Taliban Signs First Foreign Deal With China for Oil Extraction Project

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid (L) gestures as he speaks during the first press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 17, 2021. Hoshang Hashimi /AFP via Getty Images

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has signed an oil extraction agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. (CAPEIC) in Afghanistan’s first major foreign deal since the Taliban seized control in 2021.

Under the contract, the CAPEIC will invest $150 million in one year and $540 million in the next three years for oil extraction in Afghanistan’s Amu Darya Basin, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.