NANNING: Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moin-ul-Haque on Saturday invitedthe leading Chinese entrepreneurs to come and take advantage of theconducive and investment-friendly environment and a number of incentivesoffered by the government in Pakistan.
Addressing the participants of the China-Pakistan Trade and Business Forumheld on the sidelines of the China-Asean Expo, being held in Nanning,China’s Guangxi Region, the ambassador said: “A number of ongoing andplanned projects being completed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) provide tremendous investment opportunities for the Chinesecompanies.”
Ambassador Haque said that China is the largest source of foreign directinvestment and the multibillion-dollar CPEC, a flagship project of Belt andRoad Initiative is moving smoothly and transforming the socioeconomiclandscape of Pakistan.
“After upgradation of infrastructure, transportation and energy projectsduring the first phase of the CPEC, our focus is now on industrialisation,science and technology, socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation,etc,” he added.
There are vast investment opportunities in the special economic zones beingdeveloped under the CPEC, of which three had already been developed.
The ambassador said the present government has decided to shift its focusto geo-economics, making Pakistan a hub of economic activities and regionalconnectivity.
Sharing certain unique aspects about Pakistan, he said, Pakistan’sgeographical location, growth potential, and conducive policies offered bythe government make it an attractive destination for the overseasinvestment, especially for the Chinese enterprises.
He said Pakistan shares borders with China and the country is at thecrossroads of South Asian, Central Asian and Western nations, and has thepotential to act as a bridge.
Pakistan has a population of 220 million, fast growing middle-class and 60per cent of its young population offers good prospects.
Pakistan is rich in natural resources such as gold, marble, gemstones,copper, chromite, and it also has untapped reservoirs of oil and gas, theambassador said.
He informed the businessmen that Pakistan has a strong agricultural baseand fertile land and is among the top 10 countries, particularly in theproduction of cotton, sugarcane, rice and wheat.
With the investments from China in the agriculture sector, it can become avery important source of food supplies to the Chinese market.
Ambassador Haque said that the present government offers very attractiveand liberalised policies for the foreign investors and also allow them toexport their goods to other countries, as well.
About the business and investment forum, he said, it has been organised aspart of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of establishment ofdiplomatic relations between Pakistan and China.
Ambassador Haque also expressed gratitude to the Chinese side for invitingPakistan as a special partner country to the China-Asean Expo for thesecond time.
The Pakistan Pavilion set up in the exhibition area of the expo would leadto further expand trade and business cooperation between Pakistan, Chinaand other Asean countries.
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Regarding Pakistan-China trade, he said, it has registered rapid growth.Today, China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner. Last year, with thelaunch of the second phase of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, variousgoods from the two countries have access to each other’s market.
In the first-half of the current fiscal year, Pakistan’s exports to Chinaincreased 88 per cent, while the bilateral trade with Gunagxi Regionincreased 50 per cent, compared with the last year, and exports to Guangxialso increased 350 per cent, he added.
Guangxi Autonomous Region vice governor Liu Hongwu said that Pakistan andChina have a long history of relations and friendship. Both the countrieshelped each other in times of need.
The high quality of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a uniqueexample of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The vice governor offered cooperation in fields of agriculture, science andtechnology, education and people-to-people exchanges.
He expressed the confidence that China-Asean Expo would provide moreopportunities to Pakistani enterprises to enter into Chinese and Aseancountries’ markets.
Vice Minister of Commerce of China, Ren Hongbin, said that the friendshipbetween Pakistan and China is time-tested and has been growing with thepassage of time.
He mentioned Pakistan’s support to China in different times and saidPakistan recognised the new China in early years and helped it during thenatural calamities, particularly the earthquakes.
China is the largest trading partner of Pakistan and has made investment inPakistan’s different mega projects such as Gwadar Port, Peshawar-KarachiMotorway, Orange Line and Karakoram Highway project, etc, which haveinjected a new impetus to relationship between the two countries.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong sent a video message to the forumand expressed the hope that the Chinese enterprises would make a good useof the CAEXPO platform and strengthen cooperation, unleash the potentialand promote development of economic and trade cooperation between China andPakistan in a deep and wide ranging way.
Syed Hamid Ali, additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, addressedthe audience via a video-link.
China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Co Ltd chairman Lv Zexiangand China Road and Bridge Cooperation deputy president Ye Chengyin sharedtheir experiences during implementation of the different developmentprojects under the CPEC framework in Pakistan.
A signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding on friendlycooperation with the CAEXPO Supporting Chamber of Commerce of SpecialPartner Country and Agreement on Pakistan Pavilion of the China-AseanMercantile Exchange was held via a video-link.
A video on achievements in bilateral cooperation between the two countriesover the past seven decades was also screened.
