The trade volume has surged this year at a major border port between China and Pakistan.
Cargo import and export has reached 66,600 tonnes in the first 11 months of FY 2019 at Khunjerab Pass in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, up by 46.8 percent from the same period last year. Trade volume has increased by 1.4 times to 5.99 billion yuan (around $856.3 million) during the same period.
About 5,000 meters above sea level, Khunjerab Pass is a major trade port between China and Pakistan, and an important gateway to South Asia and Europe. China mainly imports textile, agricultural products and daily commodities there, and exports plants and herbs.
The authorities at Khunjerab Pass said that they will continue to increase customs clearance efficiency to facilitate trade in the future.
Urumqi customs statistics show that from January to November 2019, the total value of imports and exports from Xinjiang ports to Pakistan was 5.5 billion yuan, 1.2 times higher than the same period of last year. Among them, exports to Pakistan were 5.49 billion yuan, an increase of 1.3 times, mainly in textiles, apparel, and mechanical and electrical products.
Pakistan Pavilion Opens in Yiwu
A ‘Pakistan pavilion’ was opened in Yiwu, a city located in China’s Zhejiang Province, to display products of Pakistani manufacturers and traders aimed at boosting imports from Pakistan particularly after the implementation of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA).
Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi formally inaugurated the pavilion. Commercial Counsellor Embassy of Pakistan Beijing, Badar uz Zaman and members of the Pakistani business community were present at the inauguration.
Amir Suhail, alias Jehanzeb Afridi, one of the founders of Pakistan pavilion said that the facility will provide Pakistani traders an opportunity to market their products in China. He said that Pakistani businessmen can only send samples of their products for display if they are not personally present in China.
CPFTA Phase-II has allowed Pakistani businessmen to export 313 new products on zero duty to the Chinese market. As Pakistan is already enjoying zero duty on export of 724 products to china under the first FTA, after the implementation of the second FTA, the country has been allowed to export a total of 1047 products to China with no duties.
“If Pakistani traders take benefit of this pavilion, we could help achieve export targets set by our government,” said Amir Suhail.
He said that, at present, there is a great demand for salt lamps, sports goods, decoration pieces of copper and chromites, carpets and spices. China has organized import exhibitions twice in Shanghai during the last two years as it wants to import quality products from different countries including Pakistan.
It is worth mentioning that Yiwu is the world’s largest consumer good purchasing center with an area of 4.7 million square meters accommodating 70,000 booths and selling 1.7 million types of goods. Over 400,000 overseas businessmen come to Yiwu each year, and over 13,000 overseas businessmen from more than 100 countries including Pakistan and regions reside in Yiwu city.
