— Pakistan taking steps to improve governance, PM Shehbaz tells Chinese investors
— PM interacts with gathering of top Chinese and Pakistani business leaders
BEIJING: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reiterated his resolve to make Pakistan a great nation and regain its position by following the Chinese development model through utmost hard work and a sharp focus on industrial and agricultural progress.
“If we follow the Chinese model, I have no doubt, Pakistan will regain its position in the comity of nations and will be respected like our Chinese brothers are respected by friends and foes … We will follow your model, work hard untiringly, put in our sweat and blood, and make Pakistan a great country,” the prime minister said addressing the 4th Pakistan-China Friendship and Business Reception in Beijing.
He told the gathering of Pakistani and Chinese business leaders that Pakistan would follow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision to focus on progress and prosperity by avoiding conflicts and cited immense Chinese progress and projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI).
The prime minister, who is in China on a five-day official visit, advised the Pakistani people against being dejected or losing hope rather than standing up and accepting the challenge to reach the level of Chinese progress within a few years or decades.
He said that the China-Pakistan friendship had no parallel in the world which remained unshakeable and unreachable even during the storms, wars, and earthquakes.
Recalling the Chinese journey of swift development to become the second biggest economic and military power under President Xi’s vision, PM Shehbaz said it was achieved only through hard work and untiring efforts.
“All Pakistanis will also have to pass through this thorny process. There is no other way to earn respect in the world,” he remarked.
He said having come into being two years after Pakistan, China took its trade to trillions of dollars while Pakistan’s hovered around $30-40 billion in terms of exports.
PM Shehbaz said that China has excelled in information technology and artificial intelligence. He also referred to the “wonderful” bilateral cooperation in the space programme as Pakistan recently sent a lunar satellite and a space satellite recently with Chinese collaboration.
Referring to the sad and gruesome attack by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killing five Chinese workers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Besham in April, PM Shehbaz condemned the incident and conveyed his deepest condolence to the families of those who were killed.
He said that the incident which sent a shockwave across Pakistan was the nefarious plot of enemies of China-Pakistan friendship and CPEC as well as those who did not want to see bilateral ties rising to the apex of glory.
“I want to make a solemn pledge that whatever is humanly possible, we will put in all measures and arrangements to protect the lives of every Chinese citizen in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, K-P, G-B and AJK. I want to make a solemn commitment that the security of Chinese nationals will be more than that of my own and my children,” he assured.
Pakistan taking steps to improve governance, PM Shehbaz
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan was taking steps to improve governance, increase the tax net and ensure ease of doing business to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
During a meeting with China Exim Bank President Dr Wu Fulin in Beijing, the premier said the results of reform measures had started appearing as the “inflation in the food sector had been controlled to a great extent”.
He said that the current account deficit had narrowed and public debt had been brought to a more sustainable level, Radio Pakistan said.
On Tuesday, PM Shehbaz and most of the federal cabinet members landed in China’s tech hub of Shenzhen as they embarked on their five-day trip to the neighbouring country to seek more investments.
This is the premier’s first visit to China following the February 8 general elections, and will likely see the inauguration of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The trip has led to a delay in the annual federal budget — usually presented in the first week of June — and is now expected to be presented next week after PM Shehbaz signs it off following his return, according to sources.
A day ago, the premier had emphasised the need for business-to-business cooperation between the two nations and assured Chinese investors of all-out facilitation and foolproof security.
He had also invited technology giant Huawei to invest in Pakistan’s taxation and e-governance sectors besides enhancing its presence in the various Safe City projects operational across the country. The two nations also signed 32 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to promote trade and investment.
Speaking to the Exim Bank president, the prime minister said the upgradation project of the cross-country rail line, Main Line-1 (ML-1), was ready for investment.
Highlighting Pakistan’s desire for Chinese investment in the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway project, PM Shehbaz said the country wanted to learn from its neighbour’s experiences to uplift the agriculture sector.
The prime minister appreciated Exim Bank’s continued support for the modernisation of Pakistan’s industries, agriculture and IT sectors, the report added.
Shehbaz and Fulin also discussed joint venture projects of the two countries and the possible role of the Chinese Exim Bank in trade financing as part of efforts to promote Pakistan’s exports in international markets, it stated.
Fulin stressed that every Pakistani project was a priority for the China EXIM Bank. He emphasised the importance of economic and financial cooperation under CPEC Phase II and China Exim Bank’s strategic partnership with Pakistan.
Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz also expressed Pakistan’s desire for Chinese investment in the ML-1 upgradation project in a meeting with China International Development Cooperation Agency (Cidca) Chairman Luo Zhaohui.
Emphasising the need for cooperation between Pakistan and China in agriculture, tech, blue economy, communication, minerals and mining, the premier assured Zhaohui that the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan was the government’s priority.
The prime minister commended Cidca’s pivotal role in supporting Pakistan during the Covid-19 pandemic, the post-2022 flood reconstruction and in the grant of polio vaccines, the report said.
According to Radio Pakistan, Zhaohui offered Cidca’s support to Pakistan in Special Economic Zones and the health sector.
PM Shehbaz also met with the chairman of China Northern Industry Corporation, asserting that the Pakistani government was facilitating FDI and inviting him to invest in the KCR project.