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China must plan for growing risks in Afghanistan and Africa: observers
- Withdrawals of US troops from Afghanistan and French forces in West Africa could pose threat to China’s investments in those areas
- Beijing should take extra precautions and work with other nations to protect its interests, observers argue
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China’s projects in Afghanistan and West Africa face growing security threats and require increased risk assessment and precautions following US and French military withdrawals, observers say.
Beijing has been watching Afghanistan anxiously amid concerns that the end to the US military mission there could lead to a revival of terrorism, potentially endangering Chinese investment projects, border security and stability in the neighbouring Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Observers have also warned of rising security risks to Chinese investments in West Africa with the planned withdrawal of France’s anti-terrorism operation in the region.
They said China should step up risk assessment, take precautions and work with partners to mitigate risks.
03:20
Afghans sift through US military junkyard for scraps to sell
Afghans sift through US military junkyard for scraps to sell
The United States is set to pull out all of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of August after nearly two decades of deployment. US Central Command announced on Tuesday that the withdrawal process was more than 90 per cent complete.
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