Ahsan calls for B2B cooperation under CPEC 2.0

Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has called for business-to-business cooperation between Pakistan and China, according to Business Recorder. He made the remarks at a Planning Ministry meeting on Wednesday with a business delegation from Xinjiang led by H.E. Yuan Jianmin, senior adviser to the Xinjiang Government. Iqbal stressed that the second phase of CPEC gives priority to industry, shipments abroad, technology sharing and private capital.

Iqbal asked Chinese investors to open factories in Pakistan, using the country as a base from which goods could reach regional and global buyers. He believed closer industrial ties and export-focused investment could move the economy towards higher-value goods, add jobs and widen the export base. He added that both nations should lower trade barriers and deepen business links so that CPEC 2.0 can outperform its first phase.

He said exports of USD 7 billion more over three years could lessen dependence on outside financial support. He recalled that an accord from July 2013 has since produced over USD 25 billion of investment in five years. Yuan Jianmin pointed to trade through the Khunjerab Pass, a China-Pakistan border trade market to be set up and investment in manufacturing, new energy and artificial intelligence. Both sides reaffirmed a shared resolve to turn the long-standing friendship into closer business ties.