Duty free market access to China will boost exports of Pakistan’s made-ups. Pakistan’s annual trade deficit with China ranges around $12 to $14 billion. The country’s yearly exports to China are $1.2 billion and imports in the range of $14 to $16 billion. Apart from Pakistan, China offers duty free status to Asean and Bangladesh.

Pakistan and China will decide how much textile, leather, and other goods can be exported to fully utilise the duty free facility. At this stage, the list of products that would be eligible for duty-free has not been prepared. There will be further discussions on finalising details of market access and the balance of payment support.

The countries are working to have a free trade agreement in place before June 2019. They have signed 15 MoUs for further cooperation in the areas of socio-economic development, poverty alleviation, agriculture, economic and technical cooperation, forestry, earth sciences, higher education and technology. Industrial cooperation will be accelerated and both sides have decided to move with the next phase with a focus on industrial expansion, agricultural revitalisation and integration of trade ties.

Pakistan will request China to remove other non tariff barriers so that Pakistan can boost exports.