ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan started his four-day official visit to China, a trip seen as vital to step up the two nations’ long-standing friendship, as well as a chance to explore new avenues of cooperation.
“During his first visit to China, the Prime Minister and his Chinese counterparts will take a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, as well as displaying Pakistan’s market potential and export capacity at the China International Import Expo (CIIE),” Khalid Masood, the Pakistani ambassador to China was quoted as saying by People’s Daily Online on Friday.
“China and Pakistan are old friends, close partners and good neighbors. The Prime Minister’s visit will reinforce our friendship and partnership, while we would also like to study China''s model, to see what advantages we can extract from China’s experience,” added Masood.
Declaring Pakistan as a country of honor for the upcoming CIIE, Chinese authorities have expressed their willingness to strengthen Sino-Pakistan cooperation in different areas further.
The gesture has been hailed by the Pakistani public as “solid evidence of mutual trust and friendship,” with the ambassador noting that several significant contracts will be signed during the event.
“We have set up a Pakistan pavilion at CIIE, which will be visited by Chinese leaders and the Pakistani Prime Minister.
The pavilion will highlight Pakistan’s economic progress and the country’s achievement in different areas, especially in commerce and trade,” noted Masood.
A sizeable Pakistani delegation will also attend the CIIE, including top business leaders, ministers and government officials from different sectors including economy, trade and commerce, industry and water resources.
Major business representatives will deliver speeches during an interactive session specially designed for leading Chinese companies, while a B2B session is also expected for Pakistani and Chinese entrepreneurs.
“During the CIIE, the Prime Minister will also meet top business executives from China.
We hope to sign some agreements in areas such as agriculture, industrial cooperation and development, so that China can help and assist Pakistan,” said Masood.
According to Masood, Pakistan is willing to export more items to China including textiles, agricultural products, sports gear, surgical equipment and leather goods, while the Prime Minister and his government are implementing a series of tough reforms to make Pakistani exports more competitive on the global market.
In addition to trade and economic cooperation, people-to-people exchange and cultural cooperation will also be discussed during the CIIE.
“The younger generation in our two countries should know the real depth, substance and value of the Sino-Pakistani relations.
We are trying to promote the cultural exchange between our two nations, and I hope our Chinese friends can provide us with support in this endeavor,” added Masood.
Serving as a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, both China and Pakistan have attached great importance to its development and progress.
“Good progress has been made in the power sector, a number of power projects have been completed, and more are in the pipeline.
Gwadar Port is also operational, though not at its full capacity, but cargo ships are coming, and we hope this project will gain momentum in the years to come,” said Masood.
According to the ambassador, an international airport is expected to be built in Gwadar, while hospitals, vocational institutes, power plants and new roads have already been built in the city.
In addition to the port, both China and Pakistan have agreed to develop nine locations in Pakistan for industrial parks and economic zones, with the first one coming soon.
“Obviously, CPEC has brought benefits to Pakistan.
I think projects worth 19 billion dollars are already in different phases of implementation, while over 60,000 job opportunities have been created because of CPEC.
"CPEC is a win-win solution for both China and Pakistan, and I look forward to more investment and business participation from China,” said Masood.
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