The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) President Abdul Rauf Alam has said that China is eager to support all the undeveloped countries of the world including Pakistan while their model of supporting needy nations is better than western model because they don’t attach strings to aid.
THE CPEC project was a game changer and the most popular project in the history of Pakistan which was being taken very seriously by the government and army, he added.
“We are highly grateful to the Chinese leadership who preferred Pakistani over other nations for the fate-changing project.”
Abdul Rauf Alam said this while speaking at Silk Road expo and conference at ancient Chinese city of Xi’an in which over one hundred thousand businessmen, diplomats and around 6,250 companies participated.
He said that China had almost become an economic and military power while Pakistan was considered as the most trustworthy ally. During the expo, 108 contracts worth 28 billion dollars were signed between Chinese and foreign companies.
He said that Silk route existed since 2000 years and it had connected millions of people across Asia, Africa and Europe and helped transfer of knowledge, art, education and culture.
He said the route was there before Christ but it gained new prominence during Tang Dynasty with Xi’an its capital where this important event took place.
Now Chinese leadership was modernising the route which would unleash a new era of progress and prosperity which was evident from bilateral trade worth 999 billion dollars in 2016 with countries linked to Silk route, he added.
Modern transportation networks had replaced the old Silk Road, allowing goods to travel across the Eurasian continent in just days or hours, he noted. Abdul Rauf Alam said that Pak-China trade had reached 18 billion dollars after FTA which would increase soon while Pakistan would get billion in transit and improved international image. He added that reservations over the project among some elements of Pakistan and other countries were unfounded.
Around 80 to 85 per cent oil reached China through Strait of Malacca while the same strait was used for trade with Europe, Middle East and Africa but the same trade through Pakistan would not only reduce route by 6,000 kilometre but also ensure security of the goods, he added.