Cash strapped Taliban says China will be its closest ally, and key partner in the "reconstruction" of the war-torn country. The Taliban also announced that it will be joining Chinese president Xi Jinping's ambitious project Belt and Road Initiative to revive the Ancient Silk route. In return, China will be allowed to fully tap Afghanistan's mineral resources, copper, lithium and rare earth minerals--the feedstock of the electric-car revolution.

"China will be our main partner and represents a great opportunity for us because it is ready to invest in our country and support reconstruction," group's spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. He said the New Silk Road, with which China wants to increase its global influence by opening up trade routes, was held in high regard by the Taliban leadership.