{"id":32358,"date":"2026-05-26T05:39:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=32358"},"modified":"2026-05-26T05:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:39:39","slug":"pakistan-to-seek-zero-tariff-access-from-china-on-700-product-lines-under-fta-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=32358","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan to seek zero-tariff access from China on 700 product lines under FTA talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Islamabad also seeks tariff parity with ASEAN and African countries, as the trade deficit with China remains near $20 billion annually<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan is set to formally ask China to extend unilateral tariff concessions on around 700 product lines under the proposed third phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), as Islamabad seeks tariff treatment similar to concessions granted to ASEAN and African countries, Business Recorder <\/em>reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to officials, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul are currently in Beijing to finalise proposals with Chinese counterparts ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan exported goods worth $2.375 billion to China during FY2024-25, of which $2.16 billion fell under the existing free trade agreement framework. However, Pakistan continues to face a large trade imbalance with China, with annual imports standing near $20 billion against exports of around $2 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials said China\u2019s exports to Pakistan exceeded $100 billion over the last five years, while Pakistan\u2019s exports to China remained close to $10 billion during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government believes the imbalance is linked to Pakistan\u2019s export structure, which mainly consists of raw materials such as copper and cotton that are later re-imported as higher-value finished goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ad powered by advergic.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiations under the proposed third phase of the free trade agreement are currently focused on improving market access for Pakistani products, particularly textiles, minerals, and meat products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials estimate Pakistan\u2019s meat exports alone have a potential of around $5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to sources, more than a dozen Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade protocols have already been signed during the discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan is also seeking additional facilitation measures, including the establishment of a \u201cGreen Channel\u201d at the Khunjerab Pass border crossing to improve trade flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China granted unilateral zero-tariff access to 53 African countries from May 1, 2026, while ASEAN member states continue to benefit from preferential tariff arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistani officials argue that concessions secured under earlier phases of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement have been diluted due to China\u2019s subsequent agreements with ASEAN countries and other preferential trade arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ad powered by advergic.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been briefed to strongly advocate for the concessions during meetings in Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan is also expected to request a waiver of the existing 1% import duty on rice exports to China and seek a special import quota arrangement similar to the facility granted during 2019-20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Islamabad plans to ask Beijing to encourage Chinese state-owned enterprises, particularly COFCO, to enter into long-term procurement agreements with Pakistani rice exporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials said Pakistan would also seek easier visa issuance for Pakistani exporters and businessmen to improve commercial engagement with Chinese markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both countries are currently operating under Phase-II of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, which was implemented in January 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ad powered by advergic.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to officials, bilateral trade between Pakistan and China stood at approximately $19.4 billion during FY2024-25, with Pakistan\u2019s trade deficit accounting for nearly 59% of the country\u2019s overall trade gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/profit.pakistantoday.com.pk\/2026\/05\/23\/pakistan-to-seek-zero-tariff-access-from-china-on-700-product-lines-under-fta-talks\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Islamabad also seeks tariff parity with ASEAN and African countries, as the trade deficit with China remains near $20 billion annually Pakistan is set to formally ask China to extend unilateral tariff concessions on around 700 product lines under the proposed third phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), as Islamabad seeks tariff treatment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[2307,26766,483,2906,29381,27398],"class_list":["post-32358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-china-3","tag-fta-2","tag-pakistan-2","tag-trade-2","tag-traiff","tag-zero-tariff-2","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32360,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32358\/revisions\/32360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}