A mini-skirted Chinese waitress serves Tsingtao beer (
The unassumingly named Chinese Restaurant has been a runaway success since opening its doors and firing up its woks in the Afghan capital last month. Reservations, said manager Wang Wentian, are a must.
Needless to say, most Kabul citizens would have a few reservations at visiting an eatery where, before last year's collapse of the hardline Taliban regime, staring at the staff would probably have been enough to warrant severe punishment.
PHOTO: AFP
But, Wang said, the restaurant stands at the vanguard of a bold new wave of Chinese investors poised to help themselves to a highly lucrative market -- even if the raised hemlines of his staff have raised a few eyebrows.
"I'm going to have to change the skirts. You have to think about these things with the Muslim culture, but they didn't write it in the law," Wang said, sitting in the basement of his US$160,000 investment. "At the moment we've been too busy, but I've written to China to order some longer dresses."
Wang, a native of the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, is eager not to offend Afghans, particularly since 25 percent of his restaurant is owned by a government-run import-export business. Compromise, he said, will be worth it.
"Twenty-three years of war gave this country no contact from the outside world," he said. "I thought it would be a great business opportunity. There's a lot of money to be made here."
Although Wang had some difficulty persuading his eight Chinese staff, including three chefs, three waitresses and two kitchen assistants, that it was safe enough to come to Kabul, he already has plans to expand and hopes his presence will attract other Chinese investors.
"I want to bring more people to do business here," he said.
While Afghanistan has only just altered its laws to smooth the way for foreign businesses to enter its market, China is clearly keen for others like Wang to set up shop in its conflict-scarred central Asian neighbor.
"I had a lot of help from the Chinese embassy. Without them I don't think I could have got going here," said Wang, who has imported virtually the entire contents of his restaurant from his homeland.
China's influence is increasingly noticeable in Kabul. Cheap Chinese electronic goods are knocking Japanese and Pakistani rivals off the shelves, while Shanghai-made cycles ply the streets of the capital.
In a gesture aimed at building bridges between the two countries and clearing the slate for increased trade, China last month agreed to scrap several million dollars of debts owed by Afghanistan dating back to the 1960s.
Earlier this year it also launched an offensive to win over hearts in Kabul by donating an animal aid package to the city's dilapidated zoo: a menagerie which included lions, bears, wolves and pigs.
According to a spokesman for the newly refurbished Chinese embassy in Kabul, Beijing is actively encouraging its citizens to head for Afghanistan at a time when many nations are still advising theirs to stay away.
"The Chinese embassy here is advising people from our country to invest in Afghanistan," said spokesman Ji Tao. "We want to help Afghan people and at the same time help Chinese businessmen. Afghanistan is a market which is high risk, but maybe also high profit."
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