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A top Chinese official has wrapped up a key trilateral meeting with Afghan and Pakistani counterparts, resulting in an agreement to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, China and Pakistan have partnered on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Launched in 2015, the CPEC is a $62 billion initiative that stretches over 1,800 miles, connecting China’s western Xinjiang province to Pakistan’s deep-sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan. The corridor includes a vast network of highways, railways, power plants, and special economic zones designed to boost Pakistan’s economic growth while providing China with more direct access to the Arabian Sea, bypassing longer maritime routes. For China, this corridor is critical as it facilitates energy imports and export logistics, and for Pakistan, it promises job creation, industrial growth, and much-needed infrastructure upgrades.
What’s going on now: In a notable development, China confirmed that Afghanistan would now formally join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), following a trilateral meeting in Beijing between the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. According to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry, the three nations agreed to “promote the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan and strengthen the construction of regional interconnection networks.”
A key outcome of the meeting was the mutual agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan to restore full diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors “as soon as possible,” ending a nearly four-year freeze in formal representation. China welcomed this decision, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi saying that “China is willing to continue providing assistance for the improvement of Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.”
Beyond economic commitments, the talks also addressed serious security concerns that have strained ties between Pakistan and the Taliban. Pakistan has accused the Afghan Taliban of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists responsible for attacks inside Pakistan—a claim the Taliban denies. Despite this friction, all sides agreed to enhance “security cooperation, combat terrorist forces, and safeguard regional peace and stability.”
