BEIJING – Chinese President, Xi Jinping will visit pavilion being set upby Pakistan at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) which isscheduled to be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.
“Pakistan, a country of honor, is setting up its pavilion to display itsproducts and it is hoped that President Xi Jinping will visit ourpavilion,” Pakistan Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid told APP here onSunday.
He said that Pakistan would exhibit its main products and highlight thedevelopment process and achievements in science and technology, informationtechnology and other areas besides projecting the government’s priorities.
Ambassador Khalid said that Pakistani companies and entrepreneurs wouldintroduce their market potential and exhibit products at the expo and playan important role to further enhance economic cooperation with Chinesecompanies and the business community.
Pointing out other factors of the expo beneficial for Pakistan, he said,the business groups and companies from the US, Europe and other parts ofthe world would also be participating and exhibiting their products.
The expo would see the participation of more than 2,800 companies from 130countries and regions, and 160,000 buyers from over 80,000 Chinese andforeign companies.
“Our businessmen and traders will have an opportunity to interact with onlytheir Chinese counterpart but also introduce themselves to the businesscommunity of other countries as well,” he added.
According to experts, the expo would create more opportunities forextensive and in-depth trade cooperation between Pakistan and China.
A look at China’s market reveals that it was the world’s biggestdestination for agricultural products including grains, cotton, sugar,meat, and milk – and Pakistan produces almost all of these in abundance.
Connecting the agro potential of Pakistan with China’s opening up measures,the expo would help in exploring new trade avenues.
One-third of Pakistan’s total agricultural export was rice. Just a fewyears back, China was the second largest buyer of Pakistan’s non-basmatitype rice but the continuously evolving arrangements have changed thescenario.
Nonetheless, traders and governments from both countries had recently showna willingness to resume their high-volume trade.
After a positive response from the Chinese side to Pakistan’s request forpreferential treatment during the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions,it was expected that the commodity’s export to China would increase.
Pakistan was the world’s fourth largest producer of cotton and had Asia’sthird largest spinning capacity. Several factors, including the highercompetitiveness of products and the U.S. dollar’s surge against the localcurrency, boosted its textile exports to around nine percent in the lastfinancial year.
Fruits also formed a strong part of Pakistan’s export base. Most prominentamong these was a citrus variant known as kinnow which hit a record highexport figures of 370,000 tons in the 2017-18season. Experts believed thatPakistan had an immediate capacity of exporting 50 to 80 thousand tons ofkinnow to China in the next three years.
Mangoes, revered as the king of fruits in Pakistan, were another of itsmajor exports. Shipping starts in the month of May but was mostly headed toEurope. This year’s increased queries from Chinese buyers, however, wouldlead to an expanded share in China. – APP