China Prepares Afghanistan Business Expo to Unleash Taliban’s ‘Market Potential’

A group of Chinese “business representatives” is planning an “expo” event in Kabul, Afghanistan, for April, the Chinese state-run Global Times revealed on Sunday, meant to help China profit off of business under the jihadist Taliban regime.

Taliban officials have repeatedly asserted since taking power in August that they anticipated significant financial backing from the Chinese Communist Party. The Taliban, a jihadist terrorist organization that ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, took over the country once again last year after President Joe Biden broke an agreement with the group that prompted a national campaign of conquest ending in Kabul. No foreign government has formally recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, but the former president of the country, Ashraf Ghani, fled; the Afghan military collapsed; and no significant challenge to the Taliban’s control of the nation exists.

The Chinese Communist Party has referred to the Taliban as an “interim government” in the recent past, suggesting some degree of acceptance.

The Global Times, a mouthpiece for the communist regime, reported that state-backed Chinese businesses (China is a communist country, so all legal business activity is government-controlled) have increased their communication with Afghan traders seeking to deepen ties with the country.

“China and Afghan business interactions have seen an upward trend in recent days, driven by the unleashing of market potential for Afghan agricultural and other related products in China, its largest neighboring market,” the propaganda newspaper reported, citing “business representatives” in China.

The “expo” planned for the spring is meant to create a more “direct” venue for Taliban-approved businesses to engage with Chinese buyers and increase Afghanistan’s trade dependency on China, presumably to the Taliban’s profit. It is also, the newspaper asserted, meant to help the two sides find “deals on complementary goods for each other’s markets.”

“The organizers include a wide range of government and industry representatives, with academicians, traders, producers and investors from both sides expected to participate in the events,” the Global Times relayed. It reported that the event is scheduled to take place in Kabul’s Chinatown and cited locals as excitedly deeming the event “unprecedented.” – READ MORE