Quiet clash over Afghanistan may presage more US-China tensions at the United Nations

The US and China are facing off at the United Nations over control of Afghanistan policy and aid, with the outcome likely to set the tone for relations between the two giants at the global body, analysts said.

“An obscure diplomatic dispute over who should draft United Nations Security Council resolutions on Afghanistan is turning into a major row between the United States and China,” said Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group.

The debate, he said, had significant implications “not only for how the UN engages with the Taliban in Kabul, but also for how Beijing positions itself as a leading power in the Security Council”.

Tension has been brewing for months, Gowan said, but escalated after the new Donald Trump administration took office in January. At issue is who should initiate and guide UN resolutions and mandates, which in turn influences how the Security Council handles peace operations or sanctions regimes.

Beijing has significant interest in Afghanistan, and not only because of the central Asian nation’s location on its southern border and history of hosting restive members of China’s Uygur minority.

Afghanistan also has rich resource potential, with an estimated US$1 trillion worth of mineral deposits, including copper, iron, gold, lithium, and rare earth elements.