Prioritizing secured economic benefits: Islamabad must emulate Beijing: policy paper

A policy paper launched by the China Desk of EMPAK Strategies argues that Pakistan must strengthen its institutional capacity to match China's shifting priorities and secure larger economic gains from bilateral ties, according to Business Recorder. The paper, titled Understanding China: China's Economy and Industrial Policy, was presented in Islamabad, with Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Federal Minister for the Board of Investment, as guest of honour.

According to the paper, the 15th Five-Year Plan covering 2026-2030 puts industry, technology, output capacity and innovation at its core. Beijing has moved beyond the infrastructure and financing model that shaped the first decade of bilateral cooperation, so Pakistan must revise its own strategy. The central idea is new quality productive forces, which ranks technology and productivity above cheap labour. China's 2024 robot installations reached 295,000 units, a 54 percent share of the global total.

Exports to China grew about 10 percent to USD2.67 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, leaving China second only to the United States as a buyer of Pakistani goods. Imports from China climbed 14 percent to roughly USD22.2 billion, pushing the bilateral deficit up by about USD2.4 billion in a year to around USD19.53 billion. At the launch, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said Pakistan decides how much it gains from Chinese cooperation, and acknowledged that CPEC projects had faced setbacks before the present government improved conditions for investors.