Chinese freight train of winter supplies departs for Afghanistan

A freight train loaded with more than 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid departed from Urumqi West Railway Station in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Saturday, and is set to arrive in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, in 12 days.

The goods on the train include naan and milk tea powder as well as such winter supplies as cotton-padded clothes, cotton shoes and blankets.

The Xinjiang Railway Department coordinated with customs and freight forwarders to open up green channels to ensure the goods go through the transportation process smoothly, minimizing the clearance time at the customs.

"We prepared two reach stackers and sufficient personnel to ensure all the loading can be completed within three hours, so that the batch of aid to the Afghan people could be shipped and arrive in the shortest time," said Pang Hongtao, deputy general manager of the Urumqi Freight Center of China Railway Urumqi Group Co. Ltd.

Since July 2021, the China-Afghanistan freight trains have carried more than 2,600 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said earlier in November that freight trains between the two countries have never stopped, and the trade of agricultural products between the two countries is also recovering.

Afghanistan is still facing severe a humanitarian crisis and economic difficulties. China announced that it will provide 200 million yuan ($31.32 million) worth of emergency aid to Afghanistan, and the first batch of aid has arrived in Kabul, Wang said.