China Sees Role in Afghanistan - Wall Street Journal

By BRIAN SPEGELE

BEIJINGâ€"To prevent wider regional disruptions, China, Russia and Central Asian nations need to do more to bring stability to Afghanistan, China's President Hu Jintao declared.

Mr. Hu's remarks, published in an interview with the Communist Party's flagship People's Daily newspaper Wednesday, underscored the ambition of members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to serve one day as a regional security bloc and possibly an alternative to Western-led groups like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"We will persevere in managing regional affairs by ourselves, guard against turbulence and shocks from outside the region, and play a bigger role in Afghanistan's restoration of peace," Mr. Hu said in the interview.

Solving the problems in Afghanistan "has become an indispensible force in dealing with this region's security issues," Mr. Hu said.

As NATO troops' departure from Afghanistan draws nearer, fears are growing in some parts of the region that instability in that country could reverberate across Central Asia.

China has worked to bolster resource ties with nearby Central Asian nations in recent years, part of a global bid to ensure the supplies needed to fuel its economy.

But the complexity of the economic and political ties between Russia and China complicate the prospects for the organization to act cohesively on security. While the two countries have collaborated on issues such as growing violence in Syria, recently blocking action by other U.N. Security Council states, Beijing's rapid economic and strategic rise continues to arouse some mistrust in Moscow, according to analysts.

The annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizationâ€"whose members in addition to Russia and China, are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistanâ€"began in Beijing on Wednesday. Iran holds observer status, so do India, Pakistan and Mongolia. Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, was also expected to take part in the summit.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday afternoon. Analysts say China and Russia are likely to push Iran not to further provoke tensions in the Middle East.

Tehran is under pressure from Washington and Europe over its nuclear program. The U.S. is worried that Iran, though it says its purposes are peaceful, is developing nuclear weapons.

Analysts say Beijing and Moscow aren't likely to publicly pressure Iran during this week's summit. Mr. Hu, in the interview, reiterated longstanding Beijing's longstanding position that concerns over Iran's nuclear program be dealt with diplomatically, and that those involved in negotiations should avoid steps that might further escalate tensions.

Write to Brian Spegele at brian.spegele@wsj.com