PM’s bid to lure Chinese firms to SEZs praised

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday said the Chinese side appreciated the high importance attached by Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani government to bilateral industrial cooperation, and their active efforts in this regard.

“China appreciates the high importance attached by Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani government to China-Pakistan industrial cooperation, and their active efforts in this regard,” he said while responding to a question raised by APP during his regular briefing.

Presiding over a meeting on facilitating Chinese investors in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) this week, PM Imran had directed the authorities concerned to take all possible measures to provide land, electricity and gas connections, and tax incentives to attract more and more Chinese companies to invest in Pakistan and populate SEZs.

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Zhao Lijian said that China and Pakistan were all-weather strategic cooperative partners and termed the industrial cooperation as an integral part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“We will maintain close communication and form effective and practical cooperation mechanisms to enhance and deepen industrial cooperation,” he added.

He said the two countries will jointly build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future for a new era.

It may be mentioned that out of the total of 27 SEZs in the country, work on five SEZs – namely Dhabeji in Sindh, Rashakai in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bostan in Balochistan, Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Punjab, and Gwadar in Balochistan – was in full swing.

An effective one window operation facility is being set up at each of such SEZs along with a facilitation centre at the CPEC Authority to resolve all issues of the potential Chinese investors under one roof.