[N.B. The U.S. is missing in action, having abolished USAID and declared that "the Taliban are nasty people."
China sends Y-20s on quake aid mission to Afghanistan
Packed with tents and blankets, the heavy-lift aircraft touch down in Kabul with first batch of promised supplies
The supplies are mainly tents and blankets and more aid will be flown into the Afghan capital in the coming days.
A series of powerful earthquakes have struck Afghanistan since last Sunday. The initial 6.0-magnitude quake was followed by tremors measuring 5.5 on Tuesday and 5.1 on Friday.
“The disasters have resulted in 2,205 fatalities and 3,640 injuries as of September 4, with widespread damage to infrastructure and homes,” the Afghan Red Crescent Society said.
The China International Development Cooperation Agency, Beijing’s foreign aid arm, said on Thursday that the Chinese government had earmarked 50 million yuan (US$7 million) in emergency aid for Afghanistan at Kabul’s request.
Supplies such as food, tents and blankets are in greatest need.
Assistant foreign minister Liu Bin visited the Afghan embassy in Beijing on Friday to offer condolences over the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquakes. He reaffirmed China’s support for Afghanistan’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Also on Friday, Bao Xuhui, chargé d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Kabul, presented a US$200,000 emergency cash grant from the Red Cross Society of China to Afghan Red Crescent president Shahabuddin Delawar to support relief operations.
The Y-20, developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China, is a large multi-role transport aircraft that entered PLA service in 2016.
It made its first public appearance during the 2019 National Day parade over Tiananmen Square and took part in the “Kavkaz-2020” strategic exercises in Russia.
During Wednesday’s military parade in Beijing, three Y-20A and three Y-20B aircraft appeared in formation.
The aircraft has been instrumental in several high-profile missions, including transporting medical personnel and supplies to the central Chinese city of Wuhan in February 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the delivery of test kits and protective equipment to Pakistan, Myanmar, and Laos in April of the same year.
It also delivered aid to Afghanistan in 2022 after an earthquake, a year after the withdrawal of US troops from the country and the return of the Taliban to power.
A Y-20 marked with the serial number “01” was also used to repatriate the remains of 117 Chinese People’s Volunteers soldiers from South Korea on September 27, 2020.
Initially equipped with Russian D-30KP-2 engines, the Y-20 faced challenges related to high fuel consumption and noise. In 2019, it was retrofitted with domestically produced WS-18 engines, integrated with indigenous flight control systems.
The latest variant, the Y-20B, powered by the WS-20 engine, boasts a maximum take-off weight of 220 tonnes and a payload capacity of 66 tonnes. It can transport a combination of heavy equipment, such as one Type 99A main battle tank and two armoured vehicles, and has an operational range of more than 8,000km (about 5,000 miles), giving it global reach.
The Y-20B has also shown its abilities in disaster response operations. During the 2024 Indonesia tsunami relief efforts, a fleet of Y-20B aircraft completed 12 sorties within 72 hours to deliver medical aid.
Similarly, when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Shigatse in the Tibet autonomous region in January, the Y-20 transported advance command personnel to the disaster area within five hours.