Pakistan, China sign $8.5B in deals

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the development as a “long march of economic growth,” saying the accords would spur investment and create jobs.

The deals include $7 billion in memoranda of understanding and $1.54 billion in joint ventures signed between Chinese and Pakistani companies at the Second Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference, the ministry said.

Unveiling a new phase of cooperation, Sharif formally launched “CPEC 2.0,” referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The second phase will shift focus from infrastructure to business-to-business investment in agriculture, information technology, artificial intelligence, minerals and industrial relocation.

“Our agriculture sector employs 60% of our population. China has excelled in this field, and we seek your partnership to modernize our practices and increase exports,” Sharif told delegates, assuring them that bureaucratic hurdles and red tape would be removed.

“We will not tolerate a second’s delay,” he said.

The prime minister pledged that Chinese investors would be treated as partners and that their safety in Pakistan was “paramount.”

Since 2021, at least 20 Chinese national have been killed and 34 injured in over a dozen attacks across Pakistan, according to Pakistan's counter-terrorism authority NACTA.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged Islamabad to bolster protections for its citizens.

Sharif described the conference as a reflection of the “iron-clad” Pakistan-China partnership, which he said was “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel.”

He credited the first phase of CPEC, launched in 2015 during Xi’s visit to Islamabad, with transforming Pakistan’s power and infrastructure sectors and ending prolonged electricity shortages.

“With China’s support and our commitment, we will make Pakistan a strong and vibrant economy,” Sharif said. “Let today mark the beginning of that journey.”

The event was attended by Chinese and Pakistani investors, senior officials including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi, and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade representatives.