Ariana Afghan Airlines is operating weekly round-trip flights between Kabul and Urumqi. Photo: Xinhua
Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Afghan studies centre at Lanzhou University, said the resumption of the direct flight was the result of growing trade and business ties, though passenger flow was still limited.
“There is a strong demand for convenient air travel between the two countries,” Zhu said, noting that most of the passengers were likely to be traders or business leaders.
In 2022, trade between the two countries exceeded US$1 billion, up about 20 per cent from 2021, according to Chinese data.
Zhu said China had an interest in helping Afghanistan despite differences with the Taliban, as the country’s stability would have an impact on the neighbouring Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Beijing has also said Afghanistan is welcome to take part in China’s 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”.
In a trilateral dialogue in Islamabad, the diplomats reaffirmed the consensus to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship belt and road project, to Afghanistan to improve regional connectivity.
The resumption of the Kabul-Urumqi service is the latest to be added to the carrier’s routes, with flights also from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and India.
