Work under way on easy access for exports to China

Pakistan, China businessmen interact at Beijing conference.

KARACHI: Though a wide gap exists in trade with Beijing, work is under way on allowing easy access for Pakistani exports, providing a level playing field to the exporters and encouraging investment and marketing missions from China for bulk purchases from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Ambassador Masood Khalid made the assertion while speaking at a China-Pakistan Trade and Investment Symposium at the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing on Tuesday, says a message received here.

The conference was aimed at enabling Pakistani business and investment community to interact with Chinese counterparts in order to expand mutual cooperation, investment, explore opportunities and promote trade contacts between enterprises.

Khalid urged Chinese business community to explore Pakistan’s vast market potential and cited products like cotton, cotton yarn, leather, rice, cereals, animal feed, stones, marble, gems and jewellery, fruits and vegetables where joint ventures could be considered.

“As Pakistan is an agricultural economy, Chinese companies could join entities there to develop the agriculture sector for our common food security,” he remarked.

He pointed to the viable framework and legal structure the two countries had evolved to develop economic cooperation. There were several mechanisms such as the Joint Economic Commission, Joint Investment Company and sector-specific frameworks for forging meaningful cooperation.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce Deputy Director General Song Jianming said of total imports and exports, commodity trade between the two sides in 2014 was very encouraging.

China’s exports to Pakistan included mobile phones, heat exchange equipment and steel, while its imports were mainly textile yarn, agricultural products and unwrought copper and copper products.

Stressing that this was a special year of friendship which would promote relations by enhancing exchanges, he invited Pakistani enterprises and trade delegations to participate with their Chinese counterparts in a series of business activities to be held in China.

These include the Canton Fair, Imported Commodities Shopping Festival and Ecommerce Seminar, where Pakistani businessmen will exhibit and purchase commodities.

On the occasion, a framework memorandum of cooperation was signed between Zhubang Commercial Centre, Beijing International Economic and Trade Development Association and the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2015.

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