Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif speaks during a ceremony to mark a decade of the signing of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 5, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

ISLAMABAD - The Chinese companies working under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have contributed immensely towards Pakistan's industrial promotion in various walks of life, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said here on Monday.

"Your contribution has not only led to the creation of job opportunities and industrial production, but it has further strengthened our brotherly and economic ties," Sharif said while addressing an award ceremony organized to honor the contribution of Chinese companies operating in Pakistan under the CPEC.

The Pakistan PM added that CPEC is now entering into its second phase of turning into a green corridor while focusing on innovation, information technology, and the development of special economic zones

The prime minister noted that the two countries have recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of CPEC under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a very innovative vision of the Chinese leadership.

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He added that CPEC is now entering into its second phase of turning into a green corridor while focusing on innovation, information technology, and the development of special economic zones.

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All these would be carried out into different modes of business-to-business framework under the umbrella of the two governments, said the prime minister.

Speaking to the occasion, Pang Chunxue, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, said that through the joint efforts of the two countries in various fields, including the 29 companies awarded here at the ceremony, CPEC has made outstanding contributions to the socio-economic development of Pakistan.

This aerial photo was taken on Feb 28, 2023, shows the view of dormitories beside a man-made lake at the Thar Coal Block-I Coal Electricity Integration project in Sindh province, an energy cooperation project under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor  (CPEC). (PHOTO / XINHUA)

"It has become a distinctive symbol of China-Pakistan cooperation and the pilot project of the BRI," said Pang.

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Launched in 2013, CPEC, the flagship project of the China-proposed BRI, is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.