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Rs 50.00 | Vol XVII No 60 | 44 Pages | Lahore Edition
PM ARIVE IN BEIJING FOR CRUCIAL TALKS AFTER SECURING $1.22B CHINA INVESTMENT DEALS
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PREMIER SHEHBAZ BEGINS SECOND LEG OF FOUR-DAY CHINA VISIT AFTER HIGH-PROFILE HANGZHOU ENGAGEMENTS
SET TO HOLD KEY MEETINGS WITH PRESIDENT XI JINPING AND PREMIER LI QIANG WITH FOCUS ON STRENGTHENING CPEC PHASE-II AND DEEPENING STRATEGIC COOPERATION PAKISTAN, CHINESE FIRMS SIGN MOUS AND AGREEMENTS WORTH $1.22B AS PM SAYS PAKISTAN AIMS TO BOOST AGRITRADE WITH CHINA BY $10B
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INVITES CHINESE COMPANIES TO EXPAND INVESTMENT IN EV AND RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTORS HANGZHOU/ISLAMABAD SALEEM JADOON
RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday arrived in Beijing on the second leg of his official visit to China, where he is scheduled to hold high-level engagements with the Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, to further strengthen “Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” and advance cooperation under CPEC Phase-II. Premier Shehbaz had commenced his four-day visit to China on Saturday after landing in Hangzhou, where he spent a packed day engaging with Chinese political and business leadership to promote trade, investment and industrial cooperation. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the prime minister was received in Beijing by Chinese Minister for Environment and Ecology Huang Runqiu. “During his stay in Beijing, the prime minister will hold high-level engagements, including meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang to further strengthen Pakistan-China allweather strategic cooperative partnership and advance cooperation under CPEC Phase-II, particularly in trade, investment, industry, agriculture, science and
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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday said Pakistan and China’s “iron brotherhood” was growing stronger with each passing year as both countries marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. “Our friendship has stood the test of time, changing global realities and regional challenges. I am particularly pleased that our historic government-to-government relationship is now being reinforced by a vibrant and expanding business-tobusiness partnership,” the DPM/FM said while addressing the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference on IT & Telecom, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and agriculture in Hangzhou. He said the Chinese economic model of “learning by doing, induction and deduction” offered important lessons for Pakistan’s development trajectory. POLITICAL DIALOGUE AND CPEC COORDINATION Earlier, DPM/FM Ishaq Dar, along with Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, co-chaired the 2nd China-Pakistan Political Parties Forum and the 4th meeting of the CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism in Beijing.
technology, and people-to-people exchanges,” the PMO said. Earlier in Hangzhou, PM Shehbaz chaired the opening ceremony of the third Pakistan-China Business-toBusiness (B2B) Investment Conference, which focused on charging infrastructure, battery energy storage, solar technologies and pharmaceuticals. The premier also held meetings with provincial leadership and leading Chinese enterprises, including StarCharge, CATL and Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical, to explore practical avenues of investment and industrial collaboration. He also visited Alibaba Headquarters, where he was received by Alibaba Executive Chairman Joe Tsai. The PMO, in a separate statement, said Prime Minister Shehbaz witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and cooperation agreements between Pakistani and Chinese companies worth $1.22 billion during the conference. PAKISTAN EYES $10BN INCREASE IN AGRI-PRODUCTS TRADE WITH CHINA Addressing the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Hangzhou, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan aimed to increase its agricultural products trade with China by $10 billion over the next five to seven years. The conference brought together government officials and representatives of around 500 Pakistani and Chinese companies to explore investment and trade opportunities between the two countries. Highlighting China’s massive annual imports of agricultural products, the premier said Pakistan had the potential to secure a larger share of the Chinese market, boost exports and create employment opportunities. “In the next five to seven years, we expect to increase our agri-products trade to China by about $10 billion,” PM Shehbaz said. “And this is not a big task, it can be done. It is possible. But we need your support.” The prime minister noted that Pakistan had sent 1,000 agricultural graduates to China last year for higher education and specialised training in agriculture and food security. Calling for accelerated bilateral cooperation, he said around 30 percent of Pakistan-China memorandums of understanding had already been converted into formal agreements.
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Dar hails ‘iron brotherhood’ with China
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