China resumed its direct freight rail services to Afghanistan on Thursday when a train loaded with goods left Nantong city in Jiangsu province.

The train, carrying commercial goods in 55 wagons, is heading for the northern Hairatan border in Balkh province, Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Special Representative for Afghanistan, said in a post on X.

Nantong is a central hub of the Belt and Road Initiative and is located north of Shanghai.

The resumption of the rail line was marked at a formal ceremony on Thursday with Yue and Bilal Karimi, the Afghan Ambassador to China, in attendance.

This comes after China recently announced plans to lift customs tariffs on Afghan exports to China by the end of this year, further strengthening trade ties between the two nations.

The Islamic Emirate on Tuesday signed a multi-million dollar contract with Turkish 77 Company for a new cement factory in the Yatim Taq area of Jawzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.

The contract was signed in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund.

Turkish 77 Company will invest $163 million in the factory, which will have a daily output of 3,000 tons of cement once completed.

Also in attendance on Tuesday were officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum who stated that the contract, which allows the Turkish company to explore, extract, produce cement, and deliver social services, is valid for 30 years.

The establishment of this cement production plant will directly create around 1,200 jobs for local citizens.

In addition to the signing of this contract, the ministry also inked contracts worth $476 million with several domestic and foreign companies for cement projects in Jabal al-Saraj, Kandahar, and Herat.

The IEA has said this is in line with their aim of propelling the country towards self-sufficiency in the cement sector.

China will offer the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) tariff-free access to its vast construction, energy and consumer sectors, Beijing's envoy to Afghanistan said on Thursday.

Beijing has sought to develop its ties with the IEA since they took control of Afghanistan in 2021, but like all governments has refrained from formally recognising the government. 

Although an impoverished country, Afghanistan could offer a wealth of mineral resources to boost Beijing's supply chain security. 

Selling Afghanistan's lithium, copper and iron deposits to feed China's enormous battery and construction industries would help the IEA prop up their economy, and provide a much needed revenue stream.

"China will offer Afghanistan zero-tariff treatment for 100% tariff lines," Zhao Xing, Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, wrote on his official X account late on Thursday.

Afghanistan exported $64 million worth of goods to China last year, according to Chinese customs data, close to 90% of which was shelled pine nuts