Islamabad : Xie Gouxiang, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of China held an online meeting with Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and briefed him about the details of upcoming 129^th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) that will be held online between April 15 and 24, 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic. He invited Pakistani companies to attend the Canton Fair and explore prospects for export of their products around the world. He said that Canton Fair was a platform for win-win cooperation between different countries where worldwide businessmen connected with each other, shared opportunities and pursued common development. Therefore, it provided a good opportunity to Pakistani companies to explore new prospects for business promotion. He said that in order to further help companies bail out and reduce their production and operation costs, the upcoming Canton Fair will continue to waive exhibitors’ fees, and will not charge any fees to cross-border e-commerce platforms participating in synchronized activities. He said that more participation of Pakistani companies in Canton Fair would contribute significantly to promote economic and trade ties between China and Pakistan.

Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry thanked Xie Gouxiang, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of China for providing comprehensive information about the benefits of attending online Canton Fair and assured that ICCI member companies would fully attend this event. He appreciated the signing of second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA-II) and emphasized that China should provide enhanced market access to Pakistan products as imports from China stood at US$ 12.7 billion and exports from Pakistan to China at US$ 1.85 billion in 2019, which showed that bilateral trade was heavily in favour of China.

Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan was establishing many Special Economic Zones under CPEC and Chinese companies should transfer technology to setup JVs in these SEZs with Pakistani counterparts on 50 percent equity basis. It would help the local industry to upgrade itself and achieve better growth. He also discussed many other options for promoting bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and China.