Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing has said that his government had provided Rs.5 billion development grant under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which the Federal government will shift to Gilgit Baltistan government soon. Pakistan and China will sign the preliminary design of ML-1 project during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Beijing. Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay a four-day visit to China to attend the Belt and Road Forum and hold bilateral talks with the Chinese leadership on the new phase of CPEC and other issues of mutual interest. President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that CPEC has made Pakistan an important destination for global trade and investment. The Chinese government has offered Pakistan market access similar to that offered to countries of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) after seven years of negotiations.
5 billion dollars development grant to be provided to GB by China under CPEC
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing has said his government had provided Rs.5 billion development grants under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which the Federal government will shift to the Gilgit Baltistan government soon. Mr Jing said the Chinese government would assist GB in the development of various sectors, including widening of Karakoram Highway from Raikot in GB to Thakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chief Minister Mr.Hafeezur Rehman thanked the Chinese government for provision 100 beds of GB hospitals. He said that presently there was lack of women delivery beds and detection machines for breast cancer in GB hospitals. The chief minister suggested that Chinese and GB governments should initiate a project for disabled persons in the region. Mr.Yao Jing assured the Chief Minister of taking every possible step for resolving GB people’s issues.[i]
Preliminary design of ML-1 railway project under CPEC to be signed during PM’s China visit
Pakistan and China will sign the preliminary design of ML-1 project during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Beijing. The announcement was made by Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed while talking to Huang Chuping, Vice-Governor of Chinese province Hubei, in the Federal capital on Friday. He said the completion of Peshawar to Karachi Mainline-I project would revolutionise Pakistan Railways, adding that the projects under CPEC have ushered in a golden era of cooperation between the two countries. The Federal Minister stated that the ML-1 project will provide jobs to 150,000 people of the country.[ii]
Prime Minister Imran Khan set to visit China for 4 days
Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay a four-day visit to China to attend the Belt and Road Forum and hold bilateral talks with the Chinese leadership on the new phase of the CPEC and other issues of mutual interest. He would also hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and the two countries would sign several MoUs and agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation, announced the Foreign Office. Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr.Yao Jing, said that an agreement on social sector cooperation in the fields of education, health, agriculture, irrigation, poverty alleviation, and human resource development would be signed during Mr Khan’s visit to China. A total of 27 social sector projects benefiting the common people, he stated, were being started with the Chinese grant of $1 billion. The Chinese government would also give 20,000 scholarships to Pakistanis over the next couple of years. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that Pakistan would become the hub of emerging ‘greater South Asia’, which he believed would not just include SAARC countries, but also China, Iran, and the Gulf region.[iii]
Development of SEZs an important part of CPEC’s second phase
President Dr.Arif Alvi has said that CPEC had made Pakistan an important destination for global trade and investment. Talking to a delegation of International CPEC workshop, he said the government attached great importance to the socio-economic development of the country. He said development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was an important part of the Phase-II of CPEC such as; industrial cooperation, for which public-private collaboration must be enhanced. The President underscored the importance of skilled human resource for SEZs and CPEC-driven industrial activities in Pakistan. He underlined that million jobs would be created over the next 10 years, and workforce would be required in this connection.[iv]
China agrees to reduce duties to zero percent on 313 tariff lines for Pakistan under the new FTA
The Chinese government has offered Pakistan market access similar to that offered to countries of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) after seven years of negotiations. Secretary Finance Mohammad Younus Dagha stated that the Chinese government has agreed to immediately reduce duties to zero per cent on 313 tariff lines. Mr. Dagha led the technical team in the negotiations in his previous assignment as Commerce Secretary, and says he sought to secure market access to China on the pattern of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies. Pakistan and China have concluded the second phase of China-Pakistan free trade agreement (FTA) after seven years of talks. The protocol was initialed by current Secretary Commerce Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Chinese Vice-Minister in Beijing. The final agreement will be signed by Commerce Ministers of the two countries during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China towards end of the month. Both sides will get approval from their respective cabinets before signing the pact.[v]
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[i] China to Help GB Uplift Projects: envoy. (n.d.).Dawn News. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1477250/china-to-help-gb-in-uplift-projects-envoy
[ii] Completion of ML-I Project Will Revolutionise Pakistan Railways’. (n.d.).Pakistan Today. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/04/19/pakistan-china-to-sign-initial-design-of-ml-1-project/
[iii] PM Set to Visit China. (n.d.).Dawn News. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://epaper.dawn.com/DetailImage.php?StoryImage=18_04_2019_001_003
[iv] CPEC Has Made Pakistan Key Destination for Global Trade, Investment: Alvi. (n.d.).The News. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/459908-cpec-has-made-pakistan-key-destination-for-global-trade-investment-alvi
[v] In new FTA, China extends zero rate access to more goods. (n.d.). Dawn News. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1476416