Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 08/2010

Fixing Afghanistan: what role for China?

Stina Torjesen

June 2010

Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre

Abstract

This policy brief presents an overview of Sino-Afghan relations and assesses China's role in the wider south Asian region. It discusses how China's foreign policy principles both provide opportunities and exert constraints on China's presence in Afghanistan and beyond; it explores China's policy options in Afghanistan and evaluates Afghanistan's own preferences vis-à-vis China; it highlights China's close relations with Pakistan and how these are part of an evolving strategic landscape; and considers the indirect contribution of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to alleviating Afghanistan's security predicament.