SCODA welcomes Pakistani community to strengthen economic ties

 

SHANGHAI, DEC 11 - The management committee of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Area (SCODA) exchanged views with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on economic and trade cooperation.

According to Gwadar Pro, recommendations for nine industrial parks in Pakistan to interact with SCODA, investment policy and model of SCODA and other related issues were discussed.

Mr. Xiang Zhiqiang, member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of SCODA welcomed KCCI and its member enterprises to carry out trade cooperation.

He advocated KCCI to lead various business associations and enterprises to exchange visits, enhance mutual understanding, promote cooperation, seek common development in agriculture, transportation, science and technology, humanities and other fields with SCODA once the epidemic is over.

“We wish to establish a dedicated communication and coordination mechanism to deepen the cooperation,” he added.

Shamsul Islam Khan, Vice President of KCCI stated that Pakistan’s economy is based on agriculture, and its seafood, fruits and other high quality agricultural products can be sold in China and exported to neighboring countries through cooperation with SCODA.

Wang Zihai, Deputy Director of Pakistan-China Center gave a brief introduction of their processing work and stressed that recently China has signed RCEP with 14 countries, which also brings great potential for Pakistan. Pakistan can work closely with RCEP countries through the platform of SCODA in China, he added.

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Pakistan confers civil award on Chinese Commerce Minister

BEIJING, DEC 11 - Pakistan has awarded Zhong Shan, Minister for Commerce with the “Hilal-i-Pakistan” award in recognition of his outstanding services towards Pakistan and strengthening of Pakistan-China relations.

According to Gwadar Pro, Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque conferred the “Hilal-i-Pakistan” civil award of Pakistan upon Mr. Zhong Shan, on behalf of the President of Pakistan at a special Investiture Ceremony held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Ambassador said the award recognized Mr. Zhong’s contributions as a great friend of Pakistan and an ardent advocate of Pakistan-China friendship.

In his capacity as Minister for Commerce, he had been instrumental in promoting the 2nd phase of the Pakistan-China free-trade agreement, which came into effect at the start of 2020 and facilitating Pakistan’s active participation in headline events such as the China International Import Expo and the 17th China-ASEAN Expo.

Zhong stated that the award was not only a personal honor bestowed by the President of Pakistan but also a symbol of the trust and confidence Pakistan reposed in the time-honored all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. China’s Ministry of Commerce would continue to deepen economic and trade ties with Pakistan.

The ceremony was preceded by a meeting during which it was agreed to further promote Pakistan-China trade and economic relations in line with the consensus of the leadership of both countries and for the benefit of the two peoples.

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China’s AI company eyes smart control of COVID in Pakistan: CEN

 

BEIJING, DEC 11 - China’s AI company eyes smart control of COVID-19 in Pakistan, China Economic Net (CEN) reported today.

The company will launch an AI Outbound Calling System for Epidemic Prevention and Control in Pakistan next month as the second wave of coronavirus grips Pakistan, according to iFLYTEK, a Chinese company well-known for its AI products and their sector-based applications.

It stated this while attending the 12th China Overseas Investment Fair (COIFAIR).

As per iFLYTEK, they are now collaborating with Pakistan’s National Center of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) and National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) to work on the AI Outbound Calling System for Epidemic Prevention and Control, which had revealed rapid and efficient actions of COVID-19 control during the pandemic period in Wuhan, China and South Korea.

Mr. Badar U Zaman, the Commercial Counselor of Pakistani Embassy in China, lauded iFLYTEK’s effort to explore the Pakistani market.

“Pakistan is a big market and iFLYTEK’s products are doing very well. He said he visited the iFLYTEK before and in addition to translation machines, he was introduced with different technologies they are offering. “They are very active in education, healthcare and translation, he added.

“iFLYTEK is bringing China and the world together and it is going to get a great success in Pakistan,” said Badar U Zaman, adding that Pakistan is very quick at adapting new technologies.

“Our Voice Chatbot from the AI Outbound Calling System will telephone users to quickly learn their physical conditions and provide healthcare suggestions.

The system can quickly discover people at high risk of COVID-19 and the health center could immediately response if any to reduce the risk of infection and prevent coronavirus. People in close contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan would receive phone calls.

And patients who have been treated and healed from COVID-19 will also receive follow-up calls and get registered,” said Mao Ning, DGM of South Asia District, International Cooperation Department, iFLYTEK.

They look forward to using this system and leveraging the AI technologies associated with the system to help the Pakistani government and agencies at all levels control and prevent the epidemic, he added.

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Chinese companies want to develop slaughterhouses in Pakistan

 

BEIJING, DEC 9 – Chinese companies want to develop slaughterhouses in Pakistan, as a step forward contributing to beef export, says a report published by Gwadar Pro on Wednesday.

According to the report, China, reflected in high domestic prices, the overall demand for beef remains strong. Recently, efforts are being made to help Pakistan beef enter China.

“There are already many smart people in the Chinese city of Chengdu who want to develop slaughterhouses in Pakistan,” said Mahmood Akhtar, deputy consul general of Pakistan in Chengdu.

He told Gwadar Pro that the quarantine authorities in Beijing are likely to visit Pakistan and see the slaughterhouse there.

“Because Pakistan is not so advanced in slaughter technology and farming, with the help of Chinese investors in Pakistan, they can secure the disease-free animals and provide the modern techniques of slaughtering and preservation of the meat and the cold chain.”

We already sent a lot of business people who are interested, and they are looking forward to finding the right partners because it’s a completely new development in need of local partners who are familiar with the local environment, ” he said.

“To export Pakistan beef to China, the most difficult issue is the FMD, the breeding conditions there do not meet our requirements,” said Li Hongwu，president of Pakistan Sichuan Chamber of Commerce.

They have been making effort to bring slaughterhouses to Pakistan for a long time.
“The export of fresh products also requires the construction of supporting facilities such as cold storage.

However, Pakistan’s electricity supply was unstable before. “According to Li Hongwu, the member companies of PSCC planned to go to Pakistan at the beginning of this year to open up the entire beef export chain from breeding to marketing, and gradually solve the existing problems, but the plan was suspended due to COVID-19.

“The breeding industry in Pakistan is still in a primitive stage without large-scale and modernization. To meet the export standards, We can provide technical guidance and equipment and open the export market.

But we still need to cooperate with many local companies, since we can not bring workers from China. There is still a long way to go,” he said.

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Pak exports to China increased by 30%: Gwadar Pro

 

ISLAMABAD, DEC 9 – Pakistan exports to China has increased by 30% during last month, resulting in the improvement of trade balance between the two countries, Gwadar Pro reported on Wednesday.

To address issue of trade deficit, the major concern of Pakistani side, China has proactively taken a lot of measures to maintain a balanced trade relation with Pakistan between the two sides.

The report says, China is keen to expand more market access for Pakistani products and organizes varieties of trade promotion activities in Pakistan and China every year.

Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razzaq Dawood had stated in a tweet that during Nov 2020, Pakistan’s exports to China increased considerably.

This healthy trend is an indication that our exports are re-gaining their momentum. It was advised that the exporters should aggressively market their products in geographically diversified areas.

Giving a good start, the governments of the two countries had slashed tariffs on more than 300 categories of imported items that are widely used as raw material for the export of goods.

According to the report, along with the constant upward trend of China-Pakistan trade, a rising concern on trade deficit with China had been echoing in the Pakistani business communities.

It is pertinent to mention that the main reason behind the trade imbalance has to be the structural problems in nature between industries of two countries.

China has a strong manufacturing base to export goods as compared to import. Up to now, China turns to be the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries and regions in the world, and China has never intentionally pursued the trade surplus, not with any trade partner.

Therefore, It is time to dedicate some technical and financial resources to drawing a full map to determine how exports to the entire world, and more specifically to China, can grow.

It is up to the subject specialists to come up with viable options for reducing Islamabad’s trade deficit with Beijing and improve trade balancing.

Moreover It is up to the political leadership of the two countries to sort out this issue as early as possible. That will also deepen their strategic geopolitical ties.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led to economic recession in major parts of the world and year 2020 is going to end with a deeper recession than the one seen in the wake of the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

A change in trade policy factoring in all the possibilities in global trade dynamics is a must. There is perhaps a greater need for promoting intra-regional trade to take advantage of the economy of trade, the report added.

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