[Animats]

And yet, today, the socialist republic of Vietnam is hardly a pariah, or a communist menace, or a backwater or a threat to anyone.

If it turns out that Afghanistan has substantial mineral resources, as some claim, that could happen to Afghanistan. With substantial help from China.

Perhaps China will build a road and rail link to Afghanistan. There's a narrow corridor that connects the two nations. No roads. No rail. Mountains. But it's a shortcut for the Belt and Road Initiative, so it might happen.

[nicbou]

I've been on the Pamir highway, which is so close to Afghanistan that you can wave at them across the river. That same road is taken by Chinese trucks headed to CIS countries. You have to remember that those countries are next to each other.

A Chinese investment in the region seems pretty reasonable in my uneducated opinion.

[tigerdog]

I dislike CCP ideology, but its clear to me that if anyone can "fix" Afghanistan, its China. They accept ground realities and pursue their goals without taking up stupid challenges such as "bring democracy to Afghanistan".

[kevin_thibedeau]

We'll see how the Chinese contractors are treated by the Taliban who no doubt have an axe to grind over the Uighur issue.

[benque]

I almost died laughing at your comment. You have to understand the ethnic divisions that exist in the region before arriving at opinions. Taliban (Pashtuns) don't give a damn about "others" such as Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras (in Afghanistan - read about how they slaughtered Hazaras around Bamiyan during 1996-1999 when they were in power). Do you seriously think they bother about Uighurs? Even if they do bother, China is unfortunately not stupid - they are capable of making deals with anyone if it benefits them. China also doesn't care about democracy, nation-building, and other impossible to attain goals in Afghanistan. You (and I) may dislike the authoritarian policies of CCP, but they know how to deal with religious authoritarians.

[tonyedgecombe]

Show me one Islamic nation that gives two hoots about the Uighur's. They are far more interested in the money flowing in.

[drocer88]

The East Turkistan nation disputes China's ownership of this area.