Islamabad: The second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China will be signed on April 28, a news source quoted Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing as saying. Other important agreements relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will also be signed during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China.
Jing was speaking at a press briefing at the Chinese embassy on the upcoming Second Belt and Road Forum to be held in Beijing between April 25 and 27. The FTA has been agreed upon after eight years of negotiations.
Under the FTA Phase-II, China will provide market access to 90% of Pakistani commodities at zero import duty. Meanwhile, Pakistan will give China access to 65% of its tariff lines.
The ambassador also revealed that world leaders, including heads of state and government from 37 countries, would attend the forum’s roundtable summit.
Speaking on CPEC, he said that under CPEC’s industrial cooperation, the first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Rashakai would be inaugurated within the current month. 20 factories will be established at the site initially.
Yao assured that locals would be employed in the SEZs, and the latest technology would be transferred from China to Pakistan to facilitate its success. Cooperation in the industrial and social sectors will be the main focus of the project’s second phase, he added.
