China and Afghanistan working on Electric Vehicles

 China and Afghanistan working on Electric Vehicles.

China and Afghanistan working on Electric Vehicles

 

Hello, my friends, The world has gone through many revolutions. But the latest revolution that is unfolding in front of us is a technological

China and Afghanistan working on Electric Vehicles

revolution... ...namely electric vehicles "EV". Just as artificial intelligence has come to be known as "AI", electric vehicles are now widely discussed as "EVIt's just like there is no need to say that "KFC" stands for "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and PC is actually an abbreviation for personal computer. Everyone is starting to know this. Just last year it sold more than one crore. This growing graph is enough to tell us that every year the need will increase, not decrease.

EV are desirable to everyone because oil vehicles are noisy while EVs are so silent that even a pedestrian on the footpath does not know that a vehicle has passed by. These are such silent vehicles that many European countries have had to make regulations that EV produce artificial noise so that pedestrians are alerted that a vehicle is coming and they can adopt a cautious attitude.

 

Well, think why EV doesn't make noise? My Curious Fellows That's because it has very few moving parts. EVs don't even have an engine. It is replaced by an e-motor that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy to rotate the tire. A conventional vehicle has 2,000 moving parts, including the engine, belts, and gears.

 

While in EV there are only twenty moving parts. This is how you can tell the difference in noise between the two. The demand for EV is also increasing because conventional vehicles require constant maintenance, parts need frequent oiling, servicing, moving parts wear out due to friction, and they have to change after some time.

 

While there is no such need for EV. Because moving parts are less in number. So there will be less chance of friction. Due to this, the chance of replacement of parts is also reduced. Since it does not contain oil, the chance of fire is also reduced. It is Eco-friendly and does not disturb the environment.

 

It means there are so many qualities that make it expensive once but not again and again. Whereas a conventional vehicle is relatively cheap initially but becomes expensive due to its maintenance expense. Due to these qualities, the sales of EV is increasing every year. Who will benefit the most from this increased sales? The country and the company that manufactures and exports it...

 

...which is at the forefront of this business. It will also benefit the most. And that country is China. How far is China in this business? You can see in this graph from last year that the EV sales of the whole world are on one side and China alone on the other side. China alone has sold three point five million EV units.

 

Dragon is a global leader in the sale of electric vehicles. It is followed by Germany and the US, which have produced between six and seven lakh EV units. China has benefited the most from the 55% increase in EV sales last year. Some 134 billion dollars of business has been done by China. While it is followed by the United States and Germany, which have traded thirty-nine and forty-seven billion dollars.

 

In the world EV markets last year, China had a 53.6 percent market share, which means more than the whole world combined. Now the thing is, to keep such a large global share and market leader in EV technology, China has needed these barren, rocky mountains and passes of Afghanistan. A huge amount of lithium is hidden in these mountains.

 

And lithium is the element that is the lifeblood of EV. Because the power that EVs are relying on to spread around the world... ...is their lithium-ion batteries. EVs powered by these batteries travel 300 kilometers on a single charge. Lithium batteries are rechargeable and their efficiency does not decrease with repeated recharging.

 

They are also much smaller than older lead-acid, zinc-carbon, or nickel batteries, which makes them much easier to transport. This is why the country that has a sustainable supply chain of lithium for these batteries will be... ...able to make the most batteries and also take the largest EV market share.

 

Yes, it's true that EV need Nickel and Cobalt... ...to make the "EV batteries" last longer and work better. However, the main requirement is lithium. So there will be a business cold war between the manufacturers of EV wherever lithium is. Where is the lithium now? By far, Australia is the largest exporter of lithium.

 

It has a

China and Afghanistan working on Electric Vehicles

total market share of around forty-seven percent. Next comes the South American country Chile, which also fulfills the large demand for lithium in EV, accounting for about 30 percent of its share. While, the third country is China itself, which is one of the major producers of lithium. It has a 14 to 15 percent market share.

 

But the problem is that currently, only fourteen percent of the world's vehicles are EV. To avoid global warming, 100% of vehicles need to be EV, the same is being planned. Think what will happen when fifty percent of the world's vehicles are EV? How much lithium will the industry need? How high will the price of lithium rise? Now you can see that lithium prices are rising like dollar rates in a poor country.

 

American geologists have called this country the Saudi Arabia of lithium. There is lithium in Afghanistan, even the Russians knew it decades ago, but how much lithium is there? It was estimated in 2010 when the Pentagon conducted a geological survey۔۔۔ ۔۔۔in Afghanistan during the presence of the American army.

 

It revealed the discovery of lithium deposits in the mountains of the Afghan province of Ghazni and Western Afghanistan. Its preliminary estimates showed that Ghazni had lithium reserves almost as large... ...as those discovered in Bolivia, the largest in the world. Now keep in mind friends that it is one thing to discover deposits, but another thing to extract, refine, and export them.

 

Australia is still number one in this field, not Bolivia and Afghanistan. But there is still a lot of work to be done in both places. According to American geologists, in 2010, minerals worth one trillion dollars were discovered in Afghanistan, which were able to support Afghanistan's economy for many years.

 

By these minerals, it mostly meant lithium deposits. The US thought that by selling these minerals and lithium, the pre-Taliban government in Afghanistan would be strong. Because South Korea's LG and Samsung companies, Japan's Panasonic, Sony, and Nissan or China's "BYD" and "NIO" can all become permanent clients of Afghanistan.

 

This was the idea of ​​the Americans, then new companies with them who want to make batteries, their offices will be opened in Afghanistan, processing units will be set up in the areas of mines. If peace prevails, cobalt mixing units, battery assembling and possibly production factories will be located nearby.

 

Because if these departments are close to each other, the cost of the manufacturer is very reduced. So this was the plan, but the Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani governments before the Taliban could not do it all. Now it is the dream of the Taliban government that they will do it. These are the provinces of Kunar and Nuristan on the Afghanistan side.

 

While, on the side of Pakistan is the Chitral area. So these two provinces on the side of Afghanistan are the places where the US only discovered lithium, but could not extract it. But now the Chinese are starting to arrive here. Especially in the district "Chapa dara" of this Kunar province. A Taliban commander here told the Washington Post that the Chinese were unbelievable.

 

At first, they came here and kept looking at a spare white material near us and did not tell us anything. But then we saw the excitement in their eyes. That's when we understood the word Lithium. The time the Taliban commander was talking about when the Chinese arrived... ...was the same year that the US left Afghanistan.

 

That is the winter of 2021. Then the US and European countries imposed many sanctions on Afghanistan due to the ban on human rights and women's education. Due to this, American and European companies are not able to deal with the Taliban. So now the field is open for the Chinese and Taliban as partners.

 

Chinese entrepreneurs and government officials have been tying the knot in Afghanistan's Kunar, Nuristan, and Ghazni regions since last year. A gold rush is similar... ...to the one that started in America in the late 1840s and continued through the 1950s. We have shown you this very interesting and true story in the third episode of the second season of History of America.

 

So Afghanistan's hotels and Kabul's plazas are filled with Chinese lithium-hungry entrepreneurs. The desire to accumulate more lithium than one another is so great that many times it seems that the unrest will happen. Rather, the Afghan government has also cracked down on the Chinese. Because many Chinese could not even wait to get their license.

 

As in January of the same year, the Taliban also arrested a Chinese national. He was carrying 1,000 tons of lithium, the white liquid from which lithium is extracted. He wanted to go to China via Pakistan from Kunar, but was arrested. The "lithium" contained in the sacks was returned to Afghanistan.

 

So this is the science behind the lithium rush. The Western world is so worried about this situation. They think Afghanistan may have made a secret deal with China to extract and sell all its lithium and minerals. Because it is very cheap for China to take anything from Afghanistan to China. both have joint borders.

 

There is a ninety-two-kilometer-long Afghan border along the Wakhan Corridor in north Pakistan that provides a land route to China from Afghanistan. This narrow strip of 350 km long can become an excellent business line for both countries. Therefore, the logistics cost of extracting any minerals, etc.

 

from Afghanistan and taking them to their country will be less for China than any other country. That is why the West is starting to think that Afghanistan has a deal with China. But if you think about it, it is also bad news for Afghanistan that the world is starting to understand that they have a deal with China. Because in this way, no other country from the outside world will come to bid.

 

That is, whatever price China sets, they will have to accept. The overall prices of their minerals will fall. The Afghan government was also understanding this situation. So now senior Taliban officials have started saying we are in no rush to hand over the lithium wealth to China. It means that no deal has been done with China yet.

 

Rather, according to the report of Arab News, some Afghans do not have confidence in China that they will make any deal for the benefit of the Taliban. Now, they are saying these things, but these are only statements. We tell you the truth. No matter what the Taliban say, no matter what China says, and no matter how many more Chinese are caught secretly smuggling lithium or other minerals, the problem with the Taliban is that no one suits them more than China.

 

America and Europe have isolated Afghanistan economically and politically. Apart from humanitarian aid, apart from medicines and clothes, what are they giving to Afghanistan? They are not ready to accept the Taliban government till date. So what are the options left for the Taliban's government in such a situation? Now again look at these countries and think how many of them...

 

...can invest in Afghanistan... ...without worrying about any other country's displeasure... And militarily strong enough to handle any unrest in Afghanistan with their own strength. Now only two of these six countries will survive. China and America. America has already left Afghanistan. Disproving all of our assumptions, the field was seemingly vacated for China.

 

So now only China remains in technology plus military power which can bail out the Afghan Taliban. China needs lithium and the Taliban needs investment. We also show you another proof of forced friendship between the two countries. China has just signed an agreement that the Taliban believe could prop up their economy for the next 25 years.

 

This is an oil extraction deal. Yes, Oil extraction deal. Yes, oil has come out in Afghanistan. These three northern provinces of Afghanistan, the Northern Provinces of Sar-e-pol, Jowzjan, and Faryab, which border Turkmenistan, have significant oil and gas deposits. Especially in the Amu Darya Basin. It has an area of ​​about four and a half square kilometers in which a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Company will drill for oil, according to the agreement.

 

Now here is one thing to understand. That is, oil has not been discovered here today. Rather, decades ago, since oil and gas were discovered in Turkmenistan and the upper Amu River Basin, it was known that some of it would be found in Afghanistan as well since it also falls in the Amu River Basin. But the problem at that time was to extract oil from a war-torn region And no one had the courage to export it.

Even during the reign of Mullah Umar, the adjoining northern regions, Badakhshan, Panjshir ...and Nuristan were not fully under his control. Then the government that came with the help of the US also made an agreement to extract oil from China. But that deal was never completed. It is said that there were many stories of corruption, due to which the project could not be completed.

 

But now that corrupt government has gone, now there is an interim government of the Taliban, which claims that they are running a corruption-free government. And apparently, their writ is indeed established throughout Afghanistan. So, in such a situation, the Chinese have come to drill again in this place, keeping their advantage and the need of the Taliban in front The 25-year deal was signed in early January of that year and was announced by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah in a tweet.

 

He wrote that this company will extract 1000 tons of oil per day and it will be taken to 20000 tons. By the way, it happens in barrels, why did he write tons in the tweet? Something will happen that we do not know. According to this agreement, the Chinese company will also give jobs to three thousand Afghans.

 

It will invest fifteen million dollars in the first year and four million dollars in the next three years. That is, Chinese companies will do it. According to the agreement, the Taliban will get a 20 percent share of the project, which will increase to 75 percent over time. Now friends, the question will come to your mind that China tried to do...

 

...these deals with Afghanistan's Karzai government in deals 2008 and 2011 , which we have already told had failed, so what is the guarantee now that this Will be successful? The thing is that you already know one possible reason to be corruption-free. Another important reason for China's return to Afghanistan is that China's interests in Afghanistan are not only economic.

 

There is also security. China's most threatened extremist organization, which is as dangerous to them as TTP, Al-Qaeda or ISIS, is the "East Turkestan Islamic Movement" ETIM. In our fascinating story of the 20-year war between the Taliban and the United States, you have see How Jihadist organizations recruit and maintain a steady supply line of dollars for their fighters.

 

So this region of northern Afghanistan is a good recruiting ground for the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. If unemployment is high here, these jihadi organizations will get more youths from here. People from East Turkestan will also recruit from here. But if a big Chinese project starts here, then obviously the people here will have a peaceful job.

 

Chinese and Taliban security services will also start operating better in these areas. Which will be of great help in monitoring, spying, and dismantling sales of potential "ETIM" activities. Well, you may be thinking that East Turkestan is an insignificant organization since you haven't heard much about it.

 

But in a few moments, we introduce you to it, which will give you an idea of ​​the seriousness of China and the ideological power of this organization. In fact, this western province, or independent unit, of China is its largest region. It is an autonomous unit, whose area is more than twice that of Pakistan.

 

It is such a large area that it seems to be the border of eight countries. Its total area is about 1.6 million square miles. Today it is called the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, but historically it was called "East Turkestan". There are more than two million Muslims living here and they have been fighting for freedom and independence for centuries.

 

In the recent past, during the Second World War in 1944, the Muslims here had also established an independent East Turkestan Republic. It was a Muslim state whose language was Uyghur, written in the "Arabic" script. It looked like Arabic or Urdu. A small state was established by them. But then in the 1990s, when Mao's Communist movement took control of mainland China, they abolished...

 

...the small state of East Turkestan, which had been established in three districts. Its last president Ehmetjan Qasimi and other leaders Masood Sabri etc. were arrested. Then what happened to them? It has different stories. But this is confirmed by a few differences That they were riddled with bullets in front of firing squads.

 

There were some whose ships sank. but one by one those who tried to make Turkestan a separate country were all killed. But the dream lived on. So, friends, this is the old dream of the Turkic Muslims in... ...this western region of China, which was once called East Turkestan, to create their own independent state under the name of East Turkestan Republic.

 

They consider it a holy war. China has declared it a radical terrorist organization and it is also a terrorist organization in the European Union plus UNO. The United States also listed it as a terrorist for some time, but when the situation worsened with China in 2020, it removed it from the list of terrorist organizations.

 

Yes, let us tell you a historical fact this movement was supported by Turkey in the beginning of the twentieth century. Probably because of the struggle of people of Turkic descent and not because of the Islamic movement. Proof of this is that when China crushed the rebellion of the Muslim Turkic Uyghurs, several revolutionary leaders such as Muhammad Amin Bughra and Isa Yusuf took refuge in Turkey and remained there until their death.

 

Well, after knowing this whole story, you must have understood... ...why China takes this issue so seriously Because at any time, if al-Qaeda, Daesh, or any group of the Taliban joins the East Turkestan Movement, as al-Qaeda once did, the problems for China could increase. It has established itself as a business country, and countries that give priority to business do not tolerate explosions and shootings.

 

So China takes "ETIM" so seriously. This is the reason why China does not want to have an unrest in Afghanistan and to provide a Jihadi training ground to some rebel groups out of the millions of Muslims... ... in the entire region, Central Asia, and the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Where they re-accelerate their revivalist agenda, the dream of reminiscing the past through extremism.

 

This is the reason why it is universally understood that even if the rest of the deals, including oil gas, and lithium, are delayed, they will not end. China will continue to provide the opportunity to stay in Afghanistan, and do business with it And it will continue to provide the opportunity for the Taliban to maintain the writ in one form or another.

 

So, with all this, China will make Afghanistan stand in the ranks of countries that manufacture EV. Yes, it is possible on the ground that some part of the EV industry is operating in Afghanistan under Chinese supervision. But this will be a very small part, which will only be related to mining-related jobs.

 

More than that is currently not possible for the next several years. That too in the case when Chinese national companies and their state-owned companies will start doing business. So far only entrepreneurs and state-linked companies are mining for lithium and drilling for oil in Afghanistan just for confidence building.

 

Just in December 2022, the hotel that was attacked۔۔۔ ۔۔۔was not a hotel but was practically a stronghold of Chinese investors. Because all the Chinese investors were staying in the same hotel, and were there at the time of the explosion. The responsibility for the blast was claimed by ISIS, which is again a group directly linked to the East Turkestan Movement.

 

The discovery of lithium in Afghanistan does not mean that they will now start producing EV with the help of China. Or will start preparing their batteries. This will happen only when China's state-owned companies come and start working here and incidents like explosions in hotels will have stopped or will be so less that the Chinese will not have a problem coming here.