From the department of inevitable consequences.

Following the American exit from Afghanistan, China’s move to claim the country’s vast mineral wealth is centered on a mountain south of Kabul.

The mountain and the barren surrounding valley, in Logar province, a two-hour drive from the capital, contain one of the world’s biggest untapped reserves of copper.

China will tap it.

Beijing is also in talks to begin work on oil-and-gas reserves in the north of the country, Amu Darya. Both projects were on hold for years because of the war, which ended when the Taliban seized power in August.

Dozens of Chinese mining companies have descended on Kabul in recent weeks seeking contracts for other mines.

And that’s just the beginning.

China engaged in outreach to the Taliban and provided various kinds of support. While America is still a sucker and sending millions in “humanitarian aid” to the Taliban, the Chinese will actually cash in. They’re playing the capitalists while we’re playing the Communists. And did we forget how the Cold War ended?

Iran, another U.S. rival, is in talks to secure a huge iron ore deposit in the west of the country. Tehran, too, has fostered good ties with the Taliban.

No doubt.

The counter here is ISIS-K which, like the original ISIS, is waging a campaign against Shiites. And while the Taliban have pledged not to support Islamist nationalist movements in China, ISIS-K has made no such deal and its allies in Pakistan have already carried out attacks against Chinese interests in that country.

So while China may indeed profit, it may also end up being dragged into the same mess that Russia and America have already been through in Afghanistan.

And it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys.