ISLAMABAD, Jan. 13 (INP) - The second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will boost Pakistan’s economy, a senior Chinese diplomat said, according to a report published by Gwadar Pro.

Xie Guoxiang, Minister Counsellor (Economic and Commercial), Embassy of the People’s Republic of China said the second phase of CPEC had started cooperation in industrial and agriculture sectors, health and digital technology between China and Pakistan. “It will boost Pakistan’s economy,” he said, adding Pakistan should focus on improving its infrastructure that would attract more Chinese investors to Pakistani market. He said the Department of Commerce of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China intended to hold an online conference on January 22, 2021 to promote trade cooperation between China and Pakistan. He said it would focus on garment and textile industry, textile machinery and equipment, agricultural products and urged that Pakistani business community should attend it to explore business collaboration with Chinese counterparts. Earlier, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President leading a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) visited the Embassy of China in Islamabad. He held a meeting with Xie Guoxiang to discuss possibilities of further improving bilateral trade and investment relations between Pakistan and China. Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan and China enjoyed strategic friendship which could be further strengthened by developing strong trade and economic relations between the two countries. He said Pakistan was a growing market for business activities and it was the right time for Chinese companies to transfer technology to Pakistan and set up JVs and industrial units in our country. This way, Chinese investors could export their products to many markets of the world including South Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa. He said that China was the world’s second largest economy with annual trade of trillions of dollars, but Pakistan’s exports to China were around $ 2 billion. He said that Pakistan’s exports to China could increase to $ 23 billion only if China provided one percent share in its supply chain through importing raw materials and intermediate goods from Pakistan. Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan’s automobile, IT & telecom, industry, agriculture and construction sectors possessed tremendous potential for Chinese investors. He said that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of Pakistan offered tax holiday for many years, zero duty on import of machinery and plants and 4-year payment plan to investors. He stressed that Chinese investors should explore JVs and investment in these SEZs to earn lucrative returns. He said that China was quite advanced in the agriculture sector and urged to help Pakistan in improving its per acre yield by sharing its agro machinery and technology with our country. He urged the Embassy to streamline its visa policy for Pakistani business community so that they could easily visit China to explore business collaborations with Chinese counterparts. He said that ICCI was working with the government for One Window facility for investors and assured that ICCI would fully facilitate Chinese investors in connecting them with right partners in Pakistan.