Chinese ambassador meets CM Buzdar

LAHORE: Ambassador of China to Pakistan Nong Rong called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Thursday and discussed matters of mutual interest.

He invited the chief minister to visit China and appreciated the steps taken by the Punjab government to control coronavirus.

The CM thanked the Chinese government for its cooperation during the corona pandemic and provision of vaccine, adding, "China is the most trustworthy friend. We appreciate the valuable Chinese cooperation in the development of the country and it is sanguine that Pakistan-China economic relations are touching new heights during the tenure of Prime Minister Imran Khan."

The multi-billion-dollar CPEC project was of valuable importance for Pakistan; he emphasised and added that a conducive atmosphere had been provided to investors in the Punjab where special economic zones were being established.

The CM invited the Chinese companies to invest in SEZs assuring that every facility would be provided to them as durable development of the social sector was the priority of the PTI government.

He said the government was interested to benefit from Chinese cooperation in industry, agriculture and technical and vocational training sectors as valuable work had been done by the Chinese government to overcome corruption and poverty. This Chinese success had been acknowledged by the global community and this model would be benefited by the Punjab government, he added.

The Chinese ambassador assured to benefit from investment opportunities in SEZs, adding that China wanted to enhance cooperation with the Punjab government for the development of the social sector. China was siding with Pakistan in the journey of development and prosperity, he assured and added that every possible step would be taken to enhance cooperation in different sectors. The speedy industrial process would create job opportunities along with poverty alleviation, he added.

Acting Chinese Consul General in Lahore Peng Zhengwu, Army Attache Jiang Qingshi, Economic and Commercial Minister Consular Xia Guoxiang, Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht, Chief Secretary, Chairman P&D, ACS (Home), Secretary Finance, CEO PBIT and others were also present.