According to Pakistan’s “Express Forum” report on July 29, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed that Pakistan’s export situation faced severe challenges in 2019. The “Pakistan-China Free Trade Agreement” is no longer considered to create new impetus for Pakistan’s exports, but is questioned as the main reason for the surge in Pakistan’s trade deficit.
According to statistics, Pakistan’s exports to China were less than US$100 million in 2005, which increased to US$1.026 billion in 2014; in 2018, Pakistan’s exports to China were Reaching US$2.8 billion, it is mainly concentrated in several major primary product industries.
The “Pakistan-China Free Trade Agreement” (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) entered a new stage in April 2019, aiming to promote Pakistan’s exports to China It is developing well, but the main beneficiaries are concentrated in the upstream enterprises of the textile industry, while the export growth ability of downstream enterprises is still weak.
In the first phase of the Agreement, Pakistan made great efforts to increase its exports, but it has not yet fully utilized the favorable conditions of the Agreement. For example, China has There are many tax-free policies for imported products; Pakistan can consider setting up joint ventures to promote export growth, enjoy tariff preferences, and achieve structural adjustments for export enterprises.
