Trade potential: Businessmen urged to participate in China fair

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BEIJING: SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC-CCI) Secretary General Muhammad Iqbal Tabish has urged the Pakistani business community to showcase the country’s products at Kunming Fair to be held in June in China.

Tabish is currently in Beijing attending a preparatory meeting for the upcoming 9th edition of the annual China South Asia Business Forum. In an interview with China Radio International on Thursday, Tabish said China is the third largest import market in the world, and being Pakistan’s neighbour, there is need for Pakistani policy makers, traders, industrialists and businessmen to tap the business opportunities. The forum will be held from June 6-10 in Kunming, capital city of the Yunnan province.



Highlighting the importance of such forums, Tabish said that so far we have held eight such events that helped promote trade among China and South Asia. He said that there is a big trade potential between China and South Asian countries as we have been intertwined with long history of trade and culture.

“By using Chinese expertise, the South Asian countries can improve their economy,” Tabish noted. He said that every year an exhibition is being held along with the China-South Asia Business Forum.

The Chinese government provided stalls to every country free of cost in the fair, he said. The very purpose is to encourage the South Asian traders to put on display their country’s products to attract Chinese consumers. He expressed hope that demand of the South Asian products would increase in China.

He pointed out that at the time the forum was established in 2004, trade volume between China and South Asian countries was $25 billion, which has now been scaled up to $100 billion and there is scope for further expansion. He said that in view of the present trade relationship, Pakistan and China’s bilateral trade target set at $15 billion would be achieved by 2015.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2014.

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