China-Pakistan Economic Corridor phase II to be launched during Pak PM's China visit
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal made the official announcement during a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review preparations for the forthcoming session of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC-II), as well as the prime minister's scheduled visit to Beijing.
"Prime minister's upcoming visit will mark the formal launch of CPEC-II, with both sides expected to set clear priorities and agree on tangible, measurable outcomes," minister Iqbal was quoted by Dawn as saying on Wednesday. While the JCC is expected to meet in October, official sources said the prime minister will travel to Beijing at the end of this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit from August 31 to September 1.
On the sidelines, Sharif is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The planning minister stressed that the future of CPEC "must be anchored in quality rather than quantity," emphasising that only carefully selected, high-impact projects should be advanced to ensure sustainability and institutional strengthening. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project under Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has invested in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the USD 60 billion CPEC plan. However, the implementation of various projects had slowed last year following terror attacks on Chinese personnel working on the ventures. Iqbal also disclosed that during his recent visit to China, he had conveyed PM Sharif's invitation to President Xi to visit Islamabad in 2026 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. Underscoring the need to expand Pakistan's trade and export footprint in China, the minister directed the authorities concerned to resolve visa processing delays on priority to facilitate genuine businesspersons. He also instructed the preparation of an outcome-focused plan to diversify exports, enhance industrial linkages, and maximise benefits from market access under CPEC.
The minister also noted that with China importing goods worth over USD 2 trillion annually, Pakistan should strategically aim to capture at least USD 30-50 billion of this trade by building competitiveness and sectoral readiness, according to Dawn.
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