NPR.org | China Becomes A Player In Afghanistan's Future (audio)

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October 21, 2009

In search of a solution to Afghanistan's problems, the United States is seeking help from several of Afghanistan's neighbors, including China, which has become the largest commercial investor in Afghanistan.

"We believe that Afghanistan should be the ground for cooperation of civilizations, not the competition between the countries. I think there is room for everyone in Afghanistan." - Sultan Ahmad Baheen, Afghanistan's ambassador to China

China's border with Afghanistan is only 46 miles long. West of the border is Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor. It's a sliver of mountainous land that was once part of the ancient trade route known as the Silk Road. The British and Russians drew the Wakhan Corridor on a map at the end of the 19th century to be a buffer zone between British India to the south and Russian Turkestan to the north......