Staff Reporter
Islamabad
President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan has said that Pakistan and China enjoyed strategic friendship which could be further strengthened by developing strong trade and economic relations between the two countries.
A delegation of ICCI led by its President visited the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Islamabad and held a meeting with Xie Guoxiang, Minister Counsellor (Economic and Commercial) to discuss possibilities of further improving bilateral trade and investment relations between Pakistan and China.
Senior Vice President ICCI Fatma Azim and Vice President Abdul Rehman Khan were in the delegation. She Hua Shiang, Gong Dahui and others were also present at the occasion.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan was a growing market for business activities and it was the right time for Chinese companies to transfer technology to Pakistan and set up JVs and industrial units in our country. This way, Chinese investors could export their products to many markets of the world including South Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa.
He said that China was the world’s second largest economy with annual trade of trillions of dollars, but Pakistan’s exports to China were around $2 billion. He said that Pakistan’s exports to China could increase to $23 billion only if China provided one percent share in its supply chain through importing raw materials and intermediate goods from Pakistan.
The ICCI President said that Pakistan’s automobile, IT & telecom, industry, agriculture and construction sectors possessed tremendous potential for Chinese investors.
