Chinese company offers Taliban $10 billion to help acccess lithium deposits

Kabul — A Chinese corporation named Gochin has shown a readiness to invest $10 billion in Afghanistan’s lithium resources, according to the Taliban’s Ministry of Mine and Petroleum, which released the information on Thursday.

According to the ministry, representatives from Gochin met with the group’s Minister for Mine and Petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar, in Kabul. According to the ministry, the Chinese investment will generate 120,000 direct jobs and one million indirect jobs in the nation.

According to Gochin, the investment includes the construction of a new tunnel, the restoration of the Salang Pass, and the processing of the lithium mined inside Afghanistan.

China has strengthened its economic relations with the Taliban since the Taliban retook control, with Chinese businesses offering investments in Afghanistan.

A $540 million agreement was struck in January 2023 by Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan.

Bloomberg claims that Chinese mining firms have long wished to get access to Afghanistan’s substantial lithium resources, which are worth an estimated $1 trillion.