BEIJING – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif unveiled a bold new vision for Pakistan-China economic cooperation, formally launching CPEC 2.0 during the Second Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing.
The event saw 21 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $4.2 billion signed across key sectors including agriculture, technology, minerals, and industrial development.
Addressing Chinese investors, PM Shehbaz Sharif promised to remove all bureaucratic hurdles and provide rapid facilitation. “We will not tolerate a second’s delay. Chinese investors are partners, and their safety is paramount,” he said, stressing Pakistan’s commitment to a secure and investor-friendly environment.
Highlighting the achievements of the original CPEC agreement from 2015, the prime minister noted that Pakistan has become largely energy self-sufficient, transforming its infrastructure and industrial landscape.
With CPEC 2.0, the focus will shift to business-to-business (B2B) collaboration, including modernizing Pakistan’s agriculture sector, promoting high-tech industries, and leveraging Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for competitive advantages in exports and manufacturing.
PM Shehbaz Sharif described the Pakistan-China relationship as “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, and stronger than steel”, recalling his first visit to China in 1982 and emphasizing the long-standing ties between the two nations.
