Beijing offers Pak-China industrial park

MoU initialled; to be concluded later this year.

BEIJING: China has offered to set up a Pakistan-China Friendship Industrial Park in Donggang city, which is located in China’s northeast Liaoning province, revealed here on Monday by Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, who is also leading a trade delegation to the country.

Senator Talha said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard has been initialled, but would be concluded upon the Donggang City delegation’s visit to Pakistan later this year.

He said a delegation of Donggang traders has also been invited to visit Pakistan to further talks on this project and for looking into the possibilities of investment in Pakistan. “Pakistan and China,” he said, “enjoy an all-weather and time-tested friendship; but this friendship must be consolidated further by increasing mutual trade and investment.”

Earlier, Donggang Vice-Mayor Zhang Tao said the visit of the trade delegation was very productive. He termed the signing of the MoU for the setting up of the Pak-China Friendship Industrial Park a very important step in mutual cooperation.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan said that in the last four years, trade volume between Pakistan and China has increased to $10.6 billion; and Pakistani exports to China have doubled to $2.2 billion. “China is contributing in a big way to address Pakistan’s energy crisis,” Ambassador Khan said; adding that after hydro, nuclear and coal projects, Chinese entrepreneurs are now also investing in wind and solar energy.

“Investment inflows have also gone up. The time is ripe for deeper engagement between private enterprises of the two countries,” he said.

A delegation from Punjab led by MPA Muhammad Arshad, and comprising high-level government officers including Secretary Agriculture Punjab, which is currently in China to explore possibilities of cooperation in the energy and agriculture sectors, was also invited to the reception. Relating his experiences, Arshad said his delegation had held useful meetings with relevant Chinese departments and hoped that this interaction would bear fruitful results for Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2012.