Competition-cooperation analysis of Afghanistan-China relations (2001-2021)

Afghanistan's strategic location and available natural resources have turned it into a center of attraction in the eyes of colonial states. Since the country was under the sovereignty of big states during its recent past, it has always strived to exist. Although the development of the country has lagged in every aspect due to the civil war and occupations, this process is being tried to be overcome with cooperation and balance policies. Economic partnerships and regional rapprochement established in this regard are among the most important factors in Afghanistan's restructuring process. This thesis aims to reveal the place and importance of Afghanistan in China's economic and political strategies in the region. In this regard, the main problem of the study is how the cooperation between the parties, material gains and common economic interests affect the regional politics and how they affect bilateral relations. In addition, in line with the "one road, one generation" project, which was created with the idea of reviving the Silk Road, issues such as whether China has achieved its goals for Afghanistan were also emphasized. Although the threats in the region make it difficult for cooperation and rapprochement to take place, current financial interests and common gains eliminate this situation. Because the main motivation of such rapprochement is the provision of interests. With the economic development of China, an increase in energy demand has emerged and meeting the said energy need from Afghanistan has come to the fore. This thought brings to mind the question of how appropriate regional security is. It is also important that other great states view this idea. Because, due to its geographical location, Afghanistan connects India and China, and thanks to its existing resources, it attracts the attention of Russia and America to the region. China, which wants to prevent this, has put forward new plans. Within the scope of this thesis, Afghanistan-China relations were evaluated within the framework of competition-cooperation. The effect of Afghanistan on the economic and diplomatic relations in the region is discussed. The reflections of cooperation policies on regional security were discussed. In addition, by examining various electronic and written sources with the method of field scanning, an effort has been made to identify the partnership-cooperation activities between the two countries and to reveal the areas where they are effective. In addition, the correlation between security expectations and China-Afghan rapprochement policy has been examined. It is expected that the results obtained in this study will guide other researchers. Keywords: Afghanistan, China, Cooperation, Partnership, Regional Strategies.