The Taliban government on Sunday inaugurated a 121-kilometre gravel road through northeastern Afghanistan’s Wakhan region to the Chinese border, which officials said could become a major trade and transit route between the two countries.
The road stretches from Boroghil in Badakhshan’s Wakhan district to the Chinese border and was built at a cost of 365 million Afghanis from the government’s development budget.
The project includes four large bridges, 66 culverts and approximately 3,100 metres of retaining walls, Ariana News reported, citing the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development.
Abdul Latif Mansoor, the Taliban government’s minister of rural rehabilitation and development, said the road had improved travel for residents of Wakhan, particularly those in the Pamir region, adding that it held political, economic and transit significance for Afghanistan.
He said his government was prioritising major infrastructure and public welfare projects using domestic resources and expertise, citing the Qosh Tepa Canal and rehabilitation of the Salang Highway among its other projects.
Mohammad Ismail, an official from the company working on the road, told the inauguration ceremony that vehicles could now reach the border, describing the project as having “particular historical, strategic and economic” significance.
“We are now directly connected to China. Any type of vehicle, whether large or small, can now reach there,” he said.
However, economic analyst Shahim Ahmadi told Afghanistan International that opening the gravel road did not mean an operational trade route had been established between the two countries. He said no formal agreement or customs arrangements for commercial use of the crossing had been announced, adding that the road would require further improvements to accommodate heavy goods traffic.
The Taliban government has repeatedly raised the proposed overland connection in discussions with Chinese officials. During a meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Qun in July 2024, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi described the Wakhan connection as a government priority, according to the Afghan foreign ministry.
The South China Morning Post reported in January 2024 that Beijing remained cautious about opening a direct route because of security concerns. At the time, the newspaper said there were no customs facilities on the Chinese side and no indication that Beijing intended to establish a formal crossing.
More recently, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development said Chinese ambassador Zhao Xing had welcomed progress on the Wakhan road during a meeting with Mansoor in May 2026. The ministry’s account said the two sides discussed continued infrastructure cooperation, but did not announce an agreement to open the border for trade.
Work on a road towards the Chinese border predates the Taliban’s return to power. Afghanistan’s previous government began constructing a 50-kilometre gravel section in May 2021, with plans to pave it in a later phase and facilitate trade between the two countries.
Taliban officials also expressed hope that the newly inaugurated road would increase tourism in Wakhan, a remote mountainous region in eastern Badakhshan that includes Afghanistan’s second national park.
Deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said improved access could bring more visitors and economic opportunities to the area, adding that the government had taken steps to provide telecommunications services and build a health centre and a school.
Residents were still seeking further investment in basic services, particularly healthcare, Wakhan district governor Mawlawi Wajihuddin said at the ceremony, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. He also called for a road connecting Boroghil with Ishkashim district.