It's worth going back a decade and looking at US plans for Afghanistan's mineral wealth during Obama's first term in office, which coincided with increasing US military personnel in the country to 100,000.
The latter was also about promoting the TAPI pipeline route for moving Central Asian oil and gas directly to the Indian Ocean, a project once meant largely for Chevron and Exxon (major operators in Kazakhstan) exports but which now appears to have been taken over by China:
Department of Defense report pointing to several trillion dollars worth of minerals (2010): https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-mining-idUSLDE65...
State Department plan for "New Silk Road" (2011): https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/cl...
The latter was also about promoting the TAPI pipeline route for moving Central Asian oil and gas directly to the Indian Ocean, a project once meant largely for Chevron and Exxon (major operators in Kazakhstan) exports but which now appears to have been taken over by China:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-joint-statem...
China's approach to obtaining deals in Afghanistan appears to be strictly economic and diplomatic; there are no Chinese soldiers in the region.