China's strategy in Afghanistan.

CGTN interview of Senior Col. Zhou Bo who most recently penned an Op-ed for the NYT regarding China's role and relationship with the Taliban and the future of Afghanistan.

Richard Santos said:

the notion that china can safely ignore the power of religious fundamentalism in a neighbor is itself ridiculous. militant islamic fundamentalism ultimately has absolutely no conception that it’s influence ought to be constrained by any secular borders or institutions, even those of established or aspiring superpowers.

It is true there may be wider range of behavior that is more or less consistently tolerable to china at the moment had previously been the case with the US, but the center of gravity of taliban behavior is still likely to quickly move towards, and possibly cross to outside, of these relaxed boundaries.

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You need to open a map and take a good look at the border between China and Afghanistan.

Richard Santos said:

the notion that china can safely ignore the power of religious fundamentalism in a neighbor is itself ridiculous.

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No, it isn't. Watch China do exactly that. You know why? Because the Judeo-Christian West will always be Islam's primary enemy.

solarz said:

You need to open a map and take a good look at the border between China and Afghanistan.

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He needs to open a topographical map.

I have a very good head for cartography and I can draw a fairly accurate map of all of current political borders in Euroasia completely from memory. Thank you.

By border I mean the boundaries of Chinese influence that china would like to set in its relation with neighboring states, or the range of acceptable behavior which in chinese mind does not impinge on chinese sovereignty or challenges the margins of the power of the central government and communist party in what they consider to be their domain.

It does not necessarily involve mujahideen physically walking over the geographic boundary, at least not at the beginning.

The Wakhjir Pass,[1] also spelled Vakhjir Pass, is a mountain pass in the Hindu Kush or Pamirs at the eastern end of the Wakhan Corridor, the only potentially navigable pass between Afghanistan and China in the modern era.

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There is no road across the pass. On the Chinese side, the immediate region is only accessible to military personnel.[4] A 92 kilometres (57 mi)- long barbed wire fence was erected on the border, and there is a Chinese border guard outpost at Keketuluke just 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the pass.

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Richard Santos said:

I think I can draw a fairly accurate map of all of current political borders in Euroasia completely from memory. Thank you.

By border I mean the boundaries of Chinese influence that china would like to set in its relation with neighboring states, or the range of acceptable behavior which in chinese mind does not impinge on chinese sovereignty or challenges the margins of the power of the central government and communist party in what they consider to be their domain.

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What, you think this is a game of Civilization where culture magically permeates across borders?

The Taliban poses exactly zero ideological and military threat to China, because they have no money and they cannot get into China physically without Chinese permission.

The Wahabism that threatened Xinjiang came from Saudi Arabia with the money to establish Arabic schools. Even so, their influence has since been crushed.

Richard Santos said:

of course china has an unavoidable civilizing mission, it’s to wean the taliban from such pritive religions fundamentalism as would lead it to be driven more by perception of common cause with coreligionists than with secular benefits of modernization.

while at the beginning of every government, there will always be the goal of making the country more rich. the question is when it becomes undeniably clear that the needs of modernization would be incompatible with such interpretation of islam as would justify keeping a bunch of people whose main claim to personal value is religious exhibitionism, which will lose, modernization or religious exhibitionism?

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China never did that kind of "civilizing mission" in its history unlike the countries from religious background. Since China has lasted for more than 4000 years in this way, you won't see it adopt Christian/Democracy/Western style "civilizing mission".

There were two scenarios:

China (the farming land dynasties) was strong. China was happy to live with nomadic societies at its border, so long as they don't raid the farming land. China did not go out of the border and force the nomads to change. When the nomads raid and loot, China counter attack. After the defeat of the nomads, whoever remained would be sinicized (becoming farmers). This seemingly "civilizing mission" is only a reaction to attacks, not a actively sought action.

When China was weak, the nomads invade and build their own dynasties. Gradually the offspring of the nomads became farmers and sinicized. Again this is not something that China actively sought, but rather voluntarily taken by the invaders.

In neither of the scenarios, did a Chinese state actively seek to spread their way of life or force it upon others. Korea and Japan were not forced to adopt. The Kihtans, Jurchens and Manchus all founded their dynasties in China, but sinicized on their own free will.

how much money do you think it takes to finance a native terrorist group? And how much money does it take to suppress a dedicated native terrorist group?

Richard Santos said:

the notion that china can safely ignore the power of religious fundamentalism in a neighbor is itself ridiculous. militant islamic fundamentalism ultimately has absolutely no conception that it’s influence ought to be constrained by any secular borders or institutions, even those of established or aspiring superpowers.

It is true there may be wider range of behavior that is more or less consistently tolerable to china at the moment had previously been the case with the US, but the center of gravity of taliban behavior is still likely to quickly move towards, and possibly cross to outside, of these relaxed boundaries.

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That ridiculous notion is your only. China certainly pay attention (not ignoring) to development around the world. But paying attention does not equate to pursuing "civilizing mission" like the west did and is doing. Paying attention and act is reaction, pursuing "civilizing mission" is proactive action.

Fundamentally in Chinese mind, nobody especially the westerner have the right to civilize anybody. The idea of going out of one's home to civilize others are racism by nature because it is based on the idea that someone is superior in its birth right.

Richard Santos said:

how much money do you think it takes to finance a native terrorist group? And how much money does it take to suppress a dedicated native terrorist group?

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LOL, do you even have any idea what it takes to finance a native terrorist group? First, you need to convince people that it's worthwhile for them to die for your cause. The Saudis did this by building Arabic schools to spread their fundamentalist ideology. How exactly do you expect the Taliban to do this?