ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said Pakistan’s partnership with China has entered a new phase focused on production, exports, job creation and sustainable growth, moving beyond infrastructure development alone.
Addressing the China-Pakistan Mineral Cooperation Forum, he said the 75-year relationship between the two countries had become a model of trust, continuity and strategic cooperation. He noted that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had transformed Pakistan’s development landscape through major investments in energy, road networks, Gwadar Port and national connectivity.
During the forum, Pakistan and China launched the Pak-China E-Mining Platform, a digital initiative aimed at improving information-sharing, project coordination and investment cooperation in the mineral sector. The platform is expected to help attract more than $10 billion in investment.
Ahsan Iqbal said CPEC 2.0 aligned with Pakistan’s long-term economic reform plan, Uraan Pakistan, which targets building a trillion-dollar economy by 2035. He added that a recent visit to China resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding linking Pakistan’s Five Es development framework with President Xi Jinping’s Five Growth Corridors to synchronise planning and investment under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Highlighting the untapped potential of Pakistan’s mineral wealth, estimated at around $6 trillion, the minister said current mineral exports stood at just $2 billion annually but could rise to $6–8 billion with better governance, modern technology and international partnerships. He stressed the need to expand cooperation with China into value addition, processing and refining rather than focusing solely on extraction.
He pointed to projects such as Saindak and Thar as successful examples of Pak-China collaboration and emphasised that mineral development must be environmentally sustainable and inclusive, particularly benefiting resource-rich regions like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The minister also assured that the protection of Chinese citizens and investments remained a top priority under the Special Investment Facilitation Council.
Calling for greater access to China’s vast import market, Ahsan Iqbal said even a small share of China’s annual $2 trillion imports could significantly boost Pakistan’s economy and reduce reliance on IMF bailouts. He projected that Pakistan’s exports to China could rise from about $3 billion to $50 billion by 2035.
Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong reaffirmed Beijing’s strong interest in Pakistan’s mining sector, stressing sustainability, modern standards and local capacity-building. He noted that projects like Saindak had already trained thousands of local workers.
The forum drew participation from more than 70 Chinese companies, over 100 Pakistani firms and around 800 delegates, reflecting growing interest in deepening bilateral cooperation in minerals.