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BEIJING — China, Russia and four Central Asian states grantedAfghanistan observer status in their regional group Thursday,moving to consolidate ties with the impoverished, war-torn nationbefore most foreign combat troops depart by the end of 2014. Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the plan at the ShanghaiCooperation Organization's annual summit in Beijing. Russia and China have long seen the six-nation group as a way tocounter U.S. influence in Central Asia, and hope to play asignificant role in Afghanistan's future development, especially ineconomic reconstruction. Granting Afghanistan observer status willstrengthen their contacts, something Beijing and Moscow hope willdilute U.S. influence and more closely align Kabul's policies withtheir own aims. The SCO also recommitted itself to closer security and economicties and to combating drug trafficking, extremism and terrorism. "All the member states should implement the agreement on strikingthe three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism," Hu toldother leaders at a morning session. "We should establish andimprove a system of cooperation in security and take coordinativeactions to narrow the space of activities of the three forces, getrid of drug deals and other organized cross-border criminalactivities." Afghanistan, whose president, Hamid Karzai, attended the summit,joins India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as SCO observer states.The group also admitted Turkey as one of its three dialoguepartners. Granting observer status aims to strengthen "political, economicand civilian cooperation between the SCO states and Afghanistan,"Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told reporters. Underscoring China's growing economic dominance in Central Asia, Huopened the summit by saying China would offer a $10 billion loan tosupport economic development and cooperation among SCO memberstates. No details were immediately given on how the money would beused. Despite the warming political ties, the SCO has yet to declare aunified strategy on Afghanistan and shows little sign of fillingthe void left by the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces. Already, Russia and fellow SCO member nations Uzbekistan,Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are doing their part to ensure an orderlyNATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, having agreed to allow thereverse transport of alliance equipment after Pakistan shut downsouthern supply routes six months ago. The fourth Central Asian member of the SCO is Tajikistan. The NATO pullout will also prompt the end of military operationsout of Kyrgyzstan's Manas air base, fulfilling China and Russia'soft-stated opposition to a permanent U.S. presence in Central Asia. While the SCO's security plans in Afghanistan remain unclear,economic outreach looks set to lead the way. Firms from China – the world's second-largest economy –already have moved into Afghanistan, where officials hope that vastuntapped mineral deposits will help offset the loss of foreign aidonce foreign troops withdraw. China shares a small stretch ofborder with Afghanistan. The U.S. Defense Department has estimated the value ofAfghanistan's mineral reserves at $1 trillion. Other estimates havepegged it at $3 trillion or more. In December, China's state-owned National Petroleum Corp. signed adeal allowing it to become the first foreign company to exploitAfghanistan's oil and natural gas reserves. That comes three yearsafter the China Metallurgical Construction Co. signed a contract todevelop the Aynak copper mine in Logar province. Beijing's $3.5billion stake in the mine is the largest foreign investment inAfghanistan. China's government has also helped train and equip some securityunits and government offices, invested in infrastructure,healthcare and education, and offered scholarships to Afghanstudents. Russia, which lost nearly 15,000 troops in its disastrous 1979-1989invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, appears keen to recoversome of its lost influence there. A key concern for Moscow isstemming the flow of heroin into Russia, to be met by increasedintelligence work in the country and bolstered border security insurrounding states. Moscow also has offered generous assistance to rehabilitateSoviet-era dams and power stations and is exploring natural gasexploitation and infrastructure contracts – putting it on apotential collision course with China. I am an expert from hydraulic-piston-pump.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Hydraulic Pump Spare Parts Manufacturer , Linde Pumps, Kayaba Pumps,and more.
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