Aug. 17 — In an article for Affari Italiani, Italian economist and China expert Michele Geraci blasted the Western failure on Afghanistan and explained that China will now adopt a peace-through-development approach.

All the so-called Western values have evaporated overnight in Afghanistan, Geraci wrote. And this goes not only for the U.S., but for NATO, the EU, and Europe as well, as this is seen as “an indistinguishable whole” in Asia and globally. 

“The real winner of our disaster is China, which has won its easiest game, doing nothing, as always. A wise strategy based on two pillars: 1) no military intervention abroad, and 2) economic cooperation for development. In other words, China prefers the Silk Road approach to that of the tank route. An approach that favors the development of infrastructure, transport and investments over that of war. And it is an approach that was the basis of the MOU Silk Road that Italy itself signed in 2019, during the first Conte government, so that we too could participate in the development of countries with investments and provide prosperity to people, rather than betray them and send our soldiers to their deaths. China is smart and will not fall into the trap of military intervention, the pious hope of the West, but will enter into trade agreements with the new Afghan government, thus adding another transit point toward the Indian Ocean and the ports of Pakistan, also exploiting the Pashtun presence on both sides of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan which was already economically firmly integrated with China. India is already far away and too busy with serious internal problems to have a big say. Indeed, fortunately for itself, it will be kept out and then, when the time is right, it will also bury the hatchet with China, when it has understood that it will not be able to count on any economic contribution from the West.” 

But not only will India, all other Asian countries draw a lesson that they cannot rely on the West. This goes for Taiwan, as well as for Japan, Korea, etc., which will presumably not fall into the trap of being used as a pawn against China.

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