[Epoch Times September 15, 2021](Epoch Times reporters Winnie and Wang Jiayi reported in Hong Kong) The Taliban, who had recently seized power, hoped that the CCP would help rebuild Afghanistan, but the CCP was very dissatisfied with its aggressive invitation to South Korea to mine lithium mines. The Taliban then asked the CCP to help develop copper mines, which made the CCP overjoyed. Some scholars believe that the CCP said that the Taliban were “treacherous”, indicating that the two sides have an agreement behind the scenes.
Afghanistan, a war-torn country for many years, is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to statistics from the World Bank, Afghanistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 is 19.807 billion US dollars, and the per capita GDP is only 508.8 US dollars. Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani revealed last year that 90% of the Afghan population lives on less than US$2 a day.
The Taliban, which announced the establishment of a new government on September 7, urgently need to rebuild Afghanistan. According to Chinese media reports, the Taliban have repeatedly made “goodwill” expressions to the CCP, praised the CCP as a “great neighbor”, and hoped that the CCP would assist in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
According to the 2017-2018 Mineral Yearbook (Afghanistan) issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey in December last year, Afghanistan has bauxite, copper, iron, lithium (spodumene) and rare earth deposits. However, the report said that due to the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan, political instability and lack of infrastructure in recent years, most of these mineral resources have not been developed.
US military officials and geologists revealed in 2010 that Afghanistan has mineral deposits worth nearly $1 trillion. According to some surveys conducted by the Ministry of Minerals and Petroleum of Afghanistan in 2017, Afghanistan’s mineral resources may be as high as US$3 trillion, which is enough to compensate for the cost of war.
In response to the Yonhap News Agency interview on August 23, the Taliban said that the new Afghan government is willing to establish strong relations with South Korea, including economic exchanges. The Taliban stated that Afghanistan has natural mineral resources such as lithium, while South Korea leads the development of the global electronics manufacturing industry. It is believed that both parties can achieve mutual benefit and win-win results in this field.
This news made the Chinese Communist Party very dissatisfied. Many Chinese portals have condemned the Taliban for “treacherously”, saying that they “showed their favor to China on the surface, but secretly handed over trillions of lithium mines to South Korea for mining.”
Lithium is the main material of lithium-ion batteries and is playing an increasingly important role in smart phones, laptop computers and electric vehicles. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with the global clean energy transition, by 2040, the demand for lithium under the sustainable development scenario will increase by 40%.
On the 13th of this month, Gao Fengyi, a current political commentator living in Japan, analyzed in a telephone interview with Epoch Times that the CCP wanted to seize the minerals in Afghanistan, but after the Taliban invited South Korea to mine lithium mines, the CCP’s media called it “treacherous”, indicating that the CCP is in it. There is an agreement with the Taliban behind.
Gao Fengyi said that the Taliban wanted to establish a country and hoped to be recognized by Western governments. South Korea is an ally of the United States. It hopes to establish relations with South Korea. On the one hand, it does not want to be hostile to the United States. On the other hand, it hopes to develop the economy through cooperation with South Korea.
China is overjoyed by the Taliban’s surrender of copper mines
Chinese media recently reported that the Taliban are preparing to let the CCP develop copper mines. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference on September 6 that the CCP is its “most important partner” and hopes that Beijing will help rebuild Afghanistan and develop copper mines, and reiterated its support for the CCP. “One Belt One Road” initiative.
Netease, a Chinese portal site that once yelled at the Taliban for “treacherous”, yelled “good news from heaven” excitedly on September 12! It said that the Taliban had presented a “super gift” to the CCP and “resolved China’s urgent need.”
In fact, the CCP has already had mining cooperation with Afghanistan before. In May 2008, China Metallurgical Corporation and its investment consortium won the bid for the mining rights of the Aynak copper mine near Kabul for US$2.898 billion. However, the project has been delayed due to various reasons such as wars and epidemics, and so far has not produced any output.
The Aynak copper mine is located in the central-eastern part of Afghanistan. According to Chinese media reports, the mine’s proven ore volume amounts to 705 million tons, with an average copper content of 1.56%, and a copper metal content of 11 million tons. It is an extra-large copper deposit.
Analysis: The same gangs use each other in the towers
Yang Si, a current political commentator with a double Ph.D. degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Tokyo, also accepted an interview with Epoch Times on the 13th of this month. He said that the problem facing the Taliban is that it wants to whitewash itself and its underworld background. It knows that a country cannot always kill people. It needs Western governments to accept it.
When it comes to the relationship between the Taliban and the CCP, Yang Si believes that both are gang organizations and they are using each other. He said that the Taliban knew very well that the CCP was using it.
Yang Si further stated, “The gangs have no credibility with each other. They are on guard against each other. The Taliban are afraid of the CCP’s annexation of it, leaving one hand behind and playing balance with the CCP; while the CCP is worried that the Taliban betrayed it (supporting East Turkistan) because of their beliefs. Opposition, as a neighboring country, there are conflicts of interests.”
Regarding the Taliban’s cooperation with South Korea and the CCP at the same time, Yang Si said that on the one hand, the Taliban’s cooperation with South Korea is due to South Korea’s well-formed technology, which can make great profits; on the other hand, the Taliban handed over copper mines to the CCP. I hope the CCP can continue to support it behind the scenes, but it does not want to be controlled by the CCP.
Gao Fengyi also believes that the Taliban does not trust the CCP, so they don’t want to give all the benefits to the CCP, just don’t want to be controlled by the CCP; but from the current situation, it can’t offend the CCP, so it gives the copper mines to it. @
Editor in charge: Shao Yi
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