STORY: Afghanistan's Torkham port gears up trade with China
DATELINE: June 30, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:32
LOCATION: Kabul
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Torkham port in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province
2. STANDUP (English): ZOU XUEMIAN, Xinhua correspondent
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Pashto): OSTAN, Truck driver
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Pashto): MUFTI ESMATULLAH, Commissioner of the border town of Torkham
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Pashto): QURISHI BADLON, Public relations officer of Nangarhar province

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): ZOU XUEMIAN, Xinhua correspondent
"I'm now in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. What's behind me is the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is the busiest port of entry between the two countries, serving as a major transporting, shipping, and receiving site. Many huge trucks passed behind me loaded with all kinds of goods, including goods from China. A large number of Chinese goods enter the Afghan market through here via Pakistan. The border crossing behind me has already become a witness of the China-Afghanistan economic relationship."

SOUNDBITE 1 (Pashto): OSTAN, Truck driver
"It takes 20 to 25 days to transport 25 tons or 27 tons of goods from the border town of Hairatan to Pakistan's Peshawar."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Pashto): MUFTI ESMATULLAH, Commissioner of the border town of Torkham
"The majority of the containers are goods from China."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Pashto): QURISHI BADLON, Public relations officer of Nangarhar province
"The Torkham port, as a pivotal point, is important for Afghanistan as traders' goods, including those from China, enter the country.
Via the Torkham port, we have established good trade relations with China, and therefore we attach more importance to it."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kabul.
(XHTV)