The China trip, on the economic front, brought nothing concrete back home. The circular debt reduction plan remains in limbo (perhaps dead in its current form). There are preliminary talks (more like wishes) on debt reprofiling of CPEC Phase 1 debt (especially in the power sector), but no exciting news. The same goes for the initiation of CPEC Phase 2.
The SCO meeting and China Freedom Day were the highlights, where the Global South displayed power through Russian, North Korean, and other leaders joining hands with their Chinese counterpart, while China showcased its growing military might. Pakistan was not in the spotlight (though our PM tried his best). Hence, there are no direct implications for us.
Pakistan’s large delegation was part of the sideshow. We took along businessmen to develop B2B partnerships for CPEC Phase 2. At the same time, the finance ministry and SBP tried to renegotiate the IPPs’ debt repayment. The (lack of) seriousness of the effort was evident from the fact that the power ministry was missing from the delegation. There was no one from CPPAG or PPIB either.
Another area of focus was to kick-start CPEC Phase 2, where economic matchmaking was the objective. The government took businessmen from various sectors—manufacturing and services—and arranged meetings with Chinese firms in the hope of fostering partnerships.
While the government’s intentions may have been in the right place, its capacity and capability were lacking. Businessmen were satisfied with the logistics—hotel stay, coordination, and overall arrangements were excellent, and the delegation was well taken care of—but this came at the expense of the public exchequer. The PM’s speech, SBP’s engagement, and the visible interest of various ministries showed they wanted progress and were trying, but failing in key areas.
“The matchmaking was horrible,” stated one participant. They simply grouped people based on broader sectors—for example, pairing software companies with hardware firms—which doesn’t work that way.
Most of the Chinese companies present were already operating in Pakistan, and there was no thought process on how to finalize any deal. The focus remained on signing MOUs—of little significance—likely just to showcase “success” in the media. Communication gaps persisted.
China’s focus on economic engagement with Pakistan centered on the security of its personnel. Our authorities committed to providing them security; however, for businesses to move here, hundreds of Chinese workers would need to move freely, which is not possible under current security conditions. If managed, the cost would be prohibitively high.
For business-to-business engagement to move forward, the security challenge for Chinese operating in Pakistan must be resolved. Otherwise, like many previous trips, this will be nothing more than a photo-op.
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