Pakistan to be ‘better place for business’ PM Khan tells China

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday his government will make Pakistan a better place for business and investment, as he concluded his first official visit to China.
He was speaking at China’s first international import expo, which is being held in Shanghai.
Beijing has pledged billions of dollars to build power stations, highways, railways and ports in Pakistan as part of an economic corridor, a key part of President Xi Jinping’s ambition to link China with Eurasia.
Khan said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will have an impact on other regions as it will cut distances and costs, bringing much-needed resources to manufacturers and products to consumers.
“CPEC is a mechanism to forge even closer connectivity between different regions including the Middle East, central and South Asia,” he added.
He also said that while unilateral commercialism is aggressively sought by some and protectionism is on the rise, “Pakistan takes great comfort in President Xi’s courageous statement that their doors will never shut but will only open even wider.” 
The aim of the Expo is take practical steps to expand financial opening-up and there are huge gains to be made.
Xi told the opening ceremony that imported goods and services are estimated to exceed $30 trillion and $10 trillion in the next 15 years, Chinese state media reported.
Khan said the expo will help spread the dividends of free trade among more closely integrated economies.
His China visit concludes Monday. 
On Sunday both countries issued a joint statement strengthening their cooperative partnership and expanding cooperation on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
They also signed 15 bilateral cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding.