Chinese businesses make headway in Afghanistan despite Beijing’s cautious approach to Taliban
- Officials visit 10-storey China Town ‘to listen to the needs of the Chinese merchants’
- Government has approved development of Sino-Afghan industrial estate on outskirts of Kabul
Since then, Yu has had to embrace changes enforced by the country’s new rulers, deal with officials who have replaced those in the previous US-backed government, and renegotiate projects that have been in the works for years.
But Yu’s decision seems to have paid off. Four steel processing lines his factory installed last year are in operation, and local security officials visit China Town, a 10-storey building that he runs, from time to time “to listen to the needs of the Chinese merchants”.
“The Taliban is not just saying that they are supportive; they are actually supporting our work,” said Yu, who has been in business in Afghanistan since 2001 and also heads the China Arab Economic and Trade Promotion Committee. “There are not many foreign investors here, and these officials know who can be trusted.”
That trust was demonstrated in late April when, after months of renegotiations, the Taliban government approved a joint project to develop a US$216 million industrial estate on the outskirts of Kabul. The first Sino-Afghan infrastructure project since the Taliban returned to power, it is expected to host up to 150 factories.
Yu said he was betting on the future of Afghanistan, which has been plagued by war since 1978.