A vital security zone to China’s west, Afghanistan is also an important corridor through which it can secure its interests in Pakistan (a traditional ally in China’s competition with India), and ensure its access to vital natural resources in the region. Moreover, China’s already restless Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang, which borders on Afghanistan, might be dangerously affected by a Taliban takeover there, or by the country’s dismemberment.
阿富汗对中国具有关键性的战略利益，但中国领导人从未想过要通过战争维护这一利益。阿富汗是中国西陲的关键安全区域、中国确保其在巴基斯坦（中印之争中中方的传统盟友）利益的重要走廊，也是中国获得该地区关键性自然资源的通道。此外，在与阿富汗接壤的新疆自治区，穆斯林占据着人数优势，局势很不稳定，很容易受到塔利班和中国分裂分子的渗透。