ISLAMABAD, Aug 11 (APP):A high-level Chinese delegation led by Sun Dongsheng, Senior Advisor, Economic Affairs Press, visited the CPEC Secretariat here on Tuesday for consultations on expanding business-to-business (B2B) and industrial cooperation under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0). The delegation held detailed consultations with Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, senior policymakers and development experts on advancing practical economic cooperation …
High-level Chinese delegation visits CPEC Secretariat for B2B, industrial cooperation consultations
ISLAMABAD, Aug 11 (APP):A high-level Chinese delegation led by Sun Dongsheng, Senior Advisor, Economic Affairs Press, visited the CPEC Secretariat here on Tuesday for consultations on expanding business-to-business (B2B) and industrial cooperation under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0).
The delegation held detailed consultations with Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, senior policymakers and development experts on advancing practical economic cooperation and strengthening the implementation of CPEC 2.0, a news release said.
The visit marked an important engagement aimed at translating CPEC 2.0 from a predominantly infrastructure-focused framework into a platform for industrialization, productivity, innovation and deeper enterprise-to-enterprise partnerships.
During the consultations, Ahsan Iqbal apprised the Chinese delegation of Pakistan’s national economic transformation agenda under URAAN Pakistan and proposed active collaboration with Chinese counterparts of the National Center of New Manufacturing to benefit from China’s experience in innovation, automation and robotics for Industrial Revolution 4.0 and 5.0.
The minister said Pakistan’s biggest economic challenge was its narrow export base, which had caused several economic take-offs to lose momentum.
He said the government’s top priority was to transform Pakistan’s productive sectors into engines of exports, adding that China had helped Pakistan overcome its energy deficit under CPEC Phase I and Pakistan now looked towards CPEC 2.0 to help overcome its export deficit.
The minister emphasized the need to facilitate greater Pakistani exports to China, which imports nearly $2.6 trillion annually, while Pakistan’s share remained around $3 billion.
He said CPEC 2.0 was geared towards B2B cooperation and noted that Pakistani and Chinese enterprises had recently entered into regional agreements in industrial, agricultural and mining sectors.
He expressed the hope that greater B2B cooperation would help achieve the objectives of CPEC 2.0 for modernization of Pakistan’s agriculture and industrial sectors.
Sun Dongsheng appreciated the warm welcome and reaffirmed the importance of the enduring China-Pakistan friendship.
He spoke positively of the achievements made under CPEC Phase I and emphasized the need to deepen cooperation in industry and agriculture, strengthen productive capacity, encourage greater participation of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, and expand enterprise-to-enterprise exchanges and mutually beneficial partnerships.
The consultations highlighted that CPEC 2.0 marked a transition from infrastructure to industrialization, from connectivity to competitiveness, from investment to productivity and increasingly from government-to-government cooperation to deeper business-to-business partnerships.
The participants also discussed the strategic alignment between the five corridors of CPEC 2.0 and Pakistan’s URAAN Pakistan 5Es framework, stressing the importance of translating this alignment into enterprises, technology and innovation, jobs and skills, exports, investment and shared prosperity.
The Chinese delegation was also briefed on the progress and key achievements of CPEC Phase I and the priorities of CPEC 2.0.
The briefing covered industrial cooperation, agriculture, science, technology and IT, mining and minerals, Gwadar development and enhanced B2B cooperation.
The two sides held an in-depth exchange of views on strengthening policy coordination, improving implementation mechanisms and expanding practical cooperation.
They expressed readiness to further deepen development synergy, promote mutually beneficial cooperation and work together to advance CPEC 2.0 as an important driver of high-quality development and shared prosperity.
