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China’s Shared Vision for Stability & Economic Revival

The fifth round of the trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers of China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan was held in Beijing on 21 May 2025. The exclusive dialogue brought together China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, and Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

After decades of US-driven turmoil that shattered Afghanistan and destabilized Pakistan. China took concrete steps to move the region towards practical cooperation, regional dialogue, and a shared vision for lasting peace and economic revival.

China seeks to transform the regional unrest into lasting stability by building political support and mutual trust as the foundation for economic progress. As Wang Yi stated, “First, to enhance political mutual trust and uphold good neighborliness and friendship,” The three sides agreed to enhance political mutual trust to create an environment for shared development.

Building on this trust, the meeting moved decisively towards the practical step of regional connectivity by integrating Afghanistan into CPEC. As per Pakistan’s Foreign Office statement, “China and Pakistan reiterated their support for extending CPEC to Afghanistan under the broader framework of BRI cooperation”. After prolonged strife,

The 2025 China, Pakistan, Afghanistan Trilateral Meeting
Amid crises engulfing Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Asia quietly marked the boldest attempt in a volatile region that could reshape a restive landscape into a hub of connectivity and stability and become the century’s most consequential peace initiative: “China’s 2025 trilateral meeting” with Pakistan and Afghanistan offers a pragmatic blueprint for lasting stability and shared prosperity in the south Asian region.”

Afghanistan’s fractured economy needs secure, accessible trade routes. The initiative will boost its infrastructure, provide affordable trade routes, create jobs, and support its economic recovery. Similarly, it strengthens Pakistan’s role as a regional trade hu,b giving Afghanistan stable access to Gwadar Port, expanding export markets, and creating new prospects for development. China plans to give economic benefits to Afghanistan from its broader BRI project and enhance development capacity with the support of Pakistan. As China’s official statement: “China and Pakistan support Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development, and stand ready to expand trade exchanges with Afghanistan and help it enhance its own capacity for development.”

China supports Pakistan and Afghanistan in developing practical cooperation with each other. It emphasized that both countries need to uphold harmonious relations. To strengthen exchanges and diplomatic ties, both nations indicated towards high-level cooperation through the exchange of ambassadors. On 30 May 2025, “Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relations by exchanging envoys — a key step towards normalising ties after years of strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Kabul”. This step will further deepen the relations between both countries and contribute to regional stability.

Moreover, China also ensured that sustainable development needs security cooperation. The three countries build consensus for joint security ventures to increase stability in the region. This reflects the mutual interest in eradicating present obstacles like terrorism, drug trafficking, etc. For that, Pakistan’s official statement highlighted: “Recognising the importance of eradicating terrorism and external threats from the region as necessary to achieve economic and connectivity objectives, all sides agreed to enhance security cooperation to promote peace and stability”.

The strategic path ahead requires the continuity of diplomatic dialogues, especially between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The initiative shows that China can facilitate the development and peace talks to mediate amidst challenging times. To enhance communication and engagement, they set up a sixth round of trilateral meetings, which will take place in Kabul. As officially declared by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, “the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue mechanism and strive to convene the sixth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Kabul at an early date”. Additionally, China’s financial and technical capabilities will pledge continuous assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan in development projects like infrastructure, energy, and agricultural projects. The shared commitment will offer new positions, reduce poverty, and build local trust in both countries to boost economic progress in the region.

To accelerate deeper economic connectivity, the trilateral partners should prioritize a digital trade corridor as it will modernize the trading system especially for Afghan traders, streamline commerce, and reduce costs. Furthermore, to ensure the commitment to practical and mutual growth, needs a enhanced cooperation in building joint security measures, such as law enforcement mechanisms, intelligence cooperation, and border security measures to eradicate the hub of terrorism.

China’s pragmatic diplomacy and dialogue mechanism is committed to the principles of multilateralism, not only pushing economic development but also ensuring regional stability and security to ensure lasting peace in the region. The 2025 trilateral meeting with Pakistan and Afghanistan indicates concrete actions, such as CPEC integration into Afghanistan., augers well for regional stability.

In partnership with the Institute of Strategic Studies Institute

China Shared Vision for Stability & Economic Revival
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