ISLAMABAD: Pakistan China digital economy partnership entered a new phase after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met a high-level Chinese business delegation and discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in the digital economy, with the visiting side underlining that the establishment of IBI’s Digital Economy Headquarters in Pakistan would open significant avenues for the country’s small and medium enterprises to access the Chinese market.
The 11-member delegation, led by Qian Xiaojun, Founder, President and controlling shareholder of IBI Beijing United Technology called on the Prime Minister in Islamabad. This comes after the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference, which was hosted by Beijing in September 2025, and PM Shehbaz participated in during his state visit to China.
As per the official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Shehbaz expressed his appreciation for IBI Group’s decision to establish its Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters in Pakistan, expressing satisfaction with the increasing business-to-business collaboration between Islamabad and Beijing. The Prime Minister stated that Pakistan and China had historical relations and referred to the two nations as all-weather strategic cooperative partners.
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Pakistan China Digital Economy Cooperation Expands
Chinese industrial e-commerce giant IBI Guolian Gufan launched the initiative to build a Digital Silk Road corridor between Pakistan and China. The platform carries the potential to support over USD 10 billion in bilateral trade, according to the delegation.
Qian Xiaojun told the Prime Minister that IBI hoped to help build a digital backbone for Pakistan’s economic transformation one that would connect local enterprises to Chinese industrial and consumer networks at scale. The delegation stressed that Pakistani SMEs stood to gain the most, gaining structured access to a market that has historically remained difficult to penetrate for smaller businesses.
PM Shehbaz described IBI’s focus on digital economy cooperation, investment facilitation, and industrial collaboration as particularly encouraging, the PMO statement said.
SMEs at the Core
Pakistan’s SME sector, which constitutes the bulk of the country’s registered businesses and supports millions of jobs, has long faced barriers to meaningful international market access. The IBI headquarters model attempts to address that gap directly providing a technology-driven platform through which Pakistani businesses can engage Chinese buyers, suppliers, and industrial partners without the overhead that cross-border commerce typically demands.
The decision to plant a permanent Digital Economy Headquarters in Pakistan, rather than operate remotely, signals institutional intent on IBI’s part. It reflects a calculated long-term bet on Pakistan’s market and its digital growth trajectory a point Qian Xiaojun underscored when he expressed confidence in the country’s economic direction.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to Beijing later this month will likely build on the outcomes of the delegation’s Islamabad meetings, with Pakistan and China expected to prioritize digital economy cooperation at the highest policy level.
