Ramin Mansoori

Research Scholar

Dr. Ramin Mansoori is a Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. His primary research area encompasses China and Greater Central Asia. His research interests include peace and conflict, the Great Powers rivalry, China’s foreign policy, and Afghanistan nation-building.

Dr. Mansoori earned his PhD in Comparative Politics from the School of International Studies at Peking University in 2022. Prior to his current role, he served as a lecturer in the Chinese Language Department at Kabul University.

Policy Briefs

China’s Security Engagements with the Taliban 2.0: Dialogues and Strategic Concerns, Center for Governance and Markets, September 15, 2025

China is currently the only major power actively engaging with the Taliban regime since the fall of Afghani- stan’s Republic in 2021. This policy brief examines China’s evolving security engagement with Taliban-led Afghanistan. Its emphasis is on the ways in which China uses its diplomatic and economic weight to protect its interests in Afghanistan. China’s approach—framed through diplomatic dialogues and strategic investments— is primarily driven by its national security concerns, particularly the threat posed by Uyghur militants. While China publicly supports an “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned” framework, it often engages in regional dialogues that exclude Afghan voices. The policy brief highlights China’s efforts to balance its economic interests and regional influence while avoiding military entanglements, and it critiques the limitations of a narrowly counterterrorism-focused policy.