President Zardari Urges Chinese Firms to Invest in Pakistan's Priority Sectors
President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday called on Chinese businesses to deepen their investment footprint in Pakistan's key economic sectors, including manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and technology. The appeal was made during a meeting with a delegation of Chinese investors and officials, reflecting Islamabad's continued focus on attracting Chinese capital under the broader CPEC framework.
Zardari highlighted Pakistan's improving macroeconomic indicators, including a stabilising exchange rate, falling inflation, and renewed IMF programme support, as conditions favourable for long-term Chinese investment. He stressed that Pakistan offers competitive opportunities in its special economic zones and export-processing frameworks.
The meeting comes against a backdrop of renewed momentum in Pakistan-China economic engagement, with both sides seeking to move CPEC into its second phase, which emphasises industrial cooperation, agricultural modernisation, and technology transfer rather than the energy and infrastructure focus of the first phase.
Chinese firms have shown increasing interest in Pakistan's solar manufacturing, textile value chains, and digital infrastructure segments. However, security concerns and currency convertibility issues have historically moderated the pace of Chinese private sector engagement in the country.
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