FACT CHECK: Donald Trump's claim that China occupies Afghanistan's Bagram air base
Two months ago, US President Donald Trump claimed China occupied the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, an airbase located 70 kilometres north of Kabul used by the US during its occupation of the country. Trump claimed the US had plans to keep Bagram, which was "just an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons", before Joe Biden gave up the air base.
While Trump never gave evidence to back up his claims, several reports emerged along the same lines, stating "satellite imagery proved China was operating the former US facility". Chinese personnel have been spotted at the site since last year, and Beijing refurbished the base, according to many media reports.
However, a report by BBC Persian said analysis of satellite images showed nothing to prove that the Chinese had control of the airbase.
Satellite images taken during 2020 by Planet Labs show at least 35 different aircraft at the airfield. An image taken two years later, about a year after the Taliban regained power, showed an empty base, with not a single aircraft at the entire base. The images also showed other changes; hundreds of containers have been moved from several locations on the base. These containers were probably used for storage.
The two photos, one taken on July 24, 2022 and the other on April 25, showed over 100 cars parked in another part of the base. Over the past three years, in images from Bagram military base area, only a handful showed vehicles moving inside the base. Based on these photos, it can be said that no major structural changes are visible at the Bagram military base, the report added.
Jennifer Jun, an associate fellow and project manager for satellite imagery analysis at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told BBC Persian that no aircraft are visible in the satellite images taken from mid-2021 to April 2025, except for one instance in February 2025 when a helicopter is seen on the runway.
Jun, however, clarified that this does not necessarily mean that there have been no other aircraft at the base over the past four years or so. "It is very likely that the aircraft movements occurred outside the normal hours of satellite imagery (around 11 am to 2 pm local time), or that the aircraft are being stored in hangars," she told the BBC. She added that some images taken in early 2025 show dark spots on the ground in parts of the airport, which could indicate a fuel leak.
One of the key indicators of the condition of an air base is its runway. For safety reasons, any runway that is in use must be kept clear of any debris or foreign objects. Photos from late April 2025 show both runways in good condition. However, no aircraft were seen in satellite photos in 2025.
Despite that, Jun believes "the Bagram base has remained in the same condition as the US left it'.
Middle East