A cargo train left Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province for the Afghanistan city of Hairatan last week. It is China's first cargo train service to Afghanistan, and will take 15 days before reaching Hairatan, during which it goes through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan crossing the border at Xinjiang's Alashankou.
The line plans to launch two cargo trains per month running from opposite directions carrying at least 90 TEUs every month.
The trains to arrive Nantong from Afghanistan will form a logistic network mixing railway and sea transportation. The new cargo train carried products of 84 containers on August 25, including home textiles and daily necessities.
China is Afghanistan's largest investment source country as well as the third largest trade partner, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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