ISLAMABAD: Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong on Thursday said Pakistan’s desire to enhance the ongoing commercial ties was welcoming as it would inject new impetus into China-Pakistan cooperation.

He was speaking at a symposium on ‘Transformation of China’s Economy to High Quality Development Model’ organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS).

The ambassador said China’s high quality development model offered new opportunities to Pakistan and Beijing was ready to work with Islamabad to implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries.

He dispelled the impression that Beijing was facing an overcapacity problem, saying that “China does not have a problem of overcapacity as it was exporting to the whole world and had a matching production capacity.”

Says world benefiting from China’s new energy product exports

The envoy said the world was already benefiting from China’s new energy product exports, which were making important contributions to addressing climate change issues and promoting green transformation.

“China aspired to transform and upgrade traditional industries, cultivate and strengthen emerging industries and

lay out the construction of future-oriented industries,” he added.

Speaking at the symposium, former caretaker foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said China’s economic progress was a result of rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and export-oriented policies.

“In the past decade and a half, China alone had been the main driver of world economic growth, accounting for 35pc of global nominal GDP growth,” he said, adding that China’s economic momentum initiatives like ‘Made in China 2025’, and ‘Global Development Initiatives’ present opportunities for economic expansion, and countries like Pakistan could benefit from it.

Former ambassador of Pakistan to China Moinul Haq said in line with the evolving technological landscape, skill training for Pakistani youth was extremely important to gauge the demands of the partnership effectively.

He also emphasised the need for Pakistan to establish smart linkages to drive innovation in research and development.

IRS President Jauhar Saleem said relations between Pakistan and China were a cornerstone of Islamabad’s foreign relations and were characterised by cordiality and multifaceted partnerships.

He said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a testament to the enduring friendship, providing immense opportunities for collaboration and development.

Senior Fellow at Renmin University of China Professor Zhou Rong said Pakistan could learn from China’s development approach, suggesting working on joint ventures and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Faculty member at Quaid-i-Azam University Dr Ahmed Ijaz Malik emphasised upon fostering a two-way partnership to fully realise benefits.

He suggested that university students in Pakistan should be engaged by providing them training and internships

in China so that they could later be utilised as skilled workers.

CEO of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilisation, Research and Development (AIERD) Shakeel Ahmed Ramay said it was imperative to include Pakistan in the global supply chain framework.

Drawing lessons from the Chinese governance structure, he emphasised the importance of adopting a skills-based and meritocratic approach to effectively address Pakistan’s governance challenges.

He said an undesirable and inadequate pace of industrialisation had hindered the operationalisation of Special Economic Zones under CPEC, and called for a paradigm shift to expedite industrial development and optimise the potential of SEZs for economic growth.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024