PM hails $440m Pakistan-China pharma deals, promises increased security for Chinese investors

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday welcomed the signing of nine deals worth over $440 million between Pakistani and Chinese pharmaceutical companies, while affirming that the government would leave “no stone unturned” to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens working in the country.

Pakistan has witnessed an increase in violence and terrorist attacks, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. Attacks have largely focused on police personnel, authorities and the national security forces of China, although in recent times Chinese security forces have also been targeted. year. These attacks have targeted Chinese citizens working on key infrastructure projects in Pakistan, particularly the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative.

Addressing the Pakistan-China Business-to-Business Conference on the Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Biotechnology Sector in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz laid great stress on the security of 300 Chinese delegates.

“I would like to have my say [the] greatest force at my command that the safety of Chinese brothers and sisters in Pakistan is paramount to us. We will leave no stone unturned to give them the best possible security,” he said.

The prime minister thanked local business leaders for contributing to the development of the country’s pharmaceutical sector and said they had made “great efforts just to show that these agreements will definitely convert into action and implementable documents”, which would be a step forward in promoting the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

“We just witnessed a ceremony of deals between the Pakistani and Chinese entrepreneurs worth almost $440 million.”

The conference was attended by the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, representatives of local and Chinese pharmaceutical companies, federal ministers, special assistants, senior government officials and a large number of other participants, according to a press release issued by the PM Office.

Read: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announces a special protection unit for Chinese nationals

It said the agreements were signed between the private pharmaceutical sectors of Pakistan and China, including agreements on local vaccine production, biotechnology, drug manufacturing, technology exchange and hepatitis prevention.

An agreement on cooperation regarding the national program for protective vaccines was also finalized during the conference.

Prime Minister Shehbaz described China as Pakistan’s “most trusted and most reliable friend” and said China played an important role in Pakistan’s economic development.

“China has supported Pakistan at all global forums and $30 billion in investment has come under CPEC 1.0,” he claimed while thanking the Chinese leadership for its unwavering support.

Prime Minister Shehbaz praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “visionary leader” who “completely transformed Chinese society and economy”.

He said China’s economic and strategic development was “unprecedented” and praised the Chinese people’s hard work and achievements in education, research, development and other sectors.

He also appreciated the efforts of the business community of both countries, the Federal Health Minister, the Special Assistant on Industry and Production, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan and the Pakistani Ambassador to China to strengthen the cooperation between the two nations.

Read more: PM welcomes B2B cooperation with China

Referring to the recent war between the US and Iran, the prime minister said it had created major challenges for the world.

He said that Pakistan had played an important mediating role between the US and Iran, where friendly and brotherly countries, including China, extended their full cooperation.

The Prime Minister stated that President Xi Jinping had also given his full support to the effort.

Reiterating the importance of ties between Pakistan and China, the Prime Minister emphasized that the friendship between the two countries was “higher than the Himalayas, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel”.

Threat to Chinese security

The federal government said on Wednesday it was tightening security around the Saindak copper and gold mine in Balochistan after terrorist violence disrupted supply routes.

Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry had said the government had received the mine operator’s security concerns in early July and ordered agencies to increase deployment around its installations, personnel and cargo.

“We have directed the provincial authorities and all concerned security agencies to increase the deployment of all their installations, personnel, logistics and transport,” Chaudhry said. Reuters.

“It is our priority to protect all projects run by international companies in Pakistan,” he said, adding that logistics and freight ‌shipments ‌ to the site would receive additional security protection.

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, hosts several major Chinese-backed projects, including the deep-water port of Gwadar.

The Financial Times reported that Saindak’s CEO had warned the Ministry of Energy that operations could become unsustainable within a month because worsening security conditions disrupted supply routes.

The Saindak mine is operated by the state-owned Metallurgical Corporation of China under a lease that extends through 2022, and exports most of its output to China.

China’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of the situation, but that Beijing would work with its close partner Pakistan to protect Chinese citizens, projects and institutions in the country.

One of the worst attacks on Chinese personnel occurred in July 2021, when a total of 10 Chinese nationals lost their lives and another 26 were injured in a suicide attack on a bus transporting them to the Dasu Hydropower Project work site.

In March 2024, six people, including five Chinese engineers, were killed in a suicide attack in Besham, a remote area of ​​Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Around the same time, a massive explosion on a road near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi killed three people, including two Chinese engineers, and injured at least 11 others.

The government established a special protection unit solely for the security of Chinese nationals in February this year, reiterating that their safety remained a top priority.