By :Zhao Xing, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan
Three years ago, I flew over the majestic Pamir Plateau and Hindu Kush Mountains to the bank of beautiful Kabul River, where I began my tenure as Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Afghanistan. Three years might only be a brief moment in the time-honored history of China-Afghanistan relations, yet they enabled me to witness a steady advancement of our bilateral relations under new historical circumstances, and develop a deep affection for this country with a long history, outstanding resilience and a great people.
Linked by mountains and rivers, China and Afghanistan have always been friendly neighbors, and China has been always pursuing a friendly policy toward the entire Afghan people. Upon the establishment of the new Afghan government, China took the lead in dispatching its ambassador to Kabul. Since then, the Afghan Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and other senior government officials paid visits to China, while the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Afghanistan twice within three years.
Through these high-level exchanges, the political mutual trust between the two sides has been continuously deepened. The Afghan side has been sticking to the one-China principle, while China has been adhering to the policy of “Three Respects” and “Three Never’s” towards Afghanistan, and firmly supporting Afghanistan in its efforts to achieve national development and improve people’s well-being.
The past three years witnessed new vitality emerging in practical cooperation between our two countries. China has given Afghanistan zero-tariff treatment for 100% tariff lines, which created new opportunities for Afghanistan to expand its exports to China. More and more specialty products from Afghanistan such as pine nuts, saffron and dried fruits have found their way into the Chinese market, while cooperation in energy, water conservancy, housing and infrastructure between the two countries continues to gather momentum. In 2025, bilateral trade volume has reached US$ 1.89billion and is continuing to grow. In a gradual but steady manner, China-Afghanistan cooperation is turning from a shared vision into real progress of development, thus bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
What impresses and encourages me even more is the growing mutual understanding between our two peoples. More and more Afghan friends are visiting China, while a considerable amount of Chinese people including scholars and media agencies pay great attention to Afghanistan’s endeavor in its post-war reconstruction. My three-year tenure made me well acquainted with the people from various circles of life in Afghanistan, and took me to local provinces such as Kandahar, Bamyan, Balkh and Badakhshan, through which I managed to better appreciate and understand the natural endowment, beautiful landscape and social structure of different localities in Afghanistan.
When engaging with the communities here in Afghanistan and their counterparts from China, I could clearly sense strong interests on both sides in learning more about each other’s culture and development stories. Our two peoples have nurtured strong amity and mutual understanding through a time-honored course of friendly exchanges, which has been, is and will always be rendering a solid foundation and strong support to the growth of China-Afghanistan relations.
It’s fair to say that “growing pains” applies to China-Afghanistan cooperation, since we still face such challenges in terms of security, financing and logistics. Yet I am convinced that difficulties for the time being will not alter the direction of China-Afghanistan cooperation. China and Afghanistan are strongly complementary to each other when it comes to economic cooperation and trade, and our peoples both share an enduring aspiration for peace and development. So long as we stay the course together in a patient and persistent way, China-Afghanistan cooperation will surely embrace a brighter future and reap greater fruits.
Bidding farewell to Afghanistan, I am so honored to have experienced the changes taking place here in Afghanistan during the past three years, and admired the Afghan people in their tireless pursuit for a better life. I have, as always, strong confidence and high expectations for Afghanistan’s future. The peace and stability Afghanistan enjoys today have been really hard won. There is still a long way to go before completing post-war reconstruction and achieve quality development, which could not be realized without concerted efforts by the Afghan people, while greater patience and crucial support from the international community are equally indispensable.
I sincerely hope that what I have been doing during my tenure here did and will play a humble part in promoting mutual understanding and practical cooperation between our two countries and contributing to Afghanistan’s post-war reconstruction.
Just as mountains and rivers endure, China-Afghanistan friendship persists. May this great friendship, like Pamir Plateau and Hindu Kush Mountains, still stand tall and grow ever stronger as time goes by. May the Afghan people blessed with a even more prosperous future.
