President Asif Ali Zardari will inaugurate the branch of the one of the largest Chinese banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), here today. An official source has revealed that the Chinese bank would be simultaneously opening its two branches, one in the country’s industrial hub and port city of Karachi while the other in the federal capital to further boost the bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries.Similarly, he noted, two branches of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will also be opened in China, as Chinese have granted a waiver to the bank from fulfilling the tough condition of securing $22 billion in assets operations in the country. The NBP has assets of approximately $11 billion. It is important to mention that Pakistan has declared 2011 to be a ‘year of exports’ with special onus placed on enhancing exports to China. During 2010, total volume between Pakistan and China rose by $2 billion to $8.7 billion. Pakistan’s exports to China grew by 37 percent to $1.7 billion as compared to $1.2 billion in 2009. While imports from China reached $6.9 billion during 2010. The two governments have decided upon a set of measures to reduce the massive trade deficit of $5.2 billion. China plans to dispatch purchase missions to Pakistan to identify suitable products for Chinese markets. Additionally, Pakistani traders and businessmen will be attending major trade exhibitions in Kunming, Guangzhou, Urumqi, Kashghar, Dalian, and Beijing. More business seminars will also be held to create greater space for Pakistani products in China. Pakistan has called for greater assistance from China in vocational and technical training in the areas of textiles, gems and jewelry, ceramics, surgical instruments, leather and light engineering. At the last meeting of the Free Trade Commission (FTC), China agreed to consider the proposal and invited Pakistan to identify specific training requirements in the highlighted. Pakistan has also requested China to give unilateral tariff concessions to 268 Pakistani products.
