China Appoints New Ambassador to Afghanistan’s Taliban Government

An Afghan flag waves in the wind. Credit South Asian Voices.

By Valli Pendyala

Taliban officials welcomed newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador Zhao Sheng in Kabul, Afghanistan in a lavish ceremony on September 13, celebrating China as one of the few countries maintaining a diplomatic relationship with the Taliban government.

This latest move from China continues its long history of diplomatic and economic ties with Afghanistan from before and after the Taliban government established control in 2021. In January 2023, Chinese firm Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company (CAPEIC) signed a deal with the Taliban government to extract oil from Afghanistan’s Amu Darya Basin. Afghanistan also recently decided to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which will better connect China and Afghanistan’s economies. Zhao’s appointment—the first ambassador to Afghanistan with full diplomatic credentials following the advent of the Taliban government—is the latest in a series of moves designed to align Afghanistan more closely to China.

China’s increased interests in Central Asia and the power vacuum created by the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 make Afghanistan the perfect place to establish new trade routes outside of the increasingly volatile South China Sea. In a September message following his appointment, Zhao stated in a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan, “The Chinese Embassy is committed to deepening practical cooperation [with Afghanistan] in various fields under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and promoting the sustained, healthy and steady development of China-Afghanistan relations.”

 At the same time, he vowed to “never [interfere] in Afghanistan's internal affairs, never [seek] selfish interests in Afghanistan, and never [pursue] so-called sphere[s] of influence,” in that same message.

China continues to play a balancing game with Afghanistan. It seeks to improve economic ties while also stamping out Uyghur dissension, which has long had a base in Afghanistan. Yet, China maintains that it has no interest in making Afghanistan a sphere of influence. 

Despite Chinese ambitions, continued wariness from Afghanistan will likely continue, per Al-Jazeera. China’s questionable history of economic investment in Afghan oil, gas, and copper mining resulted in a failed billion-dollar deal with CAPEIC’s parent company, China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), and an undeveloped mine. Therefore, the future of Chinese-Afghan relations likely depends on China’s abilities to profit from the new oil extraction venture and to maintain its facade of impartiality while pursuing its strategic goals and interests.