INFLUENCE

China Seeks Role in Afghanistan

As America mulls pullout.

All signs are that Afghanistan will retain its strategic importance even as the United States prepares to withdraw troops in the coming years. Afghan officials say their country will sign a new agreement with the Chinese government in the coming days that will strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Afghanistan has also signed agreements with the United States, India, and the United Kingdom. “The president of Afghanistan will be meeting the president of China in Beijing, and what will happen is the elevation of our existing, solid relationship to a new level, to a strategic level,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Musazai told reporters.