Pakistan calls for more Chinese investment
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani, has called for more Chinese investment in Pakistan, especially in the energy, infrastructure, agriculture and technology sectors, to help lift the nation’s economy.
Mr Gilani called it a “win-win scenario” at a Pakistan-China Entrepreneurs Forum while on a four-day state visit to China, starting on 17 May, 2011.
Pakistani officials said their country could export more non-traditional goods such as “leather, marble, food and minerals” to China under the framework of China-Pakistan free-trade agreements (FTA), to realise the target of almost doubling bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2015.
“As China diversifies its economy, with special emphasis on the development of its western regions, and shifts to high technology, the economic transition makes it attractive for Chinese companies to relocate and establish manufacturing bases in Pakistan,” Mr Gilani said.
“I would urge Chinese corporations to focus on Pakistan in their strategic business plans.”
Pakistan is China’s second-largest trade partner in South Asia. In 2010, bilateral trade grew by 27.7% from a year earlier to $8.7 billion, with exports increasing by 25.5% to $6.9 billion and imports by 37.2% to $1.7 billion.
