BEIJING: A special freight train carrying more than 1,000 tons of aid material and living production materials for Afghan people has left from Wuxi Station in Xinjiang, China to Afghanistan.
The train is expected to reach its final destination in around 12 days. Carrying 50 containers, the freight train left China via Horgos Port in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The supplies include cotton-padded clothes, cotton shoes, blankets, milk tea powder as well as naan, a type of leavened flatbread and a staple of Xinjiang residents, all are urgently needed by Afghan people during the winter.
China’s Xinjiang, which borders Afghanistan, has launched three such special freight trains to transport humanitarian aid materials to Afghanistan. Since the end of June, more than 2,600 tonnes of humanitarian aid materials and daily necessities have been delivered to Afghanistan via the special freight train service.
“The cold winter has arrived. The safety and security of the Afghan people have always affected the hearts of the Chinese people. Just two days ago, a special freight train loaded with more than 1,000 tons of aid materials and living production materials departed from Wuxi Station in Xinjiang and will be transported to Afghanistan by rail and steam,”said Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing in Beijing.
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The spokesperson said that Afghanistan was still facing a severe economic situation and added, the international community should strengthen solidarity and cooperation, extend a helping hand in a timely manner, and support Afghanistan in improving people’s livelihood.
Unilateral sanctions, especially the freezing of Afghanistan’s overseas assets, are collective punishments for all the people of Afghanistan and are exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, he added.
He said that the frozen assets in Afghanistan should be returned to their true owners as soon as possible and cannot be used as a bargaining chip for threats and coercion. As a friendly neighbor and sincere friend of Afghanistan, China has been providing assistance within its capacity for the peaceful reconstruction and economic development of Afghanistan, he added.
He said that to help the Afghan people alleviate their difficulties, China has provided a large amount of humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan. Zhao Lijian informed that at present, China is stepping up its implementation of providing 200 million yuan of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, of which all the wintering materials have arrived in Afghanistan, he added.
He said that more than 5,000 tons of food and 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine assistance will be sent in batches. “We will continue to listen to the voices and needs of the Afghan people and play a more constructive role in helping Afghanistan tide over the difficulties,” he added.
