CAPEIC oil deal, and competing regional interests. The article concludes that while China views Afghanistan as a strategic land bridge linking South and Central Asia, the realisation of corridor-based integration remains limited by Afghanistan’s institutional and security environment.
References
Ali, G. (2022). China–Pakistan cooperation on Afghanistan: assessing key interests and implementing strategies. Pacific Review, 35(3), 506–528. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2020.1845228
Amir, F. (2016). CPEC and Regional Integration. The Pakistan Development Review, 579–596. Islamabad: Pakistan Development Review.
Anosh, A. H. (2025). Afghanistan and China : A Perspective on Geopolitical Relations and Strategic Interests. Social Science and Humanity, 2(2), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijss.v2i2.335
Azzani, A. D. (2025). TOWARDS ALL-UNDER-HEAVEN: CHINA’S GEOECONOMIC STRATEGY IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional, 27(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.7454/global.v27i1.1314
Breslin, S., & Nesadurai, H. E. S. (2023). Economic statecraft, geoeconomics and regional political economies. Pacific Review, 36(5), 927–948. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2023.2200030
Ebrahim, Z. (2022, September 14). Extension of CPEC to Afghanistan could link infrastructure across continent. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from Dialogue Earth website: https://dialogue.earth/en/business/extension-of-cpec-to-afghanistan-could-link-infrastructure-across-continent/
Fazli, A. A., Habib, K. A., Moaz, M. H., & Ayoubi, M. S. (2025). The Political Relations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and China: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of Social and Political Sciences, 8(1), 52–65. https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1991.08.01.545
Frayer, J. M. (2021, September 6). For China, Taliban rule in Afghanistan brings both opportunity and risk. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from NBC News website: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-taliban-rule-afghanistan-brings-both-opportunity-risk-n1278553
Godek, S. (2025, May 27). China’s Shifting Landscape in Afghanistan. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from South Asian Voices website: https://southasianvoices.org/geo-f-n-oth-china-shifting-landscape-afghanistan-05-27-25/
Hashemi, F. (2025). China’s Security and Policy Towards the Taliban: Evolution in Approaches After August 2021. Central Eurasia Studies, 18(1), 391–416. https://doi.org/10.22059/JCEP.2025.387397.450286
Hettne, B. (2010). Development and security: Origins and future. Security Dialogue, 41(1), 31–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010609357040
Hussain, T., Abbas, S., Islam, R., Ullah, H., Asim, O. A., Aslam, M., & Ullah, N. (2025). China’s Engagement with the Taliban Government: Realpolitik or Geo-economics? Dialogue Social Science Review, 3(4), 619–637.
Kuhn, A., & Ni, V. (2025, August 29). Contract breach or banditry? Inside the collapse of the Taliban’s oil deal with China. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from National Public Radio website: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/29/g-s1-85902/oil-china-taliban-contract-breach-dispute-afghanistan
Kumar, A., & Ramachandran, V. (2024). China’s Afghan Odyssey: From War to Prosperity in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan. China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, 10(3), 309–336. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2377740024500143
Kumar, A., & Ramachandran, V. (2025). China-Taliban Security Ties: A Reimagining of South Asia’s Security Discourse. Journal of Strategic Security, 18(2), 178–199. https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.18.2.2406
Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. (2024). Guide for Foreign Investment and Cooperation: Afghanistan (2024 Edition) [对外投资合作国别(地区)指南 阿富汗 (2024年版)].
Ministry of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of China. (2022, April 1). The Tunxi Initiative of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistanon Supporting Economic Reconstruction in and Practical Cooperation with Afghanistan. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from Ministry of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of China website: https://www.mfa.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbzhd/202204/t20220401_10662024.html
Ministry of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of China. (2025, May 21). Wang Yi on the Outcomes of the Trilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from Ministry of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of China website: https://www.mfa.gov.cn//mfa_eng/wjbzhd/202505/t20250521_11629994.html
Nan, H. (2025, October 2). Beijing walks the line on Taliban engagement. Retrieved November 15, 2025, from East Asia Forum website: https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/10/02/beijing-walks-the-line-on-taliban-engagement/
Rahman, M. N., Iqbal, B. A., & Pan, X. (2025). Legal and Strategic Cooperation between China and Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities through the Wakhan Corridor. Journal of East Asia and International Law, 18(1), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2025.18.1.09
Rasooli, M., Yawar, M. E., Sharify, A. J., & Haqyar, E. (2023). China-Afghanistan Relations: Change to the Path of Strategic Partnership. Akademik Tarih ve Dusunce Dergisi, 10(6), 2603–2627. https://doi.org/10.46868/atdd.2023.606
Rehaiem, J. B. H. (2025). The China-Taliban old-new connection: The BRI, above and beyond. Asia and the Global Economy, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aglobe.2025.100113
Sarbiland, H., & Stanikzai, I. U. (2024). China-Afghanistan Relations And The Wakhan Corridor: Assessing Economic Interests, Infrastructural Development, And Geopolitical Implications. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(6), 3514–3520. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i6.5097
Shahzad, A. (2022). Geoeconomics: The New Geopolitics. Policy Perspectives, 19(2), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.13169/polipers.19.2.ra2
Verma, R. (2023). Taliban 2.0 and China’s Counterterrorism Diplomacy in Afghanistan. Middle East Policy, 30(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/mepo.12677
Yawar, M. E. (2024). Investigating the Political, Economic and Geopolitical Role of Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Law and Humanities Quarterly Reviews, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1996.03.01.101
