China should now feel relieved that the United States is leaving Afghanistan, Middle East Eye said, pointing to a major agreement Beijing signed with the country's former government that could provide a boost to the Afghan economy.

In 2007, China signed a $3 billion deal with the US-backed government in Kabul to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine over thirty years. The Mes Aynak mine is said to contain approximately 240 million tons of 2.3 percent grade copper ore, making it one of the largest untapped high-grade projects in the world, according to an industry publication.

He noted that this would have given Afghanistan's ailing economy a boost and helped stabilize the country, provided the governance was good. Afghanistan also has lithium ores and other minerals and salts that experts estimate to be worth close to a trillion dollars. Copper and lithium are very important to China's economy, which is based on high-tech industries. However, China has not been able to capitalize on its deal with Kabul for security reasons.

Now that the United States has left Afghanistan, China should be relieved and hopeful, especially considering the history of its favorable relations with the Taliban. China has long feared that the conflict in Afghanistan would spill over into the troubled Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, undermining China's development plans and benefiting the United States and India.

"China has therefore worked with neighboring Pakistan to cut off armed separatists and prevent them from crossing the Wakhan Corridor, the narrow strip of Afghan territory that extends into China, while maintaining good relations with the Taliban."

China supported the Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s against Soviet intervention. Although China did not establish relations with the Afghan government after the Taliban took over the country in 1996, much has changed since then.

Aggressive foreign policy

Since President Xi Jinping came to power in China, the country has been pursuing a more assertive and open foreign policy. In 2013, Xi launched the game-changing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), one of the largest infrastructure plans in history, estimated to be worth between one and eight trillion dollars. More than 140 countries and international organizations have joined the initiative.

The largest BRI project is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $60 billion initiative to connect China to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan's Gwadar port.

There is no doubt that China's goals within Afghanistan have evolved over time. Its foreign policy is no longer driven by security considerations, with economics and geopolitics playing a major role, especially when it comes to India and the United States.

The writer said: Earlier this year, China signed a $400 billion economic deal with Iran. Since Afghanistan is the shortest route between the two countries, it is a natural crossing point, so both Iran and China will benefit from a stabilized Afghanistan, both economically and in terms of counter-narcotics and the war on terrorism.

While both are treading cautiously inside Afghanistan, there is no doubt that a U.S. withdrawal would make the task easier and safer, especially considering that they are aligned with both Pakistan and Russia.

Probationary Strategy

For its part, the Taliban are confident that China will play a pivotal role in Afghanistan's reconstruction and economic stabilization. In July, senior Taliban leaders met with China's foreign minister in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. China's recognition of the new Afghan government appears to be imminent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. strategy of using international recognition and humanitarian aid to control the Taliban will be put to the test in the coming months. The United States will certainly rely on allies such as Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan to achieve its goals in Afghanistan, but relations with the latter two are so complicated that things don't always go smoothly, raising doubts about the effectiveness of this strategy.

While the United States relies heavily on its partnership with India as part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which also includes Japan and Australia, to curb Chinese ambitions in the region, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has damaged the U.S. reputation as a reliable partner, which will put that partnership-and U.S. relations with India-at risk.

The erosion of Washington's credibility may cause many other countries, including the Gulf states, to reassess their relations with the United States. The withdrawal from Afghanistan has clearly demonstrated that the major power in the region is no longer the United States but China.