LAHORE: Consul General of China, Zhao Shiren has said that the collaboration in various sectors of economy between the private sectors of Pakistan and China can bring trade to the new heights. The Consulate will fully cooperate for the exchange of trade delegations between the two countries, he added.
He stated this while talking to the LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir in the presence of Senior Vice-President Rehman Aziz Chan, Vice-President Haris Ateeq and former Senior Vice-President Ali Hussam Asghar, at the LCCI.
The CG identified some issues regarding policy, taxation and duty tariff and said that the visa issues will be resolved soon. He said that Punjab has a lot of potential while Lahore is a hub of trade and economic activities.
“I am very happy to visit Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry”, Chinese consul general said.
He added that CPEC, an important corridor of Belt and Road Initiative, is not just a gift but a project of mutual interest for both the countries which will bring prosperity to the people of Pakistan.
Kabir said that we are very mindful about the deep and close ties between Pakistan and China and are fully determined to play our due role in further strengthening these relations.
He said the China is the best friend and most reliable neighbor of Pakistan. We are really grateful to China for its full support and help whenever Pakistan faces any challenging situation.
Kabir further said that Pakistani government and public, both are at the same page while welcoming Chinese investors to Pakistan. He said the China has been the leading trading partner of Pakistan since long.
The LCCI chief said that in 2020-21, the volume of total trade was nearly US 15.34 billion dollars. Pakistan’s imports from China accounted for US 13.3 billion dollars and exports were to the tune of US 2.04 billion dollars.
“It is encouraging to see that the volume of bilateral trade by the end ten months of current financial year has already gone to 16.7 billion dollars. It depicts that there is almost nine percent increase in two-way trade”, Mian Nauman Kabir added.
He said that in 2020-21, the value of Pakistan’s exports to China was US 2.04 billion dollars. We are pleased to see that from July 2021 to April 2022, the exports earnings have already reached US 2.34 billion dollars registering almost 15 percent increase.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that although the balance of bilateral trade is not in favour of Pakistan but we need to maintain the present trends in trade so that Pakistan may gradually bridge the gap of trade deficit.
Vice President Haris Ateeq said that the support of Chinese consul general is important to achieve the desired results.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022