ISTANBUL

China on Friday confirmed that imports from Afghanistan will be granted 100% duty-free access, state media reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the measure “will promote bilateral trade cooperation and achieve mutual benefits.”

The confirmation came a day after Zhao Xing, China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said Beijing will “offer Afghanistan zero-tariff treatment for 100% tariff lines.”

Zhao made the statement after meeting with Afghanistan’s interim Deputy Prime Minister Maulavi Mohammed Abdul Kabir.

The meeting discussed “strengthening bilateral cooperation,” the Chinese ambassador said on X.

Ambassador Zhao noted a rise in Afghanistan’s exports to China by 11.5% this year, said a statement by Kabir’s office, adding the taxes on Afghan exports to China are expected to be eliminated by December.

Kabir’s office said the Chinese ambassador also “disclosed plans to inaugurate a new economic passageway with Afghanistan via Tajikistan.”

Preparations are “underway” for a tripartite meeting among the three nations, it said, adding “efforts are being made to activate” Wakhan - a narrow strip in northeastern Badakhshan province, connecting Afghanistan to China through its northwestern Xinjiang province.

Last year, Afghanistan announced joining China's multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which will help the landlocked country to become a center of trade and attract investment.

"CPEC will help us to become part of Belt and Road Initiative and bring different projects in energy, railway and other sectors to Afghanistan," Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman for the interim Afghan Foreign Ministry, said in a video statement from Kabul.

China does not recognize the Taliban-led interim Afghanistan administration in Kabul which returned to power in August 2021.

However, President Xi Jinping early this year accepted credentials from Afghan Ambassador Mawlawi Asadullah Bilal Karimi at an official function in Beijing.