China has agreed to grant immediate market access for Pakistan’s exports as a result of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s four-day visit to Beijing (Market access for Pakistan’s exports to China).
The visit – held from November 2-5, 2018 – has moved the overall economic relationship between the two friendly Countries to the next level.
During the visit, several avenues of mutually beneficial collaboration were identified and a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed between the two sides in the sphere of economic cooperation.
These included agreements in the area of socio-economic development, poverty alleviation, agriculture, economic and technical cooperation, forestry, earth sciences, higher education and technology.
The two sides noted with satisfaction that China Pakistan Economic Corridors’ (CPEC) first stage, which comprised of infrastructure and energy sector improvements, has almost been completed.
It was decided that the next stage of CPEC will focus on industrial expansion, agricultural revitalization and trade integration of the two economies. This phase will help the government of Pakistan in achieving its objectives of job creation and export growth.
The two sides also held discussions on immediate market access for Pakistan’s exports as well as balance of payments support.
The top Chinese leadership expressed their strong support and a task force was established by both sides to discuss the matters further.
In this connection, a senior level delegation comprising of Federal Secretaries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Planning & Development and Commerce along with the Governor State Bank of Pakistan will undertake a visit to China during the current week to work out the modalities with the Chinese authorities in their respective areas.
