Trade between Pakistan and China is projected to grow by a big margin. This projection comes in the wake of the two countries' desire to strengthen trade relations through a 'Preferential Trade Agreement' (PTA).
The PTA was signed between the two countries during the visit of President General Pervez Musharraf to China in November last year.
The 'Agreement' would grant preferential tariff for 893 products of Pakistan origin. Similarly, Pakistan would also accord preferential tariff for 200 products of Chinese origin.
A 'Memorandum' confirming the procedural formalities was signed by Shahid Mahmood, Pakistan's Commercial Counsellor in Beijing, and Zhu Hong, Deputy Director-General, Chinese Ministry of Commerce, recently to make the PTA effective from January 1, 2004.
Trade between Pakistan and China has been on a continuous upswing. The total trade between the two countries during 2002 was $ 1.8 billion, which increased to $ 2.093 billion during the first 11 months of last year.
The Preferential Trade Agreement is projected to boost the trade between Pakistan and China.