As part of ongoing trade talks and negotiations to boost bilateral trade while celebrating the 60th year of friendship between Pakistan and China, a high profile business delegation is planned to visit China this month. President Asif Ali Zardari will also join the Pakistan China Business Forum to be held at Shanghai from August 25 to 27.
Delegation from Pakistan
During the three days meetings and talks would be held and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) would be signed between the two countries related to cooperation and investment in various sectors, sources told Pakistan Today. The delegation led by President Asif Ali Zardari would also attend textile fairs and exhibitions scheduled to be held at Urumqi while the President would later leave for Tajikistan to attend celebrations of the foreign country’s 20th Independence Day, on invitation of the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Chief Executive Tariq Puri and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Senator Haji Ghulam Ali will also lead the business group from Pakistani side.
Inviting Chinese enterprises
Talking to Profit, Tariq Puri has also said that during previous meetings and talks, Pakistani officials have also invited Chinese enterprises to invest in the areas of energy, infrastructural development, agro-processing, science and technology. He emphasised upon the need for more business forums on similar lines to be held in all provincial cities of China, so that Pakistan’s advantages and products are introduced all over the country. He further said that the 2nd round of FTA negotiations was underway. This year TDAP would be participating in 20 exhibitions in China, and during the Euro Asia EXPO in Urumqi held in September, Pakistan would participate very actively, not only projecting Pakistan’s trading ability but also its culture.
Bilateral trade target at $12 billion
The series of business forums, exhibitions, and businessman to businessman (B2B) meetings and talks held, mostly in China, since December 2010 were aimed to enhance bilateral trade which currently stands at around $8.6 billion. Earlier Pakistan-China Business Forums were also held at Kunming and Kashgar cities in China. According to sources, businessmen on both sides had also identified enormous areas of mutual cooperation and particularly the Pakistani side had emphasised upon the government and the private sector of China to consider investment in Pakistan through joint ventures. The relocation of Chinese industries to Pakistan would help create job opportunities and enable these units to create surplus for re-exporting to China as a remedy to bridge chronic trade deficit of Pakistan in trade with China, they said. Both the countries, sources claimed, were trying to reach a bilateral trade target of $12 billion by the end of 2012.
Celebrating 60 yrs of diplomatic relations
He appreciated China’s double digit growth during the last 15 years, making it the second largest economy in the world. Pakistan’s geo-strategic location can certainly leverage existing trade to new levels. Pakistan has declared China as a focus country for its trade initiatives in 2011–2012 and plans to participate in more than 20 fairs in the country as part of celebrations for Pakistan and China’s 60 years of diplomatic relations. Through this outreach programme, the intention is to access all different regions of China to introduce Pakistan as a country which can be relied upon for its quality and competitive offerings in various sectors including textile, leather, fisheries, food products, marble and minerals. TDAP will also organise seminars and conferences with a view to identify new areas of trade and investment.
Pak-China Business Forum to enhance bilateral trade
