The Overseas Chinese Association in Afghanistan hands over earthquake relief supplies to Afghan people in Khas Kunar district of Kunar province, Afghanistan, Sept. 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ang)

Two Chinese Air Force Y-20 aircraft recently arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, loaded with tents, blankets, and other disaster relief supplies. A strong earthquake struck Afghanistan's Kunar Province and other provinces in late August, resulting in more than 2,200 deaths and more than 3,600 injuries. China pays close attention to the disaster situation in Afghanistan. While addressing the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus" Meeting in Tianjin, President Xi Jinping expressed deep condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Afghanistan and extended sympathies to the families of the victims and the people in the affected areas. China has already transferred two batches of relief supplies to Afghanistan. Additional relief supplies will be airlifted to Kabul in the near future and distributed to the victims as soon as possible.

This earthquake is the deadliest to hit Afghanistan in recent years. As the earthquake epicenter was shallow, the earthquake zone was in a mountainous area, and the residents' houses were simple, the affected area was severely hit and almost all buildings were destroyed. Multiple aftershocks further complicated rescue efforts. The affected areas are remote, with weak medical infrastructure and extremely limited basic services. Disrupted transport has hindered the delivery of rescue personnel and supplies, forcing many affected people to wait in the open air. The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have called on the international community to participate in the rescue effort without delay. China's relief supplies are precisely what the victims desperately need.

At present, the United Nations and the international community, including China, Russia, and the European Union, have extended a helping hand to Afghanistan. As Afghanistan's close neighbor, China has taken two "firsts" to help the Afghan people through this difficult time: it was the first to decide to provide emergency humanitarian supplies, and was also the first country to actually deliver humanitarian aid. Over the past week, the Chinese government has carried out multiple rounds of assistance, while some overseas Chinese individuals and businesses have voluntarily donated money or purchased supplies to support disaster relief efforts, fully reflecting the deep friendship of the Chinese government and people toward the Afghan people.

This is not the first time the Y-20 transport aircraft has carried out missions to deliver relief materials to Afghanistan. After the Paktika earthquake in 2022 and the Herat earthquake in 2023, China provided 50 million yuan and 30 million yuan in assistance, respectively, with the Y-20 aircraft participating in the transport of relief supplies. For Afghan civilians, military aircraft in their skies were once a nightmare. During the US occupation, drone strikes and air raids caused at least 22,000 civilian deaths. Even after the withdrawal, US drones have continued to haunt Afghan skies like ghosts. In sharp contrast, every landing of the Y-20 in Afghanistan has brought warmth and hope.

As a country that inflicted immense and multifaceted damage on Afghanistan, the US bears an inescapable responsibility to the current predicament of the country. Yet since its troop withdrawal in 2021, the US has frozen about $7 billion of Afghanistan's central bank assets, which remain unreleased to this day. It has also sanctioned Afghanistan's banking sector, obstructing the transfer of humanitarian funds, which has been condemned by the international community. Since the beginning of this year, the US has almost entirely halted assistance to Afghanistan. Following the earthquake, apart from a single "heartfelt condolences to the Afghan people" posted on social media by the US State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, the US government has made no statement or taken any action. Even humanitarian aid requests from US NGOs have been blocked. A former US official bluntly pointed out that the government has shown a "lack of response" in the face of disaster.

Currently, as the UN has pointed out, the urgent priority for Afghanistan is disaster relief. Existing funds can only sustain food supplies for quake victims for a few weeks, and with the harsh winter approaching, more lives may be in danger. The international community must act immediately to provide timely and effective assistance to the Afghan people. In this regard, major powers in particular must not lag behind. They should practice humanitarian spirits, demonstrate responsibility at this critical moment, and help the Afghan people overcome difficulties and rebuild their homeland as soon as possible.