China will block American attempts in the United States to recover the Bagram air base of the Taliban

President Donald Trump made the shocking announcement this month that the United States “tries” to bring Bagram aerodrome from the Taliban to Afghanistan after abandoning it more than four years ago.

There is only one problem with Trump’s last ambition – China will ensure that Washington does not reach this objective, warned Bill Roggio, an expert analyst and editor -in -chief of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies “Long War Journal”.

“First of all, the Taliban will never accept the return to the United States. I would believe earlier … believe that the Taliban would abandon its Sharia law or its Islamic law before believing that it would let the United States return,” Roggio told Fox News Digital.

“But let’s say that the Trump administration could convince the Taliban to consider allowing the United States to return to Bagram,” he continued. “The Chinese went down hard.”

Trump: We try to make Bagram Airbase “ Return ” of the Taliban in Afghanistan

Black Hawk UH-60 black helicopters fly during a military parade to mark the third anniversary of the withdrawal of the troops led by the United States of Afghanistan, in Bagram air base in the province of Afghanistan by Wednesday, August 14, 2024. (AP photo / siddiqullah alizai)

Roggio explained that China and Russia have a direct interest in the United States by staying outside the region.

The American withdrawal from Afghanistan opened the nation rich in minerals to China and allowed Beijing to extend its belt and road initiative in a country – although managed by a terrorist organization – which it was previously unable to draw.

China – The first country to appoint an ambassador to the Nation led by the Taliban in 2023 – sent his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, in August to Kabul to meet with the Minister of Affairs of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi.

According to the Taliban, China has expressed interest not only for mining opportunities in Afghanistan, where minerals such as lithium, copper, iron, gold and uranium are abundant, but Beijing also said that it was open to extend trade with Kabul.

The Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi holds talks with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, interim vice-premier from the government of the Afghan Taliban goalkeeper in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 24, 2022. (Saifurahman Safi / Xinhua via Getty Images)

Although access to these minerals can greatly benefit China, the impact that trade and extraction agreements with Beijing could have on the casualness of Afghanistan could prove to be crucial for Kabul.

“The Chinese simply exerts a significant influence on the Taliban, in particular with regard to something like the United States,” said Roggio. “They would put pressure on the Taliban by possibly canceling these mining rights, restricting trade, ending political and diplomatic recognition. These are all things that are important for the Taliban while they are trying to develop as government and try to become legitimately recognized.”

The American failure in Taliban Intel opened Afghanistan to China, Russia,

“The Taliban does not care that the United States recognizes them as much as the Taliban would care that the Chinese recognize them, if the Russians recognized them,” he added.

Trump said the agreement he had concluded with the Taliban in 2020 in Doha, Qatar – who described Afghanistan’s American withdrawal by May 2021 – did not include Bagram air base.

“We were going to keep it,” Trump told the UK journalists last week.

However, the initial agreement did not include stipulation allowing the United States to maintain the bases at around 30 miles north of Kabul.

An infographic entitled “Trump’s Bagram plan revives a great rivalry of power over Afghanistan” created in Ankara, Turkiye on September 23, 2025. (Murat usubali / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump also said that a major reason he wanted to recover the base is because it is “an hour from where China makes his nuclear weapons”. But when he was asked what installation he was referring, neither the White House nor the Pentagon would confirm, and Fox News Digital could not locate a Chinese nuclear installation by open source intelligence which near the border of Afghanistan.

It doesn’t matter if there is a Chinese nuclear installation near the old American base in Afghanistan, Roggio warned that the economic ties that Beijing and Kabul create is “dangerous”.

“The growing Talibane-Chinese relationship is something we should worry about. The Chinese can give the Taliban access to technology-military technology,” he said. “They could give them the resources they need.”

Roggio stressed that a mining agreement could put “billion” in the Taliban pockets.

“Why is it important? Because Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups use Afghanistan as a base of operations,” said Roggio, noting that Al-Qaeda would direct training camps in 13 of the 34 provinces of the country.

A Taliban fighter is guarding as women are waiting to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (AP photo / Ebrahim noroozi, file)

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Roggio also said that the Taliban authorized Al-Qaeda to manage religious schools, safe houses for the leaders of the terrorist network and their families who pass between Afghanistan and Iran, as well as a depot in arms shortages.

“Afghanistan seems in fact much worse today than it seems on September 10, 2001, the day before the attacks of September 11,” said Roggio.