Why China Gives Huge Financial Aid to Afghanistan(I)

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 31, 2002

Why China Gives Huge Financial Aid to Afghanistan(I)

"After the start of its reconstruction, Afghanistan needs huge amounts of materials and financial aid. I have stressed on many international occasions that Afghanistan is like a car on its onward run. When Afghan people are sitting in the driver�s cab and controlling the steering wheel in their advance, we resolutely oppose others treading on the throttle or applying a brake, the Afghan people should be allowed to become genuine drivers.

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The following article is about a call on a Chinese ambassador in charge of Afghan affairs, the source of which is drawn from China Youth Daily.

"After the start of its reconstruction, Afghanistan needs huge amounts of materials and financial aid. I have stressed on many international occasions that Afghanistan is like a car on its onward run. When Afghan people are sitting in the driver's cab and controlling the steering wheel in their advance, we resolutely oppose others treading on the throttle or applying a brake, the Afghan people should be allowed to become genuine drivers."

The above remarks were made by Mr. Wang Xuexian, Chinese ambassador in charge of Afghan affairs and Chinese ranking official of the Asian-European conference. The information transmitted from the ambassador's figurative metaphor has received the unanimous favorable comments from Afghanistan's interim government and many developing countries. On January 25, he accepted the exclusive interview by a reporter of China Youth Daily in Beijing. That same day, Sun Guoxiang, deputy director of the Asian Department of Chinese Foreign Ministry, briefed foreign reporters from the Beijing Foreign Reporters Information Center concerning the situation regarding Afghanistan's provisional government President Hamid Kazai's visit to China.

On the evening of a day before, China formally announced to the world that on the basis of the respective financial aid of RMB30 million and US$1 million, China would further provide Afghanistan with assistance of US$150 million (one US dollar is equivalent to 8.3 yuan). At that time, Wang Xuexian, as a "special envoy of the Chinese government", just returned from the Tokyo Aid-to-Afghanistan Conference to Beijing. Ambassador Wang explained that the Chinese ambassador in charge of Afghan affairs handles China's international multilateral coordination relating to the Afghanistan issue, particularly relating to Afghanistan's multilateral international conference, generally speaking, it does not involve China's internal coordination and China-Afghanistan bilateral relationship.

Tokyo Conference Extends Generous Aid

According to the estimate made by the United Nations, World Bank and Asian Development Bank, in the coming 10 years, at least US$15 billion will be needed for Afghanistan's reconstruction, US$10 billion will be needed for the first five years alone, only with this aid will it be possible for Afghanistan to restore and maintain its normal operation. This sum does not include humanitarian aid extended in the form of medicine, foodstuffs and tents to Afghanistan. The January 21-22 Tokyo meeting was crowned with rich fruits. Numerous countries, particularly the developed ones and neighboring countries, based on consideration of their different interests, extended huge amounts of money. The US$4.5 billion worth of funds collected at the conference was beyond Kazai's own expectations.

Of course, there are reasons for this. The United States, which has badly battered Afghanistan, naturally need take out huge amounts of funds to help Afghanistan's reconstruction, otherwise, it will be difficult for America to keep a foothold in Afghanistan and Central Asia, the United States sent out a 130-plus-member formidable delegation headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell, indicating the importance it attached to the conference. At the meeting, the United States donated US$296 million, which made it, among single nations, the country extending the greatest donation in one year. Japan, as the host, also donated US$500 million, its aim was no more than an anxious intention to expand its influence on the Central Asian region. For this reason, Japan's generosity was extended without regard for the great cost, despite the fact that it had been crying in the face of other countries about its decade-long economic depression. India also readily gave promise of aid to Afghanistan. Iran readily promised US$560 million, Saudi Arabia, as a Moslem brother, took out US$220 million, EU extended an amount of US$495 million, but it repeatedly stressed on many occasions, "the amount of aid we, EU members, extended to Afghanistan was the greatest." Notwithstanding, some members within the EU complained that they had spent too much this time. Noteworthy is that the aid extended by certain developed countries to Afghanistan was attached with preconditions, the aid was either hooked up with politics, or with military affairs, or with getting closer to security, the aim of these countries was trying to seize initiative on the issue of Afghanistan.

Speaking specifically about the Tokyo conference, Ambassador Wang said that attending the Tokyo conference were representatives from 61 countries and 21 international organizations. The conference was the continuation of many international conferences on Afghan affairs, it is closely connected with the already concluded Washington Conference, Islamabad Conference, Brussels Conference and Bonn Conference. The Tokyo Conference was co-chaired by the United States, Japan, EU and Saudi Arabia, the four chair states of the "special guidance group" for the Afghanistan issue. Ambassador Wang commented, "Generally speaking, this was an active and pragmatic conference, the international community paid great attention to this meeting, because it was linked together with the international anti-terrorism endeavor."

Ambassador Wang said, "It goes without saying that Afghanistan is in desperate need of aid. Settlement of the anti-terrorist military problem in Afghanistan is followed by the need to solve the problem regarding Afghanistan's reconstruction. The various parties exhibited enormous enthusiasm in providing Afghanistan with humanitarian aid and helping the Afghan people in rebuilding their homeland, adopted many positive and effective measures and made many promises. On this basis, a total of US$4.5 billion was raised at the conference, the amount of aid for the first year was US$1.8 billion. Of course, the stand points of various countries in extending aid to Afghanistan differ in a thousand and one ways." Wang added that the Chinese government expressed its appreciation of this pragmatic conference, and believed the conference would produce positive impact on Afghanistan's embarkation onto the development road of peace and stability, nevertheless, the more arduous task in the future is to honor the commitments.

Chinese Aid to Its Neighbor-Afghanistan

Ambassador Wang said that China, as neighbor of Afghanistan, has a common boundary of 92 km with Afghanistan. Historically, China and Afghanistan had all along been friendly to each other. China had always maintained friendly contacts with the Afghan government prior to the Taliban regime. China had always been concerned about the peaceful settlement of the Afghanistan issue and had paid consistent attention to humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and its post-war reconstruction. Together with the international community, China is willing to actively participate in Afghanistan's post-war reconstruction.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Website quoted an official with the Asian Department as saying, "China and Afghanistan, as neighbors, have maintained a very good relationship. The Chinese people have always cherished very friendly sentiments for the Afghan people. China's aid to Afghanistan has never been interrupted, even in the periods of former Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the country's civil war, China offered aid each year to Afghanistan through relevant international agencies."

Ambassador Wang revealed that on the occasion of the founding of the Afghan provisional government, China provided Afghanistan with 30 million yuan worth of emergency humanitarian material aid. At the Tokyo conference, the Chinese government again announced that it would further provided Afghanistan with US$1 million in spot exchange as funds for starting the functioning of the Afghan provisional government. This amount of US$1 million has been transferred to the account of the Afghan interim government. On January 24, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in meeting with Kazai, again announced China's offer of reconstruction aid worth US$150 million.

Why does China extend so generous aid to Afghanistan? The ambassador said there are still many poverty-stricken areas in China itself, and now large-scale development of the western region is under way, each cent of money is useful in China. The fact that China tries its best to aid Afghanistan is based on the following four aspects of consideration:

First, assistance and support to the developing countries are the consistent stand and starting-point of China's foreign policy. To many developing countries in the world, when they encounter difficulties, China invariably provides them with possible help, this is determined by the nature of China's foreign policy. Since China and Afghanistan established diplomatic relations, the two countries have all along maintained neighborly and friendly ties, furthermore, many among the Chinese leaders of the older generation had visited Afghanistan.

Second, as a neighbor bordering on Afghanistan and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China hopes that Afghanistan would achieve peace, national conciliation and national prosperity. Such an Afghanistan is very important to the entire Central Asian region as well as to China, what is more, Afghanistan's peace and development are vitally important to the crackdown on terrorism in the region.

Third, when Taliban was in power, Bin Laden's "Qaida" had also trained China's "Turkistan" separatists who posed serious threat to peace and stability in China's Xinjiang and its western region, China is also a victim of terrorism. Speaking from this angle, China's help to Afghanistan in its anti-terrorism actually is a help to China itself.

Fourth, China's aid to Afghanistan is helpful to the future economic and trade cooperation between China and Afghanistan, it can also boost the development of Chinese enterprises on the Afghan market. Nowadays, Afghanistan is heavily damaged with many things waiting to be done, there are many opportunities and advantages for China to participate in Afghanistan's construction and development, for instance, in Afghanistan's construction of infrastructure and agriculture.

In the meantime, Sun Guoxiang also indicates, "China takes a positive attitude in its help to Afghanistan's post-war reconstruction. China has both technology and ability to participate in Afghanistan's post-war rebuilding work. We will conduct further discussions with Afghan provisional government on the concrete projects."

In short, the ambassador stated: China's aid to Afghanistan is both beneficial to the Afghan people and helps promote the long-term cooperation between China and Afghanistan.

The second part, pleace click here!

By People's Daily Online

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