Chinese delegation meets planning minister: ‘Pakistan is seeking to leverage CPEC 2.0 to accelerate industrialisation, boost exports’

According to Business Recorder, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Islamabad intends to use CPEC 2.0, the next stage of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, to speed up industrialisation and raise exports. He made the remarks on Tuesday while meeting a delegation led by Sun Dongsheng, Senior Advisor at Economic Affairs Press, at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives. The discussion centred on business-to-business and industrial cooperation under the programme.

Iqbal called Pakistan's low export base one of the country's main economic challenges, saying weak export performance had repeatedly limited the durability of growth phases. He said the government's top priority is turning productive sectors into competitive exporters, and recalled that China had helped ease the energy shortage during the first phase. China takes in nearly USD 2.6 trillion of imports a year, whereas Pakistan's exports to China stand at around USD 3 billion.

Sun Dongsheng backed deeper cooperation in industry and agriculture and urged more participation by small and medium manufacturers. The two sides also discussed aligning CPEC 2.0's five corridors with the Uraan Pakistan 5Es framework, focusing on enterprise development, jobs, exports and investment. They exchanged views on strengthening policy coordination and implementation mechanisms.