Correct, but the problem has always been how do you get those minerals out of Afghanistan and put them to use.
I don’t think you can rely on native Afghanis to work the mines for Chinese companies, China will move in hundreds if not thousands of people...
The inevitable clash of cultures will happen, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups will eventually look at the Chinese as an occupying force, just Russia and the USA and start to fight back.
China will be ruthless, but so were the Russians, the IEDs will start going off, the suicide bombers will start setting themselves off, ambushes will start, etc....
I say let China have Afghanistan, let them get bogged down in a no win situation that will suck up a lot of their resources....
And just like when we funded the Mujahedeen in the 80s against Russia, we will fund the Taliban, we have already given them millions and millions of dollars of military hardware.....that’s just a down payment IMO...
The key to Afghanistan has always been Pakistan. The northern tribal region has been where the Taliban left their families, and where they went to rest.
The Paks were always playing a double game, and stabbing us in the back. The Chinese will speak more bluntly to the Pak leadership.
You outlined a pretty accurate scenario. If the Afghanis were going to raise themselves up they would have done it by now. I think Afghanistan is the bottom rung of the Arabic ladder. The lowest and least motivated of all.
Decades of war haven’t helped but we gave them years of semi-peaceful existence and they’re throwing it away.
It would be nice to see China so bogged down in Afghanistan that they have to put their invasion of Taiwan on hold indefinitely. :&)
Let the muzzies bleed the Chinese dry.
Serves both groups right.
China, unlike the US, will exterminate the Taliban like ants.