One Year After US Troops Withdrawal, China & Afghanistan Step up Cooperation in Agriculture and Mining

According to experts China and Afghanistan can build up strong cooperation in the agriculture and mining sector, where both the countries are complementary in terms of technical advantages and resources.

Since the completion of one year of US troops’ withdrawal in August, China is playing a pivotal role in helping Afghanistan to grow its economy and improve Afghans’ livelihood, experts said.

Pine nuts air corridor was established jointly by China and Afghanistan which resumed trade flows benefiting Afghan farmers and also provided other humanitarian assistance including food and winter supplies to needy Afghans.  Other investment and cooperative projects offered by Chinese business groups, the rapid and fruitful ties between the two governments and people throughout the year exemplified how practical and unconditional cooperation has brought about tangible results for the peaceful rebuilding of a war-ravaged country, experts said.

One significant milestone of economic and trade relations between China and Afghanistan was the opening of the "pine nut air corridor," which reflects an important bond of friendship between the two countries as Wang Yu, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, said.

Discussions on mining project cooperation are also taking place. A month ago, an Afghan government official from the mining sector had a meeting with the representative of Chinese mining company Metallurgical Group Corp, the company that is looking after the Aynak copper project, during which both sides had a conversation about the recent developments, and technical, financial and land acquisition issues regarding the Aynak project, according to the ministry.

While the project was put on hold due to regional instability and some other issues, experts believe that there is great potential that the cooperation could offer once the conditions are met, given that "Afghanistan is rich in high-quality copper ore and other raw materials while China's technology and infrastructure capability enables these materials to be well exploited," Yan said. These raw materials are also imperative resources for industry supply chains.

According to media reports the mine is believed to be the world’s second-largest in terms of high-quality copper ore deposits which is 5.5 million metric tons.

China has high prospects for the country's future development, so dragon signed in April a deal with the new Afghan government about building an industry park in Kabul.

"This project should be the first infrastructure construction project signed by the new Afghan government and a Chinese company, creating a model for Chinese companies to enter Afghanistan and participate in the reconstruction process," Li said.