Pakistan’s exports to Southern China surge by 16% amidst strengthening trade ties

Pakistan’s exports to the southern re­gion of China witnessed a 16% growth last year, partly due to the China-Pak­istan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) that lowered tariffs as well as events like FoodAg 2023 and TEXPO 2023 which further facilitated exports in the textile and agricultural sectors.

This was stated by Zhou Hanmin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consulta­tive Conference (CPPCC) and President of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Asso­ciation. “I had visited Pakistan before the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed and deeply felt the sincere emotions of Pakistani people towards China. The CPEC not only improved the bilateral trade but also provides substantial eco­nomic uplift to Pakistani people. If given the opportunity, I still hope to visit this friendly country again.” Zhou stated.

During this year’s Two Sessions, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and CPPCC, Zhou Hanmin expressed opti­mism about the progress of BRI and the trade relations between China and the participating countries. In his pro­posal, he suggested implementing spe­cific measures aimed at expanding the export of agricultural products from Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) coun­tries, with a particular emphasis on the Least Developed Countries.

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Least developed countries (LDCs) is a classification used by the United Na­tions (UN) to identify and categorize countries that exhibit the lowest levels of socio-economic development. The designation of LDC is based on three primary criteria: low income, weak human assets (such as education and healthcare), and economic vulnerability.

“At last year’s China International Im­port Expo (CIIE), I noticed that nearly one-third of the participating countries were LDCs that maintain close and friendly relations with China, consis­tently offering significant support in international affairs. This year, I pro­posed that we must provide more as­sistance to the exports of goods from these countries,” Zhou said, suggest­ing the establishment of a special ex­hibition zone for the Least Developed Countries at CIIE, enhancing attractive­ness through concentrated exhibitions.

Zhou told CEN that China has comple­mentary industrial and resource rela­tionships with 43 LDCs that have joined BRI. “We should analyze China’s import data for food and agricultural products from these countries and identify their advantageous varieties. China has a wealth of expertise in agricultural prod­ucts, seafood, fruits and vegetables. We can enhance technical support for these countries by providing assistance and expertise.” China’s foreign trade in 2023 exceeded 41 trillion RMB in total import and export, with a year-on-year growth of 0.2%. Notably, trade with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) shows a growth rate of 2.8%, further highlighting the robustness and potential of the BRI.”