ISLAMABAD: Minister Counsellor, Embassy of China Xie Gouxiang on Saturday invited Pakistani companies to attend the Canton Fair and explore prospects for export of their products around the world.

He held online meeting with Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and briefed him about the details of upcoming 129th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair).

The fair will be held online between April 15 to 24, due to Covid-19 pandemic, said a press release.

He said the fair was a platform for win-win cooperation between different countries where worldwide businessmen connected with each other, shared opportunities and pursued common development.

Therefore, it provided a good opportunity to Pakistani companies to explore new prospects for business promotion.

He said to further help companies reduced their production and operation costs, adding, the upcoming Canton Fair would continue to waive exhibitors’ fees, and would not charge any fees to cross-border e-commerce platforms participating in synchronized activities.

He said more participation of Pakistani companies in Canton Fair would contribute significantly to promote economic and trade ties between China and Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, thanked Xie Gouxiang, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of China for providing comprehensive information about the benefits of attending online Canton Fair and assured that ICCI member companies would fully attend this event.

He appreciated the signing of second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA-II) and emphasized that China should provide enhanced market access to Pakistan products as imports from China stood at US 12.7 billion dollars and exports from Pakistan to China at US 1.85 billion dollars in 2019.

Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan was establishing many Special Economic Zones under CPEC and Chinese companies should transfer technology to setup JVs in these SEZs with Pakistani counterparts on 50 percent equity basis.

It would help the local industry to upgrade itself and achieve better growth.

He also discussed many other options for promoting bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and China.