KARACHI - Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Tianjin Yong Jin Business & Trade Corporation have signed a memorandum of mutual cooperation according to which Karachi Chamber will provide assistance for establishment of Tianjin Commercial and Development Centre in Karachi and other cities by Tianjin Yong Jin Business & Trade Corporation.

The memorandum of mutual cooperation was inked by President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir and Ms Yao Cheng, General Manager of Yong Jin Trade Co Limited, during the visit of a 9-member Chinese delegation to Karachi Chamber, which was led by Chen Wei Ming, Vice President of Tianjin People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.  According to memorandum of mutual cooperation, Tianjin Yong Business & Trade Corporation China will also help Karachi Chamber establish friendly cooperation with business communities in Tianjin and other cities of China. Tianjin Yong Business & Trade Corporation China will do its best to recommend, introduce and promote enterprises or institutional organizations in Tianjin and other cities in China to invest or set up their businesses in Karachi.

Leader of the delegation, Chen Weiming, while briefing the meeting participants about the purpose of their visit to Karachi Chamber, stated that the business community of Tianjin city wants to enhance cooperation with the business and industrial community of Karachi which encouraged them to meet businessmen and industrialists of Karachi Chamber.

He informed that the city of Tianjin was just 120 kilometers away from Beijing and it was the third largest city and an economic center of China with one of the largest coastal belts in north China. Tianjin's was ranked 4th in the world in terms of cargo handling, he said. "A huge number of 300,000 companies are successfully doing business in Tianjin alone, of which around 25,000 big international companies are operating in this city. Hence, Tianjin is regarded as the manufacturing center for the whole China", he added.

Earlier, President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir, while welcoming the delegates, informed that Karachi, being the economic hub of Pakistan, offers profitable investment opportunities and added facilities for investment and joint ventures to Chinese investors.

He said that with improved law and order situation and upon completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Gwadar Port, this region was likely to attract substantial amount of foreign investment and the Chinese business community can also benefit from the situation by investing or undertaking joint ventures in Pakistan, particularly Karachi.

Commenting on Pakistan-China trade and economic relations, President KCCI noted that Pakistan's exports to China stood at $1.903 billion during 2015-16 whereas its imports were recorded at $8.127 billion, indicating an over1all trade volume of more than $10.03 billion which must be enhanced and it can be done through collective efforts.

He also expressed satisfaction over Pakistan-China cooperation in the operational development of Gwadar Port, which would help in generating more economic activity in Pakistan and would provide an important access route to the sea for China's western regions, Afghanistan and Central Asian states.