Investigating the Political, Economic and Geopolitical Role of Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in China's Belt and Road Initiative

As a buffer country between Central Asia and South Asia, Afghanistan has effective transit advantages to advance the economic goals of its surrounding countries. Among these countries, due to its economic strength at the international level (the second economic power in the world), China is trading with South Asia, West Asia and Europe through the One Belt One Road plan, as well as neutralizing India as its regional rival it is now. Therefore, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, due to its land proximity and relative security compared to China's surrounding regions in its western part is considered a desirable solution for the implementation and establishment of the economic strategy of One Belt One Road. This article, by proposing the question of how the Wakhan Corridor plays a role in China's economic considerations, with an analytical-descriptive method, deals with the hypothesis that China, considering the security space that dominates Pakistan's Kashmir and the insecurity of other countries in Central Asia due to the movements of extremist groups, the choice of the Wakhan Corridor, despite being influenced by geographical factors and elements, especially its rough topography, in view of being close to the Great Near East (the world's energy center) and Europe, as well as international waters the long-term portfolio sets its own economic strategy.