Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said today, Thursday, that after the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, the movement will depend mainly on funds coming from China.
Mujahid added - to the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" - that "China is our most important partner, and represents a fundamental and exceptional opportunity for us, because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country."
He explained that the New Silk Road - an infrastructure-building initiative through which China wants to increase its global influence by opening trade routes - is highly valued by the Taliban.
It is noteworthy that as a result of the Taliban’s seizure of power and the chaotic departure of foreign forces from Kabul Airport in recent weeks;
Western countries have greatly restricted their financial aid to Afghanistan.
The Taliban spokesman noted that with China's help, the movement will fight for a strong economic return to the country.
"Our country is rich in copper mines, which thanks to the Chinese can return to work and modernize. In addition, China is our gateway to markets all over the world," he said.
Afghanistan's mountains contain a wide range of underground riches and rare minerals, and it remains unclear how the Taliban government will exploit the country's resources, but minerals may appear particularly attractive to countries such as China.
The US "oilprice" website said that the value of the untapped mineral resources in Afghanistan was estimated at about one trillion US dollars for years, according to the statistics of the US Geological Survey.
Some Afghan officials said the actual figure may be 3 times that, as the mountains of Afghanistan contain a wide range of underground wealth, including copper, gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, bauxite, coal, iron ore, rare metals, lithium, chromium, lead, zinc, precious stones, talc, sulfur and stone limestone, gypsum and marble;