Cooperation between Russian and Chinese businesses in Afghanistan could contribute significantly to the country’s recovery and enhance stability across the region, a senior Russian official said on Thursday.
Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan and an adviser to Russia’s foreign minister, said in an interview that the interests of Chinese companies in Afghanistan do not conflict with Moscow’s goals, dismissing the notion of competition between the two powers.
“On the contrary, this cooperation could become a positive factor that promotes stability,” Kabulov said during a broadcast on Solovyov Live, a Russian television channel. “Stability is a broad concept that includes the socioeconomic conditions of the population. If such investment efforts by interested, preferably regional, countries succeed in improving the Afghan people’s standard of living, it will enhance stability throughout the region.”
Kabulov contrasted Russia and China’s approach to Afghanistan with that of Britain, which he accused of having historically viewed the country not as a partner but as a pawn in a “Great Game” of imperial rivalry — a strategy, he asserted, that ended in failure.
His remarks come as both Moscow and Beijing are expanding their economic and diplomatic footprint in Afghanistan, a country struggling to rebuild amid international isolation and a worsening humanitarian crisis since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
