Pakistan asks China to revise bilateral FTA

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani government has conveyed to Beijing its concerns regarding Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and emphasised its revision as to address Islamabad’s concerns and make this arrangement as win-win proposition for both sides.

Federal Minister for Commerce Mohammad Pervaiz Malik and Secretary Commerce Mohammad Younus Dagha conveyed concerns and desire for revision of the FTA in a meeting with the Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan and Vice Minister Wang Shouwen on the sidelines of the world trade organisation (WTO) 11th Ministerial Conference (MC-11) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mohammad Pervaiz Malik highlighted the issues of bilateral trade and investment with particular focus on revision of the China-Pakistan FTA which was proposed by the secretary commerce during the eighth round of negotiations held in September, 2017.

Malik reiterated the concerns of Pakistan regarding the outcomes of FTA raised by the secretary commerce during the last round of China-Pakistan FTA negotiations.