BUSINESS PROSPECTS: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is being briefed during a visit to the headquarters of the Chinese Tyren Wisdom Dairy Company. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE:
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee and Communist Party Secretary and Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), He Zhongyou on Thursday and discussed expansion of economic cooperation, particularly in agriculture, industry, technology and infrastructure.
The leaders also discussed cooperation in healthcare, business and economic affairs, as well as people-to-people exchange programmes.
The chief minister proposed cooperation in water-efficient farming, drip irrigation and the use of high-quality seeds to improve crop yields in water-stressed areas.
The CM said Punjab had the distinction of being Pakistan’s food basket and effective measures and improved governance were helping address poverty and deprivation.
She said Punjab was keen to benefit from China’s experience in using modern scientific methods to address water shortages in drought-prone and arid regions.
She proposed the launch of pilot projects in different parts of Punjab in collaboration with China for the conservation of water resources.
The chief minister said renewable energy was among the provincial government’s priorities and technical education was being promoted in Punjab’s educational institutions.
She also appreciated He Zhongyou’s initiative to host the sixth international media tour in Urumqi and discussed the possibility of providing online technical assistance to Pakistani students.
The CM thanked the Chinese leader for a warm welcome and praised his visionary leadership. She also congratulated him on the 150th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and on the completion of 75 years of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also visited the headquarters of China’s renowned Tyren Wisdom Dairy Company in Xinjiang. She was warmly received and given a detailed briefing by the company’s officials on the preparation of various milk products.
The chief minister said projects aimed at improving and promoting the livestock sector in Punjab were yielding positive results.
She said projects for livestock breeding and financial empowerment of rural women and were being successfully implemented. Livestock was also being prepared for meat production, she added.
The CM said Punjab wanted to establish a milk and dairy processing project in collaboration with China.
Meanwhile, a Swiss-based sustainability organisation has invited Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to address the Noble Sustainability Trust Award Gala and Summit 2026 in Hong Kong on September 30.
A business and investment conference was also held in Guiyang in collaboration with the governments of Punjab and China’s Guizhou province.
Punjab offered itself as a potential manufacturing and export hub for China, highlighting its investment-friendly environment, strategic location, industrial base and incentives for Chinese investors.
Senior officials of leading Chinese companies and investors participated in the conference and were briefed on Punjab’s investor-friendly environment.
The Chinese investors were invited to visit various Special Economic Zones established across Punjab.
