Setting up local joint ventures (JVs) and engaging with the Pakistani public will help ensure that China’s investment along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will reap long-term benefits, industry leaders and academics in Pakistan told the Chinese newspaper, the Global Times.
The CPEC, which involves a reported $46 billion in investment, is a flagship project of China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road – both were launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
Ejaz Hussain, professor at IqraUniversity and a CPEC researcher, said there were concerns in Pakistan on the qualities of the products made in China but “at least within five years, the public only cares about buying cost-competitive goods.”
“Pakistan previously had British standards and American standards. Pakistani engineers at first had doubts about Chinese standards,” said Ye Chengyin, general manager of the Pakistan branch of China Road and Bridge Corp (CRBC). The CRBC is in charge of the reconstruction and extension of the Karakoram Highway, a 1,200 kilometre artery that connects Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to northern Pakistan.
Ye said the CRBC gradually convinced their Pakistani counterparts to accept the Chinese standards through patient deliberation.
Ye said many foreigners did not even know that a Chinese standard (for road and bridge construction) exists, let alone taking it as an alternative to the US and European standards. Ye said the work had already yielded positive results as the Pakistani side had agreed to continue to apply Chinese standards to the second phase of the KKH project.
All the talk about the lack of quality of Chinese work is a misconception, said Khawaja Khawar Rashid, CEO of Lahore Esschem (Pvt) Ltd, a company that trades in chemicals used in cosmetics and materials used to produce whitening creams, shampoos and conditioners. It is based in Lahore, the country’s second largest city.
“I visited the furniture city in Foshan, [South China’s GuangdongProvince], many times. Goods are graded into four different categories. So we should not blame China for the low-quality goods. It is the traders who imported lower-quality goods. Apple’s smartphone is manufactured in China; it has no quality problem,” he told the Global Times.
“In order to make China more visible in Pakistan, to make China’s image more friendly among Pakistanis in the long-term, to make Chinese products more available in Pakistan, the Chinese government and companies need to interact with Pakistani people, NGOs, private institutions, and media groups,” he said.
Tanvir Hussain, CEO of Islamabad-based Limecom (Pvt) Ltd, an outsourcing firm of image and graphic design work, believes Chinese investors should work with local companies.
Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi, vice president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said he had seen an increase in both the scale and frequency of Chinese business delegations visiting his organization after President Xi’s state visit to Pakistan in April.