Afghans pin hope on China to play proactive role in stabilizing Afghanistan

President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, after assuming office one month ago, began his first official state visit to China and inked four cooperation agreements on Tuesday to enhance bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries.

Choosing China as President Ahmadzai's first state visit and receiving a red carpet welcome in Beijing demonstrates a mutual interest for enhancing bilateral ties, according to some Afghan political observers.

In his speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing, President Ahmadzai described China as Afghanistan's strategic partner and raised the notion that Afghanistan is an insecure country that should be changed and said the conflict-ridden country would soon be transformed into a center of economic activity.

Some Afghan political observers are of the view that China, as an economic power and a good neighbor of Afghanistan, can play a vital role in stabilizing the conflict-ridden country through investment in economic projects there and encouraging Pakistan to give up the alleged support for Taliban militants.

Some Afghans believe that Taliban insurgents' safe havens are in Pakistan, a claim rebuffed by Islamabad as groundless.

Ebraheem Darwishian, a Kabul University professor, said he opined that the main reason for continued instability in Afghanistan is the high rate of unemployment and poverty, adding that China by investing in economic projects in Afghanistan, can create job opportunities and thus help stabilize the country.

"Since the conflicts and insecurity halt investment in Afghanistan which is the victim of terrorism, and China is also experiencing the terror challenge as well, it would benefit both countries to tackle the terror challenge jointly," he said during a interview with Xinhua.

China has contributed hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to Afghanistan's reconstruction process since 2002. According to the joint statement signed during President Ahmadzai's visit, China will provide 500 million yuan (81.8 million U.S. dollars) in grant assistance to the Afghan government for 2014 and a further 1.5 billion yuan in the next three years (2015-2017).

During the visit, President Ahmadzai had meetings with Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. He would also attend the fourth ministerial conference of the Istanbul Process on Oct.31, hosted by China.

Aimed at boosting regional cooperation for strengthening security in Afghanistan and in its near and extended neighbors, the Heart of Asia process was launched in Turkey in November 2011.

Afghanistan needs China's long-term support in the wake of NATO- led forces' 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan, said Darwishian.

With the withdrawal of the U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan, the financial cooperation of the troops' contributing nations with the alliance will decline dramatically.

Observers believe that the prime need of Afghans is peace; no one will invest a penny in Afghanistan in the absence of peace.

China as a big power can help Afghanistan to achieve lasting peace and economic stability, said Samimullah Samim, an Afghan legislator.