BEIJING, June 1 (APP): In the current complex landscape of regional politics and economy, the cooperation among China, Pakistan and Afghanistan holds significant strategic significance.
China, Pakistan and Afghanistan are geographically adjacent, and their historical and cultural exchanges have a long history. Under the current circumstances, trilateral cooperation is conducive to the peace and development of each country, the region and even the world at large.
These views were expressed by Prof Cheng Xizhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute in a statement here on Sunday.
He opined that from the geopolitical perspective, China-Pakistan-Afghanistan cooperation is conducive to the regional geopolitical landscape. Afghanistan, located in the heart of Asia, serves as a key link connecting Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia.
The cooperation among China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor can help Afghanistan gradually transform from a landlocked state into an important node of regional connectivity.
By constructing infrastructure projects such as the Peshawar-Kabul Expressway and the Gwadar Port-Herat Railway, Afghanistan can open up an Indian Ocean outlet through Pakistan, promote its rich mineral resources to the international market, and integrate into the global economic system.
This can not only change Afghanistan’s marginal position in the regional economy, but also make the economic ties among South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East closer, he added.
Prof Cheng said that economic complementarity serves as an important foundation for cooperation among China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is also a powerful driving force to promote the common development of the three countries. As the world’s second largest economy, China has significant advantages in terms of capital, technology and industrial system. Pakistan boasts a huge labour market, abundant natural resources and important ports connecting the Indian Ocean. Afghanistan, on the other hand, is endowed with rich, undeveloped mineral resources and has a certain development potential in agriculture.
In terms of trade, trilateral cooperation can reduce trade costs. China has already created hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in revenue for Afghanistan through the pine nut trade. In the future, with the deepening of agricultural cooperation and the expansion of trade scale in industrial manufactured goods, daily necessities, etc., it will be possible to further achieve complementary advantages and form a mutually beneficial and win-win trade pattern, he added.
The Chinese scholar said that in addition, cooperation in infrastructure construction and improvement of transportation networks can create favorable conditions for regional trade and investment, attract more international capital inflows, and promote regional industrialization and urbanization processes.
Security cooperation is an indispensable and important component of China-Pakistan-Afghanistan cooperation, and it is crucial for maintaining regional peace and stability.
The three countries are all faced with security threats such as terrorism, extremism and transnational crimes.
China, Pakistan and Afghanistan can establish a joint counter-terrorism intelligence sharing center, and jointly combat cross-border terrorist forces through means such as information exchange and joint operations. Such counter-terrorism cooperation can effectively curb the spread of terrorism in the region, and provide security guarantees for the smooth progress of cooperation projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he added.
The cooperation among China, Pakistan and Afghanistan is of multiple strategic significances, including the reshaping of geopolitics, complementary economic development, collaborative security guarantee, and demonstration of international cooperation in the world.
In future development, the three countries should further deepen cooperation, expand cooperation fields, improve cooperation levels, jointly address various challenges, achieve lasting peace and prosperity in the region, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind, he concluded.
APP/asg