ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque, said on Tuesday bilateral trade between Pakistan and China had grown by over 60% in the first three quarters of the current fiscal year while Pakistani exports to China had gone up by 75%.
China and Pakistan consider each other “all-weather friends” and have close diplomatic, economic and security ties.
“China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner besides being the second largest export destination and this year especially despite the pandemic, our bilateral trade is growing at a big percentage, especially the figures of this year,” Haque told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) in an interview, saying bilateral trade between the two countries had grown by more than 60% and Pakistani exports to China by 75%.
“So, we are hoping that by the end of this year, both the bilateral trade volume and the Pakistani exports to China will have record and unprecedented figures,” Haque said. “The bilateral trade volume is $20 billion but we are hoping that this year, it will touch $25 billion. Pakistan exports have been around $1.8 billion, but this year, we are hoping that it will reach $ 3 billion.”
“We feel that we can double this number in the next four to five years,” he added.
The ambassador said textile and sports goods were the “strongest sectors in Pakistan” and could help enhance trade.
“Pakistan is one of the few countries which have whole value chain of the textile industry from weaving to finishing and textile products are very well known,” Haque said. “Pakistan is the largest producer of footballs and Pakistani footballs have been officially used in the football world cups.”
On Tuesday, state-run APP news agency reported that China had delivered to Pakistan “the largest and most advanced warship China has ever exported.”
Designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), the frigate was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in a commissioning ceremony in Shanghai. The Type 054A/P frigate was named the PNS Tughril and “is the first hull of four Type 054 frigates being constructed for the Pakistan Navy.”
“The ship is a technologically advanced and highly capable platform with enormous surface-to-surface, surface-to-air and underwater firepower, besides extensive surveillance potentials.” APP said.
"Being equipped with state-of-the-art combat management and an electronic warfare system along with modern self-defense capabilities, the Type 054A/P frigate can simultaneously execute a number of naval warfare missions in a highly intense multi-threat environment.”
