BEIJING, Nov 22 (APP): A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Monday said that a special freight train loaded 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 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, Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing held here.
He said that this train was the third Xinjiang-Afghanistan freight train operated by China. The materials carried are cotton-padded clothes, cotton shoes, blankets, naan and milk tea powder from Xinjiang to aid Afghanistan. These are what the Afghan people urgently need through the winter.
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.
