KABUL, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Since the resumption of direct flights between Kabul and Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in mid July 2016, the Afghan national flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines flies once a week and returns to Kabul the next day.
This is the only air route that takes Afghans mostly from business community straight from the Afghan capital to China and vice versa.
The resumption of direct flight between the two neighboring nations after a three-year hiatus has been widely welcomed by Afghans and the people of Afghanistan want to see an increase in the number of flights between Kabul and other Chinese cities, sources close to the matter said.
"Afghanistan and China have been enjoying friendly relations since ancient times and the resumption of direct flights between Kabul and Urumqi is tantamount to opening an air corridor that can bring the people of the two neighboring states closer," Sayam Pasarlai, the head of the public relations office of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told Xinhua recently.
The official was also of the view that just one flight per week is not enough, adding that encouraging more Afghan and Chinese airline companies to link more cities would further boost trade and economic cooperation between the two nations.
China has invested in several sectors in Afghanistan and flights between Kabul and Urumqi would give further momentum to trade and economic cooperation between the two sides, Pasarlai said.
He also added that Afghan businesspeople in the past, if they wanted to visit China, would have to go via Dubai, New Delhi or even Turkey to arrive at Beijing or other Chinese cities, but the problem has been eased to some extent since a direct flight between Kabul and Urumqi was established.
To further boost bilateral relations, the official suggested that easing visa issuing procedures by both sides would facilitate easier travel of businesspeople and investors from both countries and avail opportunities for investment and economic activities.
"I am hopeful the flight between Kabul and Urumqi will continue forever and not only between Kabul and Urumqi but between several cities of the two countries," Pasarlai said with hope.
Praising the resumption of the direct flight between Kabul and Urumqi, another analyst Dad Mohammad Anabi described Afghanistan as a landlocked country and opined that establishing direct flights between Afghanistan and China, the world's second-largest economic power, is vital for boosting bilateral trade and economic relations.
He added that Afghanistan could largely benefit from more connectivity.
"The Kabul-Urumqi flight has opened an air corridor that facilitates Afghan traders to visit Urumqi and other cities of China to import their goods and export their products," Anabi, who is the editor-in-chief of the state-owned newspaper the Daily Islah, maintained.
However, he said that just one flight a week is not enough as boosting trade relations requires more strides including increasing the number of flights and strengthening connectivity via roads and railways.
