Islamabad: Trade and technological investments will remain the focus of talks as the Pakistani prime minister visits China from February 3-6 to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and further bolster ties that have significantly deepened in recent years. Pakistan looks forward to strengthening its strategic and economic partnership with China as the country aims to leverage the technological disruptions to modernise industries and boost economic growth.
Beijing Olympics 2022
The visit is also aimed at extending support to China against the politicisation of sports by Western countries as Pakistan believes that “sports should be a unifying factor and should transcend politics.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will join nearly 30 heads of state, governments and international organisations who will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
Renew Pak-China trade partnership
Pakistan’s prime minister is scheduled to meet China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to discuss future economic cooperation in the fields of trade, investment and technology to accelerate efforts for industry modernisation. The visit would “renew the bilateral commitment to taking the iron-clad partnership between Pakistan and China to new heights” across multiple domains. A number of agreements would be concluded during the visit. PM Khan would also meet Chinese business leaders and representatives of leading think tanks, academia and media.
Learning from China
“Pakistan is charting a new path for robust and sustainable development,” drawing inspiration from China’s achievements of lifting 800 million people out of absolute poverty in 30 years, PM Khan noted in his recent article for Chinese news media Global Times. China has become Pakistan’s largest trade partner as exports to China increased 69 per cent in 2021 to $3.58 billion, according to official data.
The Pakistani premier invited Chinese people to visit Pakistan for business and leisure as “Pakistan has much to offer to the people of China” from rich history, cultural diversity to friendly investment policies. The $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be the focus of discussions as Pakistan looks forward to advancing joint ventures, increasing trade ad investment volume and improving economic stability. Pakistan has assured that the security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan remains the country’s top priority.
Focus on industrialisation and technology
Khan believes that “Pakistan can benefit from Chinese expertise in industrialization, agricultural modernization, e-commerce and digital finance” and also in the innovation and technology sectors as the country of 220 million “is eager to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation with China in quantum computing, robotics, AI, cloud, and big data.”
While energy and infrastructure development was the focus in the first phase, the second phase of CPEC is “critical for industrialization in Pakistan” for job creation, industrial modernization, rural revitalization, socio-economic development and poverty alleviation.
