Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base is on the front line of a war for influence

Abandoned military base has become a symbol of regional competition between America, China & Russia

July 12, 2025 — Has China taken control of Bagram Air Base, the sprawling military installation once at the heart of America’s power projection in Afghanistan? President Donald Trump says yes. Despite the persistence of that claim, including in some media reports, there is little credible evidence to support it.

Yet Bagram has become a symbolically potent focal point of a broader geopolitical struggle. Trump’s repeated assertions about Chinese control reflect more than a dispute over facts. They expose a renewed American effort to regain strategic influence in a country it abandoned, just as China and Russia are moving in.

Satellite imagery has fuelled speculation that Bagram Air Base, once the main hub of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan just 50 miles from Kabul, is being renovated to accommodate heavy aircraft. But there is no confirmation that China has taken control of the facility or is operating from it.