Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal held consultations with a high level Chinese delegation led by Song Dongcheng at the CPEC Secretariat, focusing discussions on advancing business to business and industrial cooperation under the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, commonly referred to as CPEC 2.0. The meeting brought together senior officials from both sides to explore how the next stage of the corridor can move beyond infrastructure development toward deeper industrial and commercial collaboration.
During the consultations, Ahsan Iqbal briefed the delegation on URAAN Pakistan, the government’s national economic transformation agenda, and proposed active collaboration with Chinese counterparts to draw on China’s experience in innovation, automation, and robotics as part of what officials described as Industrial Revolution 4.0 and 5.0. The minister framed this as an opportunity for Pakistan to learn directly from China’s own industrial modernization journey, particularly in sectors where automation and advanced manufacturing techniques could help boost productivity and competitiveness.
Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that after helping Pakistan address its energy deficit under the first phase of CPEC, the second phase should focus on addressing the country’s export deficit by transforming its productive sectors into stronger engines for export growth. He stressed the need for greater access to the Chinese market and stronger business to business cooperation to support the modernization of Pakistan’s agriculture and industrial sectors, positioning both areas as central to the country’s broader economic transformation goals under URAAN Pakistan.
For his part, Song Dongcheng reaffirmed the importance of the longstanding Pakistan China relationship and emphasized the need for deeper cooperation across industry and agriculture. He specifically highlighted the importance of building stronger productive capacity, encouraging greater participation from small and medium sized enterprises, and expanding enterprise to enterprise partnerships between the two countries. The discussions add to a series of ongoing engagements between Pakistani and Chinese officials as both sides work to define the scope and priorities of CPEC’s next phase, with industrial cooperation and technology transfer emerging as recurring themes in recent bilateral consultations.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
