BEIJING: Pakistan and China will intensify efforts to increase overland trade between the two countries, Pakistani Ambassador to China Mr. Masood Khan said on Thursday.
Khan ? who led a delegation to the fifth Central and South Asian Commodity Fair organised by the Kashgar prefecture ? said two more delegations from Pakistan participated in the fair.
The envoy said he held talks with Kashgar Commissioner Akbar Gopur to explore ways and means to strengthen economic and trade ties between Xinjiang province and the Northern Areas of Pakistan.
“Border trade right now constitutes merely 5 percent of the overall trade. Both sides are keen to enhance overall trade and increase the volume of overland trade which has immense potential”, he said. The border trade takes place through Karakoram Highway (KKH), also regarded as the ?Pakistan-China Friendship Highway?.
?Extensive work is being done to repair and upgrade the Pakistani side of the KKH. The repair and upgradation is likely to be completed by 2011-2012,? Khan said.
He also visited Pakistan trade house in Kashgar and addressed a large gathering of Pakistanis
