China’s Oil Production Deal With Afghanistan Is Mutually Beneficial

China’s Oil Production Deal With Afghanistan Is Mutually Beneficial

By Andrew Korybko

What Afghanistan urgently needs isn’t more lectures about its internal affairs or military threats, but someone credible like China who sincerely believes in its people’s ability to reconstruct their country.

Thursday saw tangible progress in rebuilding the Afghan economy after that country signed an oil production deal with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company. Bloomberg quoted Acting Minister Of Mines and Petroleum Shahabuddin Delawar who said that China “will invest as much as $150 million in the first year and $540 million over the subsequent three years to explore five oil and gas blocks.” Afghanistan will also “earn 15% royalty fees from the 25-year contract.”

Although China doesn’t formally recognize its partner’s de facto Taliban leaders, it nevertheless continues to pragmatically engage with them as proven by the latest development. Their oil production deal is mutually…