According to him, Pakistan is looking for expertise, investments and not loans, because borrowing has never allowed the country to stand on its own two feet.
The Prime Minister also invited Chinese businessmen to come and visit the Karachi Export Zone, where they would have great opportunities to understand the business propositions. PHOTO: APPLICATION
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday invited Chinese companies and entrepreneurs to relocate their industries and operations to Pakistan, enter into joint ventures with local companies and benefit from the country’s investor-friendly policies, terming the initiative a “win-win model” for both nations.
Addressing the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference on Information Technology and Telecommunications, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Agriculture in Hangzhou, China, the Prime Minister said that labor in China today has become quite expensive and China is clearly moving towards a very high level of industrialization.
He observed that the industry in which China was no longer competitive due to expensive labor could come to Pakistan, bring facilities and machinery, enter into joint ventures with Pakistani entrepreneurs, manufacture goods and export to third countries.
“This model will be a win-win model for Chinese and Pakistani entrepreneurs, and it will be a resounding success in the times to come, whether it is textiles, leather or other fields,” the Prime Minister said in his speech broadcast on national television channels.
“It is no coincidence that we are celebrating 75 years of our great friendship between Pakistan and China, with this third consecutive B2B event. From Shenzhen to Beijing, and now to Hangzhou, a city we are visiting for the first time, we are all deeply… pic.twitter.com/CZHM7nV2zt
– Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) May 24, 2026
He also invited Chinese businessmen to come and visit Karachi Export Zone, where they would have great opportunities to understand their business propositions.
Referring to the potential of mines and minerals, he said that this is also a very important region where Pakistan has significant deposits of minerals and precious stones.
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On the agricultural sector, he said Pakistan was fundamentally an agrarian economy. Last year they sent 1,000 boys and girls to China for advanced training, who came back and are doing a great job, but that was just the first step.
The Prime Minister stressed that they really need to move forward and have opportunities to improve their yield per acre, have the highest quality seeds, better agricultural practices and mechanization through which they could actually advance their agricultural sector by several folds.
He said China imports about $100 billion worth of agricultural products from abroad. Pakistan’s share was only a fraction, adding that they needed their cooperation in this regard.
The Prime Minister hoped that in this way, they would be able to produce agricultural products as per their requirements in terms of quality and other controls and if they worked together like iron brothers in this sector, they would be able to not only provide huge employment opportunities in rural areas of Pakistan but also uplift hundreds of thousands of small and medium entrepreneurs in rural areas and have value addition and export these products to China.
Over the next five to seven years, he said they expect their agricultural trade with China to increase by about $10 billion, which is not a big task.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said that IT and AI had huge potential, while special economic zones were also very important and shared that in the port city of Karachi, they had created a special economic zone spanning over 6,000 acres of land, where all basic amenities would be provided so that Chinese investors and Pakistani entrepreneurs could invest there together.
He said the special economic zone would have modern infrastructure, a smooth business environment and provide a red carpet and one-stop operation for Chinese people.
“I would like to offer this opportunity to all of you to come forward, and we are going to offer you land on a long-term basis in terms of rental,” he added.
The Prime Minister further clarified that it would be leased on a long-term basis under very attractive conditions. This world-class special economic zone and its model would be replicated elsewhere in Pakistan thanks to the huge Chinese contribution.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan was looking for expertise, experience, investment and not loans, not aid, not gifts, because gifts, aid never made a nation vibrant, never made a nation stand on its feet.
Prime Minister Shehbaz added that under the dynamic leadership of President Xi Jinping, their friendship was deeper than the deepest ocean and higher than the Himalayas, but since they launched their space program, it has reached new heights.
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The Prime Minister said they have signed MoUs worth billions of dollars, starting from Shenzhen and here in Hangzhou, emphasizing that these MoUs now need to be converted into agreements.
He was also pleased to learn that 30% of these MoUs have been converted into agreements, which are almost certainly worth billions of dollars.
The Prime Minister said the friendship between Pakistan and China dates back to the Silk Road era.
“Everything is now run by digitalization, and China has excelled in this area more than any other country in the world, and Pakistan is a great partner because its population is very young,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said they had undertaken programs at the federal and provincial levels, empowering the youth in colleges and schools, providing them with training and third-party international certification so that they get highly productive employment.
The Prime Minister further said that it was no coincidence that they were celebrating 75 years of great friendship between Pakistan and China, and this third consecutive B2B event, from Shenzhen to Beijing and now here in Hangzhou, was a reflection of that.
He also appreciated the beauty of the city, its organization, structure and wonderful management, adding that the city undoubtedly bore the traces of President Xi Jinping, who, as governor and general secretary of the city from 2002 to 2007, did a remarkable job in transforming this province and city into one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
The Prime Minister said that President Xi Jinping is a visionary leader who has, over the years, built China into a world-class economic and military power with no equal, and Pakistan, as a true and sincere friend of China, is very proud of this.
Earlier, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industry and Production Haroon Akhtar, Omar Saeed, CEO of Servis Group of Pakistan and Chairman Jin Yongsheng of Long March Tyre, Qian Xiaojun, Chairman of IBI Goulian Gufen also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the key prospects of joint ventures and cooperation in various sectors and shared their experiences.
Later, the Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of agreements between companies from the two countries.
