Air corridor of pine nuts: A bridge of friendship between China and Afghanistan
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Air corridor of pine nuts: A bridge of friendship between China and Afghanistan

China

Zhu Yongbiao
13 January, 2022, 08:05 pm
Last modified: 13 January, 2022, 08:09 pm

Related News

  • Iraq balks at greater Chinese control of its oilfields
  • Japan and US preparing statement promising to 'deter' China, Nikkei reports
  • Shanghai achieves 'zero Covid' status but normal life is weeks away
  • Taliban dissolve Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, other key bodies
  • Oil prices fall on China's weak economic data

Air corridor of pine nuts: A bridge of friendship between China and Afghanistan

Zhu Yongbiao
13 January, 2022, 08:05 pm
Last modified: 13 January, 2022, 08:09 pm
Air corridor of pine nuts: A bridge of friendship between China and Afghanistan

Since last November, Afghan pine nuts have become greatly sought after in China. The popularity of this nutritious snack among online shoppers has made to the top of the list of trending topics on Chinese social media a few times. Even to this day, Afghan pine nuts remain a gourmet sensation on the Internet. All of this is made possible by an air corridor China opened up for importing pine nuts from Afghanistan, which has since become a key transportation route and symbol for Chinese help and assistance to the Afghan people. The air corridor also serves as a bridge of friendship connecting the people of the two countries.

During a live-stream sales event on the evening of 6th November, around 120,000 cans, or 26 tons of Afghan pine nuts were sold out within just two hours, creating a sales record of 1,000 cans per minute on average. Some online shoppers enthused about the possibility of "buying up all the pine nuts in Afghanistan" as a way of conveying support and well wishes for the Afghan people. People posted messages such as "buy a handful of Afghan pine nuts to extend a helping hand to the Afghan people", "I want to buy Afghan pine nuts to help the Afghan people", "I'd definitely buy some Afghan pine nuts if it can help the Afghan farmers", "if every Chinese buys one can of Afghan pine nuts to reciprocate the friendly sentiments of the interim government of Afghanistan, we as a country can easily buy 1.4 billion cans", "wish the Afghan economy recover soon and Afghanistan peace and prosperity" and so on. These simple yet heart-warming words and gestures embody the genuine friendship of the Chinese people to the Afghan people. Such warmth and friendly sentiments stem from the sympathy that pours from the heart of the Chinese people for the Afghan people.

The sudden change of situation in Afghanistan in August exacerbated the difficulty facing the export of Afghan pine nuts, which virtually stopped. This was a deadly blow to the wholesale dealers and a disaster for the livelihood of tens of thousands of Afghan people. In response to the request of the interim government of Afghanistan, China set about importing Afghan pine nuts as a special priority despite pressure from various quarters in the most expeditious way possible. By 21st December, 1,500 tons of Afghan pine nuts had been shipped to China, which generated more than US$20 million of income for the Afghan people and contributed tangibly and financially to the social stability and economic recovery of Afghanistan.

The "Pine Nuts Air Corridor" has become an important bridge for the friendship and cooperation between China and Afghanistan. It has also become a corridor of delivering critical assistance in a time of need. A smoothly running air corridor for pine nuts trade injects certainty, stability and sustainability into the future of the Afghan situation and the people of Afghanistan. This will help Afghanistan embrace development opportunities and signify China's constructive support to Afghanistan. The benefits of this action will be substantial and far-reaching. 

As Afghanistan's friend and neighbor, China has long provided help and support as much as it can to the peace, reconstruction and economic development of Afghanistan through various ways. China first began importing Afghan pine nuts in 2018 and has exercised zero-tariff for many of Afghan products exported to China since 2010. Since 2013, China has practiced a zero-tariff policy on 95 percent of the products originated in Afghanistan and expanded the coverage to 97 percent in 2015. China has also facilitated the export of Afghan agricultural products from Afghanistan to China to the best of its ability. 

By overcoming the numerous difficulties and reopening the air corridor for pine nuts, China has provided another example of its active efforts to aid Afghan people. This action, along with China's humanitarian aid and commercial investment for Afghanistan, constitutes a uniquely Chinese integrated solution. On 8th September, Mr. Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, announced that the Chinese government had decided to provide RMB200 million yuan of emergency aid, including food, winter supplies, vaccines and medicine to Afghanistan according to the needs of the Afghan people and that China would provide Afghanistan with more anti-COVID and emergency supplies within the framework of the China-South Asian Countries Emergency Supplies Reserve. China was the first major country to make a clear commitment to providing aid to the Afghan people. China took speedy actions to honor its commitments and made sure that the Afghan people would be the beneficiaries of these actions.

On 8th December, the first batch of 800,000 doses of vaccines out of a total of 3 million together with the syringes needed for the inoculation arrived in Kabul international airport from China. On 13th December, a handover ceremony was held in Kabul to mark the arrival of the second shipment of the winter supplies, which are part of the humanitarian aid supplies from China. Over 10,000 tons of food, daily necessities, medical materials and other winter supplies as well as COVID vaccines have been shipped to Afghanistan. Although these concrete actions, including reopening the air corridor for pine nuts, aimed at helping the Afghan people are not mentioned in Western media, they are welcomed and appreciated by all Afghan people. 

According to UN statistics, at least 18.4 million Afghan people are facing a humanitarian crisis. According to less optimistic estimates, only two to five percent of the Afghan people are not suffering from a lack of food. The aid flowing to Afghanistan from the international community has experienced a drastic fall since the withdrawal of US troops and the shift in US attitude toward providing aid for Afghanistan. And some countries have kept delaying the delivery of pledged aid or hindered efforts to let Afghan people directly benefit from the aid. Under such circumstances, the international organizations, including the UNHCR and the non-governmental organizations, are worried about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and issued repeated warnings and appeals.

The United States is responsible for the systemic humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, yet it has not only refused to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations, but also repeatedly shifted the blame to others and frozen Afghanistan's overseas assets under various pretexts. On 20th December, the United States launched a draft resolution in the UN Security Council, which called for the exemption of US sanction against Afghan Taliban regarding humanitarian aid for Afghanistan on a case-by-case basis. This is, in essence, a way of exerting pressure on the interim government of Afghanistan by taking the Afghan people hostage, and a way of imposing protracted control and humiliation on all Afghan people and subject them to physical and mental suffering.

Sharing sympathy and support when other need them the most has always been a traditional virtue for the Chinese people. It has been proved by history and reality that China always respects the Afghan people and never interferes in Afghanistan's internal affairs. China sincerely hopes that Afghanistan will enjoy revitalization. China is ready to continue to play a constructive role in Afghanistan's peace and development.


The author is a professor of the Research Center for the Belt and Road and the Research Center for Afghanistan of Lanzhou University

china / Afghanistan / pine nuts

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Social safety budget to stay same despite inflation rise
    Social safety budget to stay same despite inflation rise
  • Graphics: TBS
    Facebook and Bangladeshi politicians: A new tide in mass political communication?
  • RMG makers worried over move on power tariff hike
    RMG makers worried over move on power tariff hike

MOST VIEWED

  • Two women hug at a closed street during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, May 16, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song
    Shanghai achieves 'zero Covid' status but normal life is weeks away
  • Customers wait in front of a restaurant in Beijing, China April 15, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Files
    China's economy skids as lockdowns hit factories, retailers
  • A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a resident at a makeshift nucleic acid testing site inside a residential compound under lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang
    Shanghai aims for return to normal life from 1 June
  • Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai, China October 19, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
    China's economy cools sharply in April as lockdowns bite
  • Residents line up for nucleic acid tests during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song
    Locked-down Shanghai to start gradually reopening malls, other businesses
  • A Chinese national flag flies in front of HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong, China, July 28, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    China gives up 2023 Asian Cup hosting rights: AFC

Related News

  • Iraq balks at greater Chinese control of its oilfields
  • Japan and US preparing statement promising to 'deter' China, Nikkei reports
  • Shanghai achieves 'zero Covid' status but normal life is weeks away
  • Taliban dissolve Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, other key bodies
  • Oil prices fall on China's weak economic data

Features

Graphics: TBS

Facebook and Bangladeshi politicians: A new tide in mass political communication?

Now | Panorama
Despite Bangladesh having about 24,000 km of waterways, only a few hundred kilometres are covered by commercial launch services. Photo: Saad Abdullah

Utilising waterways: When common home-goers show the way

20h | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

How Putin revived Nato

22h | Panorama
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The United House: Living and working inside nature

22h | Habitat

More Videos from TBS

After six decades ,the Archies is back

After six decades ,the Archies is back

13h | Videos
Exporters in discomfort, expatriates preferring Hundi

Exporters in discomfort, expatriates preferring Hundi

13h | Videos
The first mosque in India was built Prophet Mohammad time

The first mosque in India was built Prophet Mohammad time

13h | Videos
Can your coworker be your closest friend?

Can your coworker be your closest friend?

23h | Videos

Most Read

1
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

2
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

3
The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter
Industry

The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter

4
How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives
Bazaar

How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives

5
Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve
Economy

Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve

6
Impact of falling taka against US dollar
Banking

Taka losing more value as global currency market volatility persists

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab