After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the Afghan economy is still difficult to change its single structure. Coupled with the drug ban issued by the Taliban, new economic sources are urgently needed. In order to find a new way out, the Taliban focused on the Wakhan Corridor, hoping that the opening of this corridor would provide new economic growth points for Afghanistan and promote trade between the Taliban and the international community.

But this hallway,300 kilometers are in Afghanistan and 100 kilometers are in China. If you want to open up, you must obtain China's consent.

(Taliban reception of Turkish and U.N. officials in the Vahan corridor)

To this end, the Taliban side has made many requests to the Chinese side in recent years. After taking power in 2021, the Taliban side has met with Chinese ambassadors and representatives many times and actively proposed the opening of the Wakhan Corridor, hoping to establish a direct trade route, which is regarded as a priority.

Last year, the Taliban attended the "the belt and road initiative" ministerial meeting for the first time, stressing once again that once the Wakhan Corridor is put into use, it will greatly promote Sino-Arab economic cooperation, and implicitly hopes that China will nod as soon as possible.

However, not long ago, Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Afghanistan and held a trilateral foreign ministers 'meeting between Afghanistan and Afghanistan. During this meeting, the Taliban side was uncharacteristically absent and did not take the initiative to mention the Wakhan Corridor.

But it should be noted that this does not mean that the Afghan side has given up on the Wakhan Corridor issue.Instead, they began to pressure China in a different way.

Shortly after Foreign Minister Wang Yi left Afghanistan, the Taliban received the Turkish ambassador to Kabul and a senior United Nations official, and directly fixed the meeting venue on the remote Wakhan Corridor in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. During the meeting, the Taliban also focused on local development projects and the current challenges faced by the community, and elaborated on the Afghan side's desire for long-term investment in the area.

The Taliban said that the development of Wakhan Corridor requires the joint efforts of the international community,This is the only way to ensure that Afghanistan is not left behind, and that no part of Afghanistan is left behind.

(Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Afghanistan)

For the Taliban, there are multiple considerations behind their actions.

First of all, the most practical thing is that for the sake of money and livelihoods, the current economic situation in Afghanistan is really bad.¡£After the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan, a large amount of Afghanistan's overseas assets were frozen, and the people's lives were difficult. Food, medical treatment, and employment were all problems, and people's livelihood was extremely difficult. After the Taliban came to power, they have always wanted to find an economic way out that could not only allow the people to survive, but also stabilize their own regime. The Wakhan Corridor is a hot spot for them. This corridor connects Afghanistan and China. If it can be developed well, whether it is engaging in trade, transporting resources, or developing the border economy, it can bring tangible benefits. Therefore, it is one of the most important economic growth points for the Taliban.

But they are also very clear that if they rely entirely on a certain country, they will definitely be passive for a long time, and if the other party's attitude changes, they will have no way out. So this time, by involving Turkey and the United Nations, they are actually engaging in "multi-party cooperation": on the one hand, with the participation of external forces such as Turkey and the United Nations,In the future, when we talk to China about the development of the Wahan corridor, we can get more money in hand.; On the other hand, it can also slowly reduce over-dependence on Pakistan or other neighboring countries and make itself more flexible diplomatically and economically.

Secondly, the Taliban should also take this opportunity to break international isolation. At present, most countries in the world have not recognized the Taliban regime. Without recognition, there will be no formal international cooperation, no aid or investment. However, if the international community can slowly accept itself through economic cooperation projects such as Wakhan Corridor, even if it is not officially recognized first, it will be profitable as long as it can slow down the current isolated state.

Finally, this move is also to indirectly send a signal to China and "prove" one thing through the visits of Turkish and United Nations officials: the development of Wakhan Corridor is a matter of time and imperative, and the Taliban is not the only cooperation option with China. Turkey and the United Nations are willing to participate. In this way, China may be expected to reconsider its previous position,Nodding early and agreeing to open the corridor. After all, if China could participate, the intensity and effect of the development of the Wakhan Corridor would be more important than other parties.

(Wakhan Corridor)

From a Chinese perspective, the Wuhan corridor is not the best option.

At this stage, the priority development path between China and Central Asia and South Asia has taken shape.On the Central Asian side, deep cooperation mechanisms have been formed under the Belt and Road framework, such as the Zhejiang Railway will become the shortest freight route connecting China with Europe, with transport distances reduced by 900 kilometers compared to traditional routes.

In South Asia, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as a core project, has cumulatively invested more than 62 billion US dollars, covering energy, transportation, industrial parks and other fields. The corridor directly connects to the Indian Ocean through Gwadar Port, providing access to the sea for western China, and its strategic value is much higher than that of the Wakhan Corridor.

But here's the thing.The development of the Wakhan Corridor is essentially a "safety before development" proposition.Badakhshan province, where the Wakhan Corridor is located, is a potential conduit for extremist infiltration, and the security and stability of China's Xinjiang region is directly linked to it. And the repeated armed attacks on Chinese companies in Afghanistan have forced China to adopt strict security measures. If the Wakhan Corridor opens, terrorists could use it to carry out cross-border infiltration, increasing the pressure on China's western border.

Therefore, under the existing strategic layout, the Wuhan Corridor is neither the best solution for China's economy nor a safe haven.In order to attract Chinese investment, Afghanistan must first address the three core issues of terrorism, regime stability and justice reliability, and rebuild international trust through concrete actions.Otherwise, the Wahan Corridor would always be a ¡°maritime mall on the Pamir Plateau,¡± hopefully and unlikely.