Direct flights between Kabul and Urumqi to help ‘grow commercial ties’
The resumption of direct flights between Afghanistan and China after three years reflects strong demand for exchanges between the two countries, according to an observer.
Afghan national carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines will operate a round-trip flight between Kabul and Urumqi every Wednesday.
The flight was first launched in 2003 but was suspended in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
At a recent ceremony in Kabul to mark the resumption of the route, Ghulam Jilani Wafa, the Taliban’s deputy minister for transport and civil aviation, said the air link would “directly enhance economic, political, and commercial ties” between Afghanistan and China.
Chinese diplomats attended the event although Beijing has not officially recognised the Taliban government since it took power in August 2021.
Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Afghan studies centre at Lanzhou University, said the resumption of the direct flight was the result of growing trade ties, though passenger flow was still limited.
“There is a strong demand for convenient air travel between the two countries,” Zhu said, noting most of the passengers were likely to be traders or business leaders.
Last year, trade between the two countries exceeded US$1 billion, up about 20 per cent from 2021, according to Chinese data.
Zhu said Beijing had an interest in helping Afghanistan despite its differences with the Taliban, as the country’s stability would have an impact on the neighbouring Xinjiang region.
Beijing has said Afghanistan is welcome to take part in its Belt and Road Initiative, a grand plan to build transport and other infrastructure around the world.
In a position paper last month, Beijing said China supported Afghanistan’s integration into regional economic cooperation and connectivity, and hoped to see Afghanistan transformed from a “landlocked country” to a “land-linked country”.
Foreign Minister Qin Gang also met Taliban Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Mutaqi in Samarkand last month and again in Islamabad this month along with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The diplomats reaffirmed the consensus to extend the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship belt and road project, to Afghanistan to improve regional connectivity.