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 Ambassador to China, Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi formally inaugurated the pavilion. Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Pakistan, Beijing, Badar uz Zaman and the members of the Pakistani business community were present.

Amir Suhail alias Jehanzeb Afridi, one of the founders of Pakistan pavilion informed on Sunday that the facility would provide Pakistani traders an opportunity to market their products in China. He said the Pakistani businessmen could only send samples of their products for display if they were not personally present in China.

The CPFTA Phase-II has allowed Pakistani businessmen to export around 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 on zero duty.

Amir Suhail, also a former representative of Peshawar Zulmi in China, said the Yiwu was one of the biggest city for exports and in the coming days, it would also become a hub of imports to China.

"If Pakistani traders take benefit of this pavilion, we could help achieve export targets set by our government," he added. Other businessmen Shah Nawaz Kakar, Haji Malang Shah, Naoman of Shan Masala and Eman Logistic Company are the co-founders of the pavilion.

He said at present, there was a great demand for salt lamps, sports goods, decoration pieces of copper and chromites, carpets and spices. China has twice organized import exhibitions in Shanghai during the last two years as it wants to import quality products from different countries including Pakistan.

"If our traders actively participate in different trade fairs in China to market their products, they can get import orders with good price," according to an economic expert.

It is worth mentioning that Yiwu is the world's largest consumer good purchasing center having an area of 4.7 million square meters accommodates 70,000 booths and sells 1.7 million kinds 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.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2019