News Desk
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has stressed enhancing bilateral trade with China, which currently reached $27.8 billion, and added that the strengthening of businesses between the two countries could prove mutual reward.
While talking to the outgoing Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong here on Tuesday at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Dr Alvi said under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), 19 projects were completed, other 28 were under construction while 41 more were in the pipeline.
President Alvi said CPEC was a transformational flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, which had the potential to act as the game changer of regional peace and connectivity.
He further said that the speedy completion of four broad clusters of cooperation, including Gwadar Port and its auxiliary features, energy projects, transport infrastructure, and industrial cooperation comprising the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), would no doubt change trade, business, and investment outlook of the country.
The president observed that with new challenges coming ahead to the world, there was a need to further expedite the progress on CPEC project so that the goods should start moving from South China to the Gwadar Port and upward in a regular manner.
He further said that the second phase of CPEC should be pursued expeditiously to promote agriculture; innovation and IT sector, industrial cooperation, livelihood generation, and poverty alleviation, automobiles, textiles, and leather manufacturing along with shifting of Chinese industries to Pakistan wherever possible.
Increase in Pak, China Bilateral trade
The president added that the signing of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement in January 2020 had further opened the trade resulting in a substantial expansion in trade volumes, noting that as per data for the first 11 months of 2021, mutual trade reached a record high at $27.8 billion witnessing an increase of 60 percent with the corresponding period of 2020.
Pakistan’s exports amounting to $3.6 billion also recorded an increase of 68% year over year, he added.
He appreciated the outgoing ambassador Nong Rong for representing China with dignity and grace in the best traditions of Chinese diplomacy and wished him success in his future professional engagements.
