A high-level 11-member Chinese business delegation led by Qian Xiaojun, Founder, President and Controlling Shareholder of IBI Beijing United Technology, met Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House to discuss expanding digital economy cooperation and industrial collaboration between Pakistan and China. The meeting resulted in IBI Group committing to establish a Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters in the country, which Qian Xiaojun described as a command centre for Pakistan’s digital economic transformation, aimed at creating significant opportunities for Pakistani small and medium-sized enterprises by providing them with direct access to the vast Chinese market.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the delegation warmly, describing Pakistan and China as All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partners and praising the progress China has achieved under President Xi Jinping’s leadership. He expressed particular satisfaction over IBI Group’s decision to establish its headquarters in Pakistan, noting that the organisation’s role in promoting digital economy cooperation, investment facilitation, and industrial collaboration was especially encouraging at a time when Pakistan is actively seeking to deepen its technology and investment ties with Chinese companies. The prime minister also expressed anticipation for his upcoming visit to China later this month, signalling that digital economy cooperation would remain a prominent agenda item in the bilateral relationship going forward.
The delegation’s visit followed the Pakistan-China Business-to-Business Investment Conference held in Beijing in September 2025, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had attended during an official state visit, and represents a concrete follow-through on commitments made during that engagement. The meeting was attended by a broad and senior cross-section of the federal cabinet including Federal Minister for Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervez Malik, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi, and other senior officials, reflecting the strategic importance the government attaches to deepening digital and economic engagement with Chinese partners at this stage of Pakistan’s development trajectory.
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