ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) said on Thursday nearly 3,000 people had benefitted from a knowledge portal established last year to facilitate businesses in the two countries and was now planning to set up an online technology gateway.
The chamber was established in 2013 to promote investment and commerce between Pakistan and China and protect the interests of business entities in both countries.
The two regional allies had also launched the multibillion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the same year under which Beijing pledged over $60 billion for infrastructure and development projects in Pakistan.
“The PCJCCI initiated the first-ever knowledge portal on October 7, 2021, and almost 3,000 people have benefited through this portal so far,” the chamber’s president Wang Zihai told Arab News in a written reply from Beijing.
The knowledge portal contains information on projects and economic collaboration between the two countries and offers registration facilities to companies along with immigration information.
After the "success" of the portal, Zihai said, a Pak-China technology gateway would now be established.
Ehsan Chaudhry, the chamber’s senior vice president, said the gateway would transfer technology no longer used in China to Pakistan to be used for the South Asian country’s industrial requirements.
“The acquisition of appropriate technology from China in the field of renewable energy and alternative sources of energy, such as solar, nanotechnology, wind power, run of the river power plants, will be our top priority,” he told Arab News.
“Pakistan can import traditional machinery from China at a low cost because our labors are much friendly with low-key advanced technology,” he added, without sharing when the technology gateway would be operational.
Salahuddin Hanif, the chamber’s secretary general, said the joint Pakistan-China body had initiated various Chinese language courses to remove communication barrier between the two nations.
“Around 25,000 students actively participated in these courses,” he told Arab News. “We have also compiled and published various books for making the learning process more comprehensive for Pakistani people.”
Hanif said the chamber was working to encourage Chinese industrialists to collaborate with Pakistan, adding that new courses would soon be announced on the knowledge portal.
“We are going to launch various courses very soon to convey contemporary knowledge and information related to various sectors," Hanif said, "like electronic and automotive advancement, insurance, agriculture, textiles, shoe manufacturing, chemicals, battery recycling plant, and real estate advisory.”