Between the US and China, new trade roads lead to Afghanistan – and fierce competition

With the US military pull-out from Afghanistan well under way, Beijing and Washington are becoming locked in a fierce competition via the war-torn country for potential new trade and energy corridors linking Central Asia with South Asia and the oil-rich Middle East.

The intensity of this connectivity competition has become particularly evident since Chinese and Indian troops clashed in the Ladakh region of disputed Kashmir in mid-June. Diplomatic and security engagement between the United States and India has risen significantly since, as New Delhi decides whether to wholeheartedly join the quadrilateral alliance with Japan and Australia against Beijing’s increasingly aggressive expansion in the Indo-Pacific strategic theatre.

Meanwhile, China and Iran are close to finalising a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement which – on paper, at least – could dwarf even the US$60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), to date the largest programme in the Belt and Road Initiative.

“Fundamental realignments are taking place across the world at a challenging, transformative time in international affairs when global power is shifting to the East. Our region is no exception and is also witnessing a reordering of relationships,” said Maleeha Lodhi, who has served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Britain, the US and the United Nations.