KABUL, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Transit trade between China and Afghanistan has begun with the inauguration of the Gwadar Seaport on the southern coasts of Karachi, Pakistan, and with the arrival of the first transit trade ship from China, a local media outlet the Ariannews has reported.
According to the media outlet, the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul says in a statement that the commercial goods will be transited from the Gwadar Seaport to the Chaman port in Kandahar of Afghanistan with a distance of 1,000 km.
The statement said this would be the shortest distance in the region for Afghan transit goods from any seaport to Afghan cities including Kabul and Kandahar, the media outlet added.
The Pakistani Embassy said that the functioning of the Gwadar Seaport would cut down the costs of import to Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the Chinese Embassy in Kabul said in a tweet that the transit trade between China and Afghanistan had started with the arrival of a trade ship from China to the Gwadar Seaport.
The Gwadar Seaport has been built on the southern coasts of Karachi, Pakistan, situated close to the southern provinces of Afghanistan.
