Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday he looked forward to meeting the Chinese leadership for a series of “productive and fruitful meetings” aimed at boosting business, strategic and people-to-people relations.
Addressing the first steering committee meeting of the Pakistan-China Business and Investment Forum (PCBIF) on the eve of his departure for Beijing, he emphasised on creating favourable environment for building a business-to-business relationship.
Shehbaz will pay a two-day official visit to China from Tuesday (today). This will be the prime minister’s first visit to China since assuming office in April 2022 and follows his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan last month.
The prime minister will be among the first leaders to visit China following the historic 20th National Congress of the Communist Party (CPC) of China that elected Xi Jinping as general secretary of the party.
At the PCBIF steering committee meeting, the prime minister emphasised that Pakistan strongly needed to emulate the Chinese model of development for its sustainable progress and prosperity.
“Let’s join hands and move forward to create a win-win situation for the Chinese and Pakistani businessmen and investors,” he said. He called for streamlining the business procedures in Pakistan to benefit from China.
He termed the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a game-changer and recalled how the flagship programme of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) resulted in helping Pakistan overcome its massive power outages.
Read PM expects to further deepen relations with China during his visit
He stressed the relocation of the labour-intensive Chinese industry to Pakistan in view of the cheap local labour by establishing Special Economic Zones, calling it a win-win scenario for the business houses of both countries.
Shehbaz expressed the confidence that the PCBIF would promote business linkages besides identifying promising investment opportunities to nurture the business environment between the two countries.
He expressed gratitude to China for being one of the largest donors of relief assistance for the flood-affected people in Pakistan and also for setting up an air bridge for the supply of tents, food, and medicine.
He lauded the efforts of Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong for his immense contribution towards strengthening the Pakistan-China relations in diverse fields.
Meanwhile, the prime minister met with Chinese ambassador Nong and discussed with him diverse matters ahead of his China visit, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The Prime Minister’s Office also said that a high-level delegation would accompany the prime minister on the China visit. “During his stay, the prime minister will meet President Xi Jinping and hold delegation-level talks with Premier Li Keqiang,” it said.
“The visit is also expected to advance the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation agenda with the conclusion of a number of MoUs/agreements in diverse areas, and consolidate the momentum of CPEC cooperation in the wake of the 11th meeting of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on October 27, 2022,” the statement added.
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