Chinese guards turn back Taliban fighters at Wakhan, where Kabul's new road to China ends

A short video doing the rounds this week says a lot about Afghanistan, China and, indirectly, Pakistan.

The video

According to Afghanistan International, a newly circulated clip shows Taliban fighters walking into a restricted area on the Chinese border in Wakhan, the thin strip of Afghan land that touches China. Chinese border guards tell them in English to move away. When one fighter says he doesn’t understand English, the guards repeat the warning in Pashto.

The recording date is unclear, and there has been no official Chinese or Taliban comment.

The road that ends at a fence

The clip comes weeks after the Taliban opened a 121-kilometre gravel road through Wakhan, from Broghil to the Chinese border, on October 4, 2026. According to the Lowy Institute, the Taliban spent about 365 million Afghanis (around $5.5 million) on it, with four bridges and 66 culverts.

But the road effectively stops at China’s fence. Afghanistan International reports China has fenced the border with two layers of barbed wire, cameras and security towers, and Beijing has made no announcement about opening the route to trade or travel. Afghan trucks cannot yet drive into China, and there is no commercial crossing.

Why China is cautious

The main reason is security. China worries about militants, especially groups linked to Xinjiang, using any opening. Lowy notes Beijing supports joint security patrols and has pressed the Taliban to act against the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, but has made no promise of a trade crossing.

The Pakistan angle

This matters for Pakistan because the road is partly about Pakistan.

Afghanistan has long depended on Pakistan for trade routes. When border crossings closed after fighting in October 2025, hundreds of trucks were stranded. Lowy notes that more than 70% of Afghanistan’s medicines used to come from Pakistan. A route to China gives Kabul leverage in its disputes with Islamabad, at least on paper.

In reality, a rough mountain road with no customs post, no open gate and a cautious China is not yet an alternative to Torkham and Chaman. As Lowy puts it, the road creates possibilities rather than guaranteeing trade.

Also this week

The Taliban were again absent from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Dushanbe, where Tajikistan’s president called for joint action against terrorism and drug trafficking. Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns about cross-border militancy from Afghanistan.