PM hails $440m Pakistan-China pharma deals, vows enhanced security for Chinese investors | The Express Tribune

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday welcomed the signing of nine agreements worth over $440 million between Pakistani and Chinese pharmaceutical companies while reaffirming that the government would leave “no stone unturned” to ensure the security of Chinese citizens working in the country.

Pakistan has witnessed a spike in violence and terrorist attacks, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and after the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. The attacks have largely focused on police personnel, law enforcement agencies and security forces, though Chinese nationals have also been among the targets in recent years. These attacks have targeted Chinese citizens working on key infrastructure projects in Pakistan, particularly the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative.

Addressing the Pakistan-China Business-to-Business Conference on Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Biotechnology Sector in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz attached great importance to the security of 300 Chinese delegates.

“I would like to say with [the] fullest force at my command that the security of Chinese brothers and sisters in Pakistan is paramount for us. We will leave no stone unturned to provide them with best possible security,” he said.

The premier thanked local business leaders for contributing to the development of the country’s pharmaceutical sector, saying they had taken “great efforts just to show that these agreements will most definitely convert into action and implementable documents” that would be a step forward in promoting the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. 

“We have just witnessed a ceremony of agreements between the Pakistani and Chinese entrepreneurs valuing almost $440 million.”

The conference was attended by the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, representatives of local and Chinese pharmaceutical companies, federal ministers, special assistants, senior government officials, and a large number of other participants, according to a press release issued by the PM Office.

Read: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announces special protection unit for Chinese nationals

It said the agreements were signed between the private pharmaceutical sectors of Pakistan and China, including agreements on local vaccine production, biotechnology, drug manufacturing, technology exchange and prevention of hepatitis.

An agreement on cooperation regarding the national programme for protective vaccines was also finalised during the conference.

PM Shehbaz described China as Pakistan’s “most trusted and most dependable friend” and said China played an important role in Pakistan’s economic development.

“China has supported Pakistan on all global forums, and $30 billion in investment has come under CPEC 1.0,” he asserted while thanking the Chinese leadership for its unwavering support.

PM Shehbaz praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “visionary leader” who “completely transformed Chinese society and economy”.

He said China’s economic and strategic development was “unprecedented” and praised the hard work and performance of the Chinese people in education, research, development and other sectors.

He also appreciated the efforts of the business communities of both countries, the federal minister for health, the special assistant for industry and production, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, and the Pakistani ambassador to China for enhancing cooperation between the two nations.

Read more: PM hails B2B cooperation with China

Referring to the recent US-Iran war, the premier said it had created major challenges for the world.

He said Pakistan had played an important mediating role between the US and Iran, with friendly and brotherly countries, including China, extending full cooperation.

The premier stated that President Xi Jinping had also lent his full support to the efforts.

Reiterating the importance of Pakistan-China ties, the prime minister emphasised that the friendship between the two countries was “higher than the Himalayas, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel”.

Threat to Chinese security

The federal government on Wednesday said ​it was stepping up security around the Saindak copper and gold mine in Balochistan ‌after terrorist violence disrupted supply routes.

State Minister ​for Interior Talal Chaudhry had said the government had received the mine operator’s security concerns in early July and ordered agencies to increase deployment around its installations, personnel and cargo.

“We have directed the provincial authorities and all concerned security agencies to ​beef up deployment for all of their installations, personnel, logistics and transportation,” Chaudhry had told Reuters.

“It is ​our priority to safeguard all projects run by international companies in Pakistan,” he said, adding that logistics and cargo ‌shipments ⁠to the site would receive additional security protection.

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, hosts several major Chinese-backed projects, including the deep-water port of Gwadar.

The Financial ​Times reported that Saindak’s managing ⁠director had warned the energy ministry that operations could become unsustainable within a month because deteriorating security conditions were disrupting supply routes.

The Saindak mine is ​operated by the state-owned Metallurgical Corporation of China under a lease extended ​in 2022, ⁠and exports most of its output to China.

China’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of the situation but that Beijing would work with its close partner, Pakistan, to protect Chinese citizens, projects, and institutions in the country.

One of the worst attacks on Chinese personnel occurred in July 2021, when a total of 10 Chinese nationals lost their lives and another 26 were injured in a suicide attack on a bus carrying them to the Dasu Hydropower Project work site.

In March 2024, six people, including five Chinese engineers, were killed in a suicide attack in Besham, a remote area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Around the same time, a massive explosion on a road near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi killed three people, including two Chinese engineers, and injured at least 11 others.

The government established a Special Protection Unit exclusively for the security of Chinese nationals in February this year, reiterating that their safety remained a top priority.