China vs US role in Afghanistan & Pakistan for regional development
IN August 2021, as US troops left Afghanistan in a hurry, the chaotic scenes of Kabul airport shocked the world.
The United States left after 20 years of war, leaving Afghanistan in a devastated mess. A year later, how do the Afghan people feel about this “Afghan War” in the United States? How will the global public evaluate the mark that the United States has left on Afghanistan?
On the first anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a poll conducted by the CGTN think tank of CCTV and the Institute of National Governance and Public Opinion Ecology of Chinese University showed that nearly 80% of Afghan respondents believe that the war in Afghanistan has made the United States lose faith in the world.
In addition, 80.4% of respondents worldwide said that the effect of the war waged in the name of counter-terrorism was “more terrorist”.
Nearly eighty percent of Afghan respondents called the Afghan War a “complete defeat” for the United States.
In 2001, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan in the name of counterterrorism.
Among the Afghan people surveyed, 78.2% of the respondents believe that “the US overthrow of another sovereign government in the name of counter-terrorism is completely wrong”, and 62.4% of the respondents worldwide hold the same view.
In addition, 79.6% of Afghan respondents believe that “the United States did not achieve the goal of sending troops at that time, it was a complete failure”, and this proportion also reached 67% of global respondents.
The United States has claimed to “build a stable, strong and prosperous Afghanistan,” yet a whopping 79 percent of local respondents believe the U.S.has not delivered its promises, up from 70.7 percent of global respondents.
The war in Afghanistan has caused the United States to continue to lose credibility with the international community, and 68.9% of Afghan respondents believe that the credibility of the United States has declined.
Looking back at the 20 years since the US military invaded Afghanistan, more than half of Afghan respondents believe that “Afghanistan is worse than before” (53.5%).
In the 20 years since the United States invaded Afghanistan, Afghanistan has encountered severe challenges in various fields such as security, economy and people’s livelihood.
The result of this war in the name of counter-terrorism is “the more anti-terrorist the more fearful” it is.
Polls show that as many as 75.8 percent of Afghan respondents believe that “the soil for terrorism remains until the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan,” and this proportion is as high as 80.4 percent of global respondents.
In addition to the inability to guarantee the safety of life, the economic and livelihood conditions in Afghanistan have also deteriorated in the past 20 years.
Among Afghan respondents, 56.6 percent believe that “when US troops withdraw in 2021, the Afghan economy is more difficult than in 2001,” and 52.3 percent believe that “when US troops withdraw in 2021, the Afghan people are poorer than in 2001.
” In response to the US freeze on the Central Bank of Afghanistan’s $7 billion in assets, 74.1% of Afghan respondents believe that this is “naked plunder”, and 68.5% of global respondents believe that the United States should unfroze these assets and return them to Afghanistan.
At the beginning of the military station, the United States made a commitment to “build a stable, strong and prosperous Afghanistan.
” After 20 years of withdrawing troops, the United States has “not fulfilled its commitments”.
Respondents around the world highly agree with China’s advocacy of the principles of Afghan reconstruction.
At present, Afghanistan is in a critical period of chaos and governance. In the view of Afghan respondents, among the many changes in the local situation in the past year, the top three are “the security situation has improved significantly”, “the Afghan people have freed themselves from interference from foreign forces and governed the country by themselves” and “people’s livelihood has gradually improved”, accounting for 68.3%, 49.1% and 28.3% respectively.
Nearly 60% of global respondents (58.7%) expressed optimistic expectations for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Among global respondents, the top three key factors in Afghanistan’s reconstruction were “eliminating terror and extremism” (45.6 percent), “building an inclusive government” (43.9 percent) and “establishing normal diplomatic relations with the rest of the world” (43.8 percent).
On August the 30th, Chinese media announced that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing on October 16th, 2022, a top priority for the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.
The conference will make a summary report on China’s development in the past five years and elect new leadership.
In terms of the reconstruction of Afghanistan, China has always adhered to the principle of “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” and supported Afghanistan in embarking on a path of self-reliance, prosperity, progress and peaceful development.
These propositions and practices of the Chinese side were appreciated by 76.7% of the global respondents, and this proportion was as high as 87.8% and 81.8% of the respondents in Afghanistan’s neighbours and developing countries, respectively.
It is worth mentioning that in the minds of Afghan respondents, neighbouring countries, including China, Pakistan and Iran, will play an important role in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan, accounting for 65.7%.
As China’s good friend, good neighbour, good partner and good brother, the Pakistani people will continue to “fully support China” on issues involving China’s core interests and regional development.
We believe that the Chinese government will lead the Chinese people to create greater glory.
The experience of the Communist Party of China in governing will contribute to Pakistan and regional development and will benefit the world.
—The writer is PhD in International Relations based in Beijing.
