Pakistan has secured more than $20 billion worth of investment memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Chinese partners, with a substantial number already advancing into commercial agreements and implementation, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb was informed during a meeting with Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the ambassador updated the finance minister on the embassy’s investment facilitation efforts in Beijing, saying a dedicated monitoring framework has been established to track the execution of the investment commitments. He added that the embassy is currently engaging with over 150 Chinese companies to attract investment into Pakistan.

The briefing highlighted increasing Chinese private-sector interest in manufacturing, logistics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, textiles and industrial services. It also noted that nine agreements have recently been finalized in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, while several investment projects in manufacturing, logistics infrastructure and export-oriented textiles are moving forward.

Both sides reviewed measures to boost business-to-business partnerships, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and discussed improving investor support through closer coordination between Chinese companies and Pakistani businesses.

The meeting also covered cooperation in capital markets, sovereign financing and infrastructure investment, including engagement with leading Chinese financial institutions, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund.

In addition, officials discussed aligning technical and vocational training programs with upcoming Chinese investments to ensure the availability of skilled workers for new industries.