The Taliban, which governs Afghanistan, has completed a road leading to the border with China after nearly three years of effort, but reports indicate that China has yet to open the border crossing.
According to the Central Asia-focused media outlet Times of Central Asia (TCA), the Taliban held an inauguration ceremony on October 4 for a 121-kilometer unpaved road connecting the Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan to the Chinese border. The road construction, which began at the end of 2023, cost a total of 365 million Afghanis (approximately $4.6 million). The Taliban has reportedly invested significant effort into this road to expand direct trade with China and reduce reliance on trade with Pakistan.
The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow, mountainous region that connects northeastern Afghanistan to China's western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Once part of the ancient Silk Road, it is considered one of the most inaccessible areas in the world, with most of its elevation exceeding 4,000 meters. This region is also the only area where Afghanistan and China share a border. The Wahjhir Pass, located at an elevation of about 4,920 meters, is controlled by China, which has installed barbed wire and surveillance facilities to monitor the border.
Despite the Taliban's completion of the road, there has been little response from the Chinese side. Reports indicate that no Chinese officials attended the inauguration ceremony on October 4, and the Chinese government has not announced any plans to open the border crossing.
There have also been reports of Taliban members receiving warnings to withdraw from the Chinese border guards. According to Afghan media outlet Afghanistan International, a video surfaced on social media on October 20, purportedly showing Chinese border guards warning Taliban members to leave a restricted area. The video confirmed the presence of China's border control facilities, including barbed wire, surveillance cameras, and security posts.
China's reluctance to open the border is believed to stem from Afghanistan's unstable security situation. In Badakhshan Province, where the Wakhan Corridor is located, clashes between the Taliban and anti-Taliban armed groups have continued this year. China is particularly wary of the potential for armed groups advocating for independence or operating in Xinjiang to infiltrate across the border.
Attacks targeting Chinese workers have also heightened China's security concerns. In late November of last year, two attacks originating from Afghan territory resulted in the deaths of five Chinese nationals in Tajikistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan.
Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban has sought to expand economic cooperation with China. They have focused on securing land trade routes to diversify trade routes concentrated in Pakistan and to break free from international isolation. However, with China maintaining a cautious stance on border openings, it seems unlikely that the newly completed road will be utilized for trade between the two countries in the near future.
According to Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Afghanistan Research Center at Lanzhou University in China, the security and financial burdens associated with opening the border outweigh the economic benefits, making it highly unlikely that China will open the crossing anytime soon.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.