New Afghan rail route boosts China trade ambitions

Washington

FOR centuries, Chinese products have wended their way thousands of kilometers across mountains and deserts to the heart of central Asia, Afghanistan. Now, for the first time, the trade is carried by rail.

With the first train last week pulling in to Hairatan, northern Afghanistan, China marked another advance in President Xi Jinping's Silk Road project to deepen his nation's influence along old trade routes. For Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the new link also marks a small step towards a dream of turning his landlocked country into a transit hub of Asia.