"China will continue to play a greater role as a coordinator of the post-war reconstruction of Afghanistan," Zhang said. But he stressed that China will never send troops to Afghanistan.

China hosted the fourth ministerial conference of the Heart of Asia/Istanbul Process in Beijing during President Ahmadzai's visit. Aimed at boosting regional cooperation for strengthening security in Afghanistan and its near and extended neighbors, the Heart of Asia Process was launched in Turkey in November 2011.

To promote result-oriented cooperation through practical means, the Heart of Asia/Istanbul Process has identified a number of confidence-building measures in areas including anti-terrorism, drug control, disaster management, trade and investment opportunity, regional infrastructure construction and education to be jointly implemented by interested participating and supporting countries and organizations.

The Beijing conference ended with a declaration calling for the national political reconciliation of Afghanistan. It also promised assistance to the country on the basis of mutual respect. A total of 64 priority programs were identified in the conference this year, which will help Afghanistan develop its national governance, self-development, public security and defense.

As Afghanistan is currently at a crucial stage for its economic, political and security transition, observers said the meeting will exert significant influence on future developments.

The Heart of Asia/Istanbul Process has been trying to resolve the blame game between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the issue of the Taliban and other insurgent groups operating in the mountains that separate the two countries. Kabul has often claimed that the Taliban have used their sanctuaries in Pakistan to launch attacks in Afghanistan, indicating that Islamabad has prior knowledge of the attacks, a charge that has been repeatedly denied by Pakistani authorities.

Since China is friendly to both Kabul and Islamabad, analysts said that Beijing can be relied upon to use its influence and vast resources to resolve the long-standing feud.

Fu of the CICIR said that the stability of Afghanistan is highly relevant for China's peripheral security strategy. As terrorist forces in Xinjiang are closely tied to Afghanistan's extremist groups, helping maintain Afghanistan's security meets China's interests.

Wang Shida, another researcher with the CICIR, claimed that the recent Beijing conference of the Heart of Asia/Istanbul Process will not only help the new Afghan Government to complete the triple transition, but also enhance trust and clarify doubts among regional countries, creating a sound political climate favorable to the final settlement of the Afghan issue.

Assistance and cooperation

During Ahmadzai's Beijing trip, China pledged to provide 500 million yuan ($81.8 million) in grant assistance to the Afghan Government for 2014 and a further 1.5 billion yuan ($244 million) over the upcoming three years.

According to a joint statement signed by the two governments in Beijing, the Chinese side will also implement assistance and training plans for Afghanistan, and will work to open training courses on anti-terrorism, drug control and disaster management. China will help Afghanistan train 3,000 people of all circles in the upcoming five years and provide 500 scholarships.

During a talk with Ahmadzai, Chinese President Xi Jinping also promised that China will enhance its support for Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction, help Afghanistan frame a plan on national economic and social development, and train professionals, as well as developing agriculture, hydroelectricity and infrastructure construction.

Moreover, China also pledged to bolster tangible progress on major projects like the Aynak copper mine and the Amu Darya basin oil project. Ahmadzai welcomed Chinese investment in areas like oil, mining and infrastructure, adding that Afghanistan will work to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel.

Wang noted that due to security concerns arising from the election deadlock between Ahmadzai and his presidential rival, Abdullah Abdullah, earlier this year, as well as the NATO-led troops' scheduled withdrawal, most international investors have taken a wait-and-see attitude, and actual investment from the outside world has actually come to a full stop. Thus, Chinese investment is actually playing a huge role in restoring confidence for the economic reconstruction of the country.

"The new Afghan Government also hopes the cooperation with China in the two projects, the Aynak copper mine and the Amu Darya basin oil project, will become a good example for the country's mineral resource exploitation, increasing government fiscal revenue and job opportunities," Wang commented.

Currently, Chinese enterprises have invested in several projects in Afghanistan's infrastructure construction and resource exploitation areas. Observers said that China's strategy to help Afghanistan's stability will probably encourage more Chinese investment in the country.

In addition, as Afghanistan is also a part of China's Silk Road Economic Belt development strategy—which promotes the interconnection between China and Central Asian countries—Afghanistan may also receive heavy investment in infrastructure construction from China as well as other sources. Wang said that the Silk Road Economic Belt strategy will help Afghanistan to boost its economy, while the country's economic development, in turn, will help contain the rise of Afghanistan's extremist forces.

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