After the United States withdrew its armed forces from Afghanistan, there was speculation that China might try to exert its influence there, both politically and economically. In terms of the economy, one sector with potential was the mining of critical minerals, and one key mineral was lithium, which is important

Last week, Chinese officials said that China will lower tariffs on most Afghan imports to zero, as part of an effort to increase imports from the nation. They also mentioned plans to expand the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the country as well.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with high level officials of five Central Asian countries, and discussed further cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), finance, trade, energy, and other areas, as well as railways connecting China and Europe.