Editorial: China’s Deepening Influence in Afghanistan Costs Freedom

On Wednesday, September 13, Zhao Xing, the new Chinese Ambassador presented his credentials to Hassan Akhund, the Taliban’s prime minister in Kabul. Since the group’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, this is the first time a country has sent a new permanent diplomatic representative to Kabul. The move further shows the growing irrelevance of the Western position to not recognize the Taliban regime. It also exemplifies China’s increasing role in Afghanistan, taking advantage of the void left by the U.S. and NATO’s hasty withdrawal.

For the past two years, much has been debated about ways the world could handle the crisis in Afghanistan. On the one hand, there is a humanitarian and economic crisis expanding with potential repercussions for the region and the world. The spillover effects of the disaster, primarily in the form of refugee outflux to neighboring countries and eventually to Europe, necessitate much of the Western world to try to ensure the economy remains minimally afloat. On the other hand, the country’s de facto rulers, the Taliban, continue to engage in an ever-expansive campaign of human rights violations, oppression of women and non-Pashtun ethnoreligious groups, and other democratic forces. The regime pays little heed to the priorities or demands of the outside world. While the Western world provides humanitarian aid through UN agencies and a weekly shipment of cash transfers, it has repeatedly said that recognition of the Taliban government remains out of question.