‘B2B ties can take CPEC to next level’

ISLAMABAD: Yao Jing, ambassador of People’s Republic of China to Pakistan, said win-win B2B (business-to-business) cooperation and enhanced P2P (people-to-people) contacts should follow the foundational G2G (government-to-government) phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to achieve next level.

He was speaking at a seminar “CPEC 2015-2019: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward” which was jointly organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, CPEC Economic Forum, and Pakistan Institute of Management (PIM).

The seminar also marked the fourth anniversary of CPEC agreement between China and Pakistan.

The ambassador said as many as 26 new CPEC initiatives were on the way as well.

The focus of new CPEC investments would shift from G2G interactions to B2B and P2P cooperation, eventually encouraging the private sector investors from both the countries to play their part especially in the areas of industrial and social development, he added.

“The energy projects under CPEC have contributed to a GDP increase of about one percent in Pakistan so far, but the real dividends of the megaproject would unfold with time, eventually helping in releasing economic pressures on Pakistan considerably,” he said.