ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday launched a push to convert $7.54 billion worth of preliminary agreements signed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China into investment projects and joint ventures, with the PM ordering ministries to accelerate implementation and personally oversee progress through monthly reviews.
Islamabad is seeking to deepen economic cooperation with Beijing beyond the infrastructure and energy projects that defined the first phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship Pakistan component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Launched in 2015, CPEC has brought tens of billions of dollars in Chinese investment into Pakistan through power plants, highways, transport networks and the development of the deep-sea port of Gwadar. Pakistani officials say the next phase of cooperation, often referred to as CPEC Phase II, is focused on industrialization, agriculture, technology transfer, manufacturing and export-oriented investment aimed at creating jobs and boosting economic growth.
On Monday, Sharif chaired a meeting in Islamabad to review progress on decisions taken during the Pakistan-China Business-to-Business (B2B) Conference during the premier’s May 23-26 visit to China, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“MoUs agreed during the Hangzhou B2B conference should be swiftly transformed into formal agreements and joint ventures,” Sharif directed, according to the PMO statement.
The prime minister also decided to personally chair monthly review meetings on progress related to the conference.
Officials briefing the meeting said 123 Pakistani companies and 436 Chinese firms participated in the Hangzhou conference.
According to the PMO, approximately 207 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $7.54 billion were signed during the event.
The agreements covered sectors including battery energy storage systems, artificial intelligence, mobile phones and handheld devices, fertilizers, seeds, modern irrigation equipment, fisheries, food processing, biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing.
“An extraordinary increase in business linkages between the private sectors of Pakistan and China marks the beginning of a new era in the economic partnership between the two countries,” Sharif said.
“Promoting industrial, agricultural and technological cooperation with China will increase Pakistan’s exports and create new employment opportunities.”
During his visit, Sharif held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang and attended business engagements aimed at attracting Chinese investment into sectors ranging from mining and agriculture to manufacturing and technology.
Pakistan has increasingly sought to reposition its economic relationship with China toward private-sector partnerships and industrial investment as it attempts to sustain economic stabilization under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund program and boost exports.
The PMO statement said Sharif also directed officials to operationalize cooperation between the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC).
“Through agricultural research, modern technology and Pakistan-China joint ventures, a revolutionary transformation can be brought to Pakistan’s agriculture sector,” the prime minister said.
Officials said the agricultural partnership is expected to focus on research collaboration, technology transfer and joint projects aimed at improving productivity in a sector that contributes nearly a quarter of Pakistan’s economy and employs a large share of its workforce.
