China Is ‘Our Main Partner,’ Says Taliban Spokesperson

A Taliban spokesperson has praised Beijing as a “main partner” and financer as the group moves to build a national governance and develop Afghanistan’s economy.

“China is our main partner and represents for us a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity because it is willing to invest and rebuild our country,” Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told the Italian newspaper la Repubblica on Sept. 1.

Mujahid made the remarks as the militant group, which took over Afghanistan in dramatic fashion last month, celebrated the final withdrawal of American troops from the country, putting an end to a 20-year-long conflict.

But money has become a pressing concern for the Taliban after the United States blocked the group from accessing billions of Afghan assets held in U.S. bank accounts, while the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have each suspended funding to Afghanistan.

With cash running short, the Taliban appears to place its bet on Beijing, which in recent days have signaled readiness to build ties with the group—although it has yet to formally recognize the Taliban regime.

Mujahid said the Taliban was “very keen” on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a billion-dollar infrastructure project championed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that aims to expand the regime’s economic and political clout worldwide. While Afghanistan is a formal member of BRI, no projects have started under the plan.

The spokesperson also referenced China’s currently dormant investment in a copper mine development project in the country. “We also have rich copper mines that, thanks to the Chinese, will be able to come back to life and be modernized,” Mujahid said.

China, he added, “is our gateway to markets around the world.”

I don't know anyone who is ‘clamoring’ for an electric car.

On my level, we're all afraid that we won't be able to buy gasoline cars.

I am sorry... I should have stated this more clearly. Consumers are not primarily the ones clamoring for electric cars, but governments all over the world are. They are attempting to force them down the throats of consumers with mandates and “incentives”. As an example England is banning the sale of all non-electric vehicles by 2035, the European Union is planning the same thing. California is doing the same thing in this country. Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington are all following in California's wake.

Incentives have been astronomical in some cases. Very expensive cars have been purchased for much less than their original list price when government incentives are added in. Do you believe that gasoline prices going up this past year are an unintended result of stupidity or something meant to encourage people to switch to cars which use less or no gasoline?

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