LAHORE: Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President Moazzam Ghurki on Tuesday lauded the initiative of Pakistani and Chinese government for reopening the Khunjerab Pass for trade and travel.
Sharing his point of view in a think-tank session held at PCJCCI Secretariat, he added that it connected Gilgit-Baltistan with China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region and was a major trade route between Pakistan and China which had been reopened after a closure of almost three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The PCJCCI President said that in 2019, the trade volume between China and Pakistan surged by nearly 47 percent to US $ 856.3 million but due to the closure the exchequer had suffered around Rs 8 billion revenue losses as the CPEC-related shipments halted following the border closure.
Hundreds of people affiliated with Pakistan-China border trade faced economic hardship following suspension of trade and travel between the two countries through the Khunjerab Pass, he added.
On this occasion, the joint chamber’s Senior Vice President Fang Yulong said that Khunjerab Pass lies on the strategic Karakoram Highway (KKH), which was a part of multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. “The Pass is an extremely important platform and considered to be an important link to China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),” he remarked.
He added that trade at Khunjerab Pass was conducted through the newly-introduced Web-based One Customs (WeBOC) system. The government believed that trade would be much easier after WeBOC as it would align the Sust Dry Port with all the modern infrastructure in dry ports across the country.
While PCJCCI Vice President Hamza Khalid said that reopening of the border crossing was expected to boost economic activities between the two countries. China had been an incredible support to Pakistan at all times. “The constant assistance and reopening of this border would do wonders for the emerging economic status of Pakistan and would certainly have a positive impact on the business community,” he added.
Secretary General Salahuddin Hanif said that reopening of the Pass would further expedite the pace of work on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He also appreciated the relevant authorities of the two countries and team members over the restoration of trade and travel facility.
