Prime Minister Shehbaz is on an official visit to China from 23-26. May: DPM Dar

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 26, saying the visit would include a vibrant business-to-business forum aimed at further strengthening commercial ties.

FM Dar made the announcement during the launch of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy headquarters in Islamabad and described it as a strong symbol of the enduring Pakistan-China partnership and a new chapter in digital cooperation.

He said the launch of the IBI headquarters marked a transformative milestone in the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Partnership.

Highlighting Prime Minister Shehbaz’s vision of establishing Pakistan as a regional hub for digital innovation, he said the Pakistan-China partnership was moving from physical infrastructure, such as the Karakoram Highway and CPEC energy projects, to smart infrastructure, artificial intelligence, ICT and digital connectivity.

“Today we are moving from roads to networks, from physical infrastructure to digital architecture. We are building a digital Silk Road today, starting with the launch of the IBI headquarters in Islamabad,” he said.

DPM Dar told the gathering that under CPEC 2.0, cooperation expanded beyond traditional sectors to digital transformation, smart cities and climate resilience.

Sharing upbeat economic indicators including a fall in inflation, rising GDP and a dip in political interest, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to put Pakistan back on the road map to become a top-20 global economy.

With the world’s fifth largest population and a rapidly growing youth demographic, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Pakistan was no longer “waiting for its moment” but had reached a stage of immense IT potential and global competitiveness.

Read more: Pak-China signs $13bn. in MoUs, JVs in 2 years

Welcoming Beijing United Information Technology (IBI) to Pakistan, he noted that its platform – serving millions of companies across 100 industry sectors in China – reflected strong international confidence in Pakistan’s economy.

DPM Dar also lauded the efforts of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Beijing Khalil Hashmi to professionally facilitate B2B forums, noting that 30% of the $10 billion in MOUs signed during recent visits to China had already been translated into completed projects.

Earlier, in his speech, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi explained that if Amazon and Alibaba were the e-commerce giants of consumer goods, IBI was the e-commerce giant of industrial goods.

He said IBI was a Fortune 500 company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Hashmi said the IBI launch represented a huge opportunity, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, offering a gateway to a vast Chinese market – spanning agriculture, aquaculture and industrial goods – and through China a route to the rest of the world.

He said that by deepening digital industrial collaboration and synchronizing government and corporate resources, IBI had successfully translated high-level management directives into tangible results.

“Today we are witnessing the convergence of two transformative forces: the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China and the unstoppable rise of the digital economy,” he added.

Information Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan also addressed the launch ceremony.

Last month, President Asif Ali Zardari also conducted a five-day visit to China, where both countries signed several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in desalination, agricultural technology and the tea industry. This move is expected to increase investment, technology transfer and economic ties between the two countries.

The first MoU was signed between the Government of Sindh and Lucion Environmental Technology Group for collaboration on a sea water desalination project in Karachi. The project aims to improve the city’s water supply by making seawater usable through modern technology.

The second MoU focused on cooperation in agricultural technology. Sharjeel Inam Memon signed it on behalf of the Sindh government and Chen Zhixin, chairman of Longping High-Tech Information Company, signed for the Chinese side.

The third MoU relating to the tea sector was signed between MESKAY & FEMTEE Trading Company, Hunan Tea Group and Jiaolong International Technology in Hainan.

Earlier in January, Pakistan and China agreed to align their development strategies and build an upgraded version of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, known as CPEC 2.0, during wide-ranging talks in Beijing that also covered political ties, security cooperation and regional and international issues.

As part of their economic engagement, Pakistan and China agreed to develop an upgraded CPEC, a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative. The two sides said the new phase will focus on the key sectors of industry, agriculture and mining, promote the construction and operation of Gwadar Port, ensure smooth passage of the Karakoram Highway and strengthen Pakistan’s capacity for sustainable development.

They also agreed to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, information technology, science and technology, cyber security, technical and vocational education and training, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The two sides stated that the year-round opening of the Khunjerab Pass would facilitate two-way trade and further strengthen people-to-people contacts. They also welcomed the participation of third parties in the CPEC cooperation in accordance with the conditions agreed upon by both countries.