With most foreign troops withdrawing from Afghanistan later this month, China for the first time is seeking a major role in bringing peace to the Islamic country.

According to Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi, China wants to play a bigger role and is willing to participate in peace talks with Afghan government and the Taliban. China hopes to succeed by offering to build a railway transportation network, which could potentially help rebuild the economy within Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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China has already reached out and reportedly proposed an invitation for the Taliban to come to China and engage in peace talks, but only if they're led by the Afghan government. 

"We would welcome the Taliban in any neutral venue such as in China," Sun said. "We will make negotiations happen but the process must be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led - the agenda must be proposed by President Ashraf Ghani,'' he added.

According to a report by BBC, Ghani has visited Beijing in the past to get China to intervene with the conflict in the Middle East. The Afghan government has been seeking to meet with Taliban leaders living in Pakistan, and because China is a close ally, Ghani feels their involvement would help the process.

China is prepared to spend more than $100 billion to build a railway stretching from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to Xinjiang in China. In addition, China also has similar plans in the works to build a railway connecting China to Pakistan that would transport energy from the Gulf to the Chinese border.

"Diplomats describe it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kick start the two redundant economies of Pakistan and Afghanistan," BBC reports.

But everything depends on whether each party can support a peace process or not. China hopes the huge projects will be enough to entice Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Taliban to engage in peace talks and come to an agreement to put a stop to the numerous wars within the two countries.

"That includes the insurgency in Balochistan, the violence in Karachi and the Taliban insurrections in Pakistan and Afghanistan," BBC reports. 

TagsAfghanistan, WArs, Ambassador Sun Yuxi, Pakistan, Railway transportation network, PEACE TALKS, peace process