Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong has said that increasing relations between Pakistan and China are not only mutually beneficial but it will affect the whole region in a positive way.
Bond of friendship between the two friendly countries will be cemented further by the passage of time, he said. Weidong was talking to President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Zubair Tufail and Chairman Coordination Malik Sohail Hussain.
All stakeholders must recognise the importance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which will change the fate of Pakistan, he added. The ambassador said that the CPEC will boost the economic and social development of Pakistan and the region and many new business opportunities are coming up for all the related nations, he said.
He said that reservations expressed by the business community about CPEC and some other circles are speculative and time will tell the reality. Â Pakistan is not producing things that are needed in China which is a reason behind imbalance in trade, he informed.
He said that Pakistan can enhance exports to 35 billion dollars for which serious efforts are needed. The ambassador furthered that not a single Chinese company will be allowed to install used machinery in Pakistan as a transfer of technology will be a prerequisite.
The ambassador informed that settling energy crisis in Pakistan is our top priority and we will add eleven thousand megawatt of electricity in the national grid as soon as possible through highly efficient power plants. After overcoming energy crisis we will develop infrastructure and in the last leg initiate process of industrialisation, he informed.
Security of the economic zones must be ensured so that Chinese experts working in Pakistan feel safe, he said, adding that visa procedure is being improved for Pakistani businessmen and that local business community should participate in the expos and seminars in China to improve understanding and trade.
At the occasion Zubair Tufail lauded the Chinese cooperation aimed at development of Pakistan and claimed that China is more interested in development of Pakistan than trade.
He said that local business community need not to worry as CPEC will unleash a new era of development in Pakistan therefore ‘nothing’ should be allowed to slow the pace of this critical project.
