Taliban Spox Says China 'Can Contribute To Future Construction Of Afghan'

Wires and social media reporting comments from a Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan to China's CGTN that China 'can contributed to the construction of Afghanistan' in the future.

• There has been significant attention paid to how Beijing reacts to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. On the one hand, the Chinese gov't has historically been wary of the Taliban, viewing the group of supportive of Uighur separatists in Xinjiang Province and of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which has carried out terror attacks in Chinese cities.
• However, with the West evacuating their citizens and armed forces from Afghanistan, it leaves a vacuum with regards to international influence, with China potentially able to step into this space. While China had only a small presence in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover, this could be ramped up significantly if the country becomes a rare earths mining hub for Chinese firms (Afghanistan is believed to be sat upon large lithium reserves).
• China becoming more involved in Afghanistan would risk heightened tensions with India (already wary of Chinese investment in Pakistan), and Russia (which views the Central Asian states as part of its sphere of influence).