China’s successful bid to become the UN Security Council’s lead negotiator on Afghanistan followed an unusual diplomatic contest involving several countries and reflected growing competition among major powers over the country’s future, according to a new report by Security Council Report.
The report describes Afghanistan as one of the clearest recent examples of geopolitical rivalries reshaping the Security Council’s internal workings. In 2025, China became the sole “penholder” on Afghanistan — the council member responsible for leading negotiations and drafting resolutions — after months of disagreement among council members over who should control the file.
“China becoming the sole penholder in 2025 after a jostling for the pen among four members represented a significant change on the file,” the report says.
“China’s active pursuit of the opportunity to serve as a penholder on Afghanistan in 2025 represented a significant development,” it added.
For years, Afghanistan had largely remained under the stewardship of elected Security Council members rather than one of the council’s permanent powers.
“A permanent member assuming the pen on Afghanistan broke with past practice, but it was also noteworthy that China, which does not appear to have held the pen on any other file in the past, was keen to assume this responsibility. As a neighbor of Afghanistan with strategic interests in the country, it is not surprising that China would have an interest in this file. China has also been a long-standing advocate for expanding penholding opportunities within the Council beyond the P3,” the report explained.
The report says China’s assumption of the role marked a significant departure from past practice and highlighted Beijing’s growing interest in shaping international policy toward Afghanistan.
The dispute emerged after Japan’s term on the Security Council ended in late 2024. China, Pakistan and South Korea each sought responsibility for the Afghanistan file. Beijing later proposed a joint arrangement involving Pakistan and South Korea, but the US objected to China assuming a leading role, according to the report.
The disagreement became public in February 2025 when China and Pakistan circulated one draft resolution extending the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA, while South Korea and the United States submitted a competing draft resolution the following day.
The competing texts exposed divisions among council members over both procedural control and the future direction of international engagement with Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The standoff was eventually resolved through negotiations. China, which held the Security Council presidency that month, led discussions to merge the competing drafts into a single resolution that was ultimately adopted unanimously. Denmark later joined China in steering negotiations ahead of the renewal of UNAMA’s mandate in March 2025.
Despite months of debate, China ultimately emerged as the sole penholder on Afghanistan.
The report notes that Beijing had long argued that responsibility for drafting Security Council resolutions should not remain concentrated among the United States, Britain and France, which collectively dominate most country-specific files at the council.
China’s interest in Afghanistan has grown steadily since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Beijing has expanded diplomatic and economic engagement with the Taliban while advocating greater regional cooperation and stability in Afghanistan.
At the same time, the US has remained deeply involved in Afghanistan-related Security Council work. Although China now leads negotiations on Afghanistan resolutions, Washington continues to chair the council’s Afghanistan sanctions committee under the 1988 sanctions regime.
The report says the struggle over the Afghanistan file illustrates how Security Council procedures have increasingly become intertwined with broader geopolitical rivalries, particularly between Western powers, China and Russia.
The findings come as the Security Council continues to debate Afghanistan’s political future, humanitarian crisis, human rights situation and engagement with Taliban nearly five years after they return to power.
