China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are exploring opportunities for cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Chinese ambassador to Islamabad Yao Jing said in an interview with Arab News.The ambassador stressed that UAE was also a partner under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and has a lot of trade and economic links with Pakistan.
China has decided to invest $10 billion in oil and gas, $4 billion in local manufacturing and steel sector and $9 billion have been approved for ML-I railway project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), according to Minister for Planning, Development, and Reform, Khusro Bakhtyar. The government has taken several important decisions that paved the way for the finalization of the Gwadar master plan and preliminary design of the ML-1 project, operationalization of Gwadar Port and free zone.
Pakistan is going to start exporting pine nuts to China soon. A Chinese snack company, Bestore, has inked a deal worth 300 million yuan ($42 million) with Pakistani pine nut company Halo foods. According to Yang Yinfen, CEO and president of Bestore, hand peeled pine nuts are one of the most expensive nut products for Bestore now as both demand and output has grown rapidly.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing has announced that China will be setting up 19 factories in Gwadar. Yao Jing said that the measure will help create job opportunities for Balochistan’s youth. “China seeks to contribute to the development of Balochistan’s mining, agriculture, fisheries and water sectors while the Chinese consulate is easing visa procedure for the provincial business community,” said Jing.
China has launched 5G services in the country for commercial use by providing licenses to the country’s three telecom operators, including China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. The companies have introduced 5G data plans for their users in the major cities of China. Some packages are depending on the speed instead of data allowance starting from 199 Yuan (PKR 44,00) for 500Mbps and some are some data-based packages which start from 128 Yuan (PKR 28,00) with 30GB data
During a meeting with Minister for States & Frontier Regions and Narcotics Control Shehryar Khan Afridi, Chinese Minister showed interest in investing in the halal meat industry in Pakistan, exporting it to China and Middle Eastern countries. He vowed to showcase Pakistani products and halal food in Chinese markets. According to Afridi, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision will benefit the underdeveloped countries.
In a major arms deal with China, Pakistan will get 4 advanced guided-missile frigate Type 054AP. The steel cutting ceremony for two of these multi-role Frigates took place at Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in China on 1st November. With ships expected to enter service by 2021, Pakistan Navy’s arsenal will increase, strengthening the force’s capability to maintain peace and stability in the Arabian Sea.
China is all set to launch its own digital currency and by doing so, becoming the first country in the world to issue its Central Bank Digital Asset. The currency will be named DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment), according to Huang Qifan, Executive Vice President of the China International Economic Exchange Centre. He also mentioned that People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has been working on rolling out the crypto currency for the past 5-6 years.
After a meeting held of the Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) in Lahore, Pakistan decided to export gemstones and jewellery to China as opportunities for improving bilateral trade were explored during the meeting. Pakistan possesses large untapped reserves of precious gemstones which can be exported to China as China is the biggest buyer of jewellery and gemstones.
Pakistan is aiming to export it’s JF-17 Thunder fighter planes to four countries, according to various reports. The country is looking for numerous perspective buyers across the globe including Myanmar, India’s neighbor and traditional defense partners of New Delhi i.e Nigeria. Myanmar has already bought four JF-17’s, furthermore, Pakistan hopes to sell them to Malaysia and Azerbaijan as well.