KARACHI: Pakistan wants to review the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with China as some sectors of Pakistani industry, such as paper and paperboard and ceramics have suffered heavily due to the FTA, this was stated by Patron In-Chief Pak-China Business Council (PCBC) and former President FPCCI, Tariq Sayeed. While addressing to a delegation of senior journalists from China visiting Pakistan.
Tariq said that China is already competitive in these sectors and did not require further concession under the FTA.
The Chinese journalists from Kunming, Yunan Province visited FPCCI and interviewed with Acting President FPCCI, Shaheen Ilyas Sarwana, Patron-in-Chief, Pak China Business Council, Vice Presidents, Gulzar Firoz and Rukhsana Jehangir, Chairman PCBC, Mazhar Ali Nasir. Mr. Tariq Sayeed asked the Chinese media to create awareness about the menace of under-invoicing, which had caused a big loss to the Pakistan’s economy.
He said that Pakistan needed better access to the Chinese market. Mr. Tariq Sayeed also said that now, we are exporting textiles to China, whereas we are also getting export orders for towels, which is a positive development. “We have signed an FTA, an investment agreement and two agreements on services. We also have a currency swap agreement with China, while we have set up a working group on energy”, he added.
Tariq Sayeed said that he was happy that Kunming and the Government of China have extended FPCCI the opportunity to display Pakistan’s products in China every year and participate in the Kunming Fair. He said that trade can only grow if we participate in exhibitions in each other’s country ad exchange delegations frequently.
Sayeed also spoke about FPCCI’s participation in the Kunming exhibition every year in China. However, he said there was still the room for a lot of improvement in Pak-China relations.
He informed that China Council of Promotion for International Trade has extends invitation to FPCCI delegations every year to invite FPCCI to various exhibitions being held in China. Last year, FPCCI had 75 stalls, which have now been increased to 125 stalls for this year.
“Kunming offers Pakistan a good platform for exhibiting our products, B2B meetings and for taking delegations”, Tariq said adding that the Kunming Fair has a very bright future as the China is promoting it in South Asia very well. During the discussion, other members of the forum pointed out that China may assist Pakistan through value addition and buyback arrangements in fields such as leather and chromium.
Tariq Sayeed said that Pakistan was exporting non-traditional items such as handmade scarves and handmade textiles to China, besides rice, which was a very positive development.
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