China's Winning Bid For Copper Rights Includes Power Plant, Railroad

[GAP]

Afghanistan: China's Winning Bid For Copper Rights Includes Power Plant, Railroad
By Ron Synovitz November 24, 2007 (RFE/RL)
Article Link

Afghanistan has awarded a state-owned company in China with the right to develop a large copper field to the south of Kabul, following two years of bidding.

China Metallurgical Group agreed to invest billions of dollars in the project and related infrastructure development -- including the construction of a coal-fired electrical power plant and what would be Afghanistan's first freight railway.

By the estimates of some geologists, deposits at Afghanistan's Aynak copper field in Logar Province make it the world's largest undeveloped copper field.

The deal gives China Metallurgical Group the right to extract high-quality copper from the area south of Kabul.

Developing Infrastructure

But the Aynak copper field has neither the electrical power nor access to the transportation links needed to fully develop the area as a copper mine.

Afghan Mining Minister Ibrahim Adel says the Chinese company has agreed to invest nearly $3 billion in order to set up mining operations and overcome the lack of basic infrastructure.
More on link

 

[Long in the tooth]

Looks like the Chinese will have a vested interest in the long term stability and security of Afghanistan.  Hopefully the human rights groups will have a microscope on either the Chinese military or private security companies that will be required to ensure the facilities are not damaged.

Communist countries engaged in capitalist endeavours... interesting times.

 

[CougarKing]

Communist countries engaged in capitalist endeavours... interesting times.

Otto,

If you have been paying attention, China's not communist anymore- perhaps only in name and in political system, but certainly not in economic system, since the advent of the free market system there with Deng Xiaoping opening up China to trade with the rest of the world in the early 1980s,
making China prosperous. There are still some state-owned enterprises, but the majority of companies in many different industries are free from state control, or at least heading that way. If I can recall correctly, in 1998 Premier Zhu Rongji even ordered the Chinese People's Liberation Army to divest itself of the many companies the military was running, though the process through which this has been achieved has been slow and ineffective in some ways.

Still, the fact that the political system is still a very authoritarian, one-party-ruled system that is very intolerant of any political opposition and indifferent to many human rights of its citizens makes the CPP/PRC govt. cannot have a llegitimacy that has lasted as long as those of Western Democracies. Perhaps the cyclical nature of Chinese history is just at work again and it's only matter of time before the CPP loses the "Mandate of Heaven" or rather "the Mandate" of the people; but in the meantime, the CPP has tried to adapt, and has even accepted some successful Chinese entrepreneurs into its party ranks.

Nowadays, China acts more like a one-party, authoritarian state that seeks to ensure its own llegitimacy by ensuring continued political stability to ensure continued economic prosperity. Meanwhile the party tries to prove its continuining relevance through nationalist initiatives, such as the Beijing Olympics and a continued military buildup, not only to astound or scare the "renegade province" of Taiwan as well as all expatriate Chinese all over the world (called Hua Qiao), but to signal to the world that China is a world power.

BTW, mods- doesn't this latest thread belong to the China superthread instead of here?

 

[Flip]

Just another dynasty in my opinion.

A philisopher once wrote "Communism is the sincerest form of capitalism."
A small group owns everything - OK.

I wonder what China would contribute to "stability"?

Hmmm.

 

[CougarKing]

Flip,

Are you talking about the internal stability of Afghanistan or that within China itself?

China, as you well now, is very wary of interfering in other nations' "domestic affairs", so as to not give anyone as justification to meddle in Chinese internal affairs as well, especially those they see as its biggest "domestic" headaches, such as Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan.

 

[Shamrock]

I wonder what China would contribute to "stability"?

A UN Security Council veto.

 

[Long in the tooth]

By 'Communist' I mean not the pure economic definition but more in terms of state control, especially on freedom of speach.  I don't believe there has ever been a true communist state 'from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs' type.  In every society some have always been more equal than others.