IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters Officially Launched; Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Meets with Qian Xiaojun and Delegation; Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar Attends Launch Conference and Delivers Remarks

The year 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan, coinciding with a new stage of high-quality development under CPEC 2.0. On May 13, the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters of Beijing United Information Technology Co., Ltd. (IBI) was officially inaugurated in Islamabad, Pakistan.

On the following day, H.E. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan warmly received a delegation led by Qian Xiaojun, Founder and CEO of IBI, and Liu Zhai, Director and Senior Vice President of IBI, at the Prime Minister’s Office. Accompanying the Prime Minister were Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Federal Minister for Investment; Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for Commerce; Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication; Ali Pervaiz Malik, Federal Minister for Petroleum; Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production; Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister; and other senior Pakistani government officials.

Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, representatives from various Pakistani ministries, and more than 360 representatives from over 200 leading enterprises from both China and Pakistan attended the launch conference of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters. Remarks were delivered by H.E. Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan; Qian Xiaojun, Founder and CEO of IBI; Liu Zhai, Director and Senior Vice President of IBI; H.E. Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China; Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication; Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and Minister of State for Industries and Production; and Safdar, CEO of Tech 7 Group.

The conference attracted extensive coverage from major national media outlets in Pakistan, including Pakistan Television (PTV), Geo News, ARY News, Dawn News, Express News, and Samaa TV.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif highly commended the successful launch of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters. He also fully recognized IBI’s long-term commitment to advancing bilateral industrial cooperation between China and Pakistan, supporting the high-quality development of CPEC 2.0, and facilitating the operation of the China-Pakistan Commercial Center (CPCC) and the China-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CPCCI). He noted that IBI’s efforts in promoting digital economic cooperation, investment facilitation, and industrial collaboration are particularly encouraging.

In his remarks, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated:

“The launch of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters marks a transformative milestone in the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China.”

He further emphasized:

“Today, we are moving from roads to networks, from physical infrastructure to digital architecture. We are building a Digital Silk Road beginning with the launch of the IBI Digital Economy Headquarters in Islamabad. This is another milestone in Pakistan-China friendship and reflects the growing confidence of the international community in Pakistan’s future as a platform for technology, investment, and digital transformation.”

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also announced that, at the invitation of Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif would pay an official visit to China in late May. During the visit, Prime Minister Sharif would attend the Hangzhou B2B Conference jointly organized by the Consulate General of Pakistan in Shanghai and IBI. The Embassy of Pakistan in China would also authorize IBI to prepare for the establishment of the China-Pakistan Commercial Center (CPCC) and the China-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CPCCI).

Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan ▲

Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, stated that the launch of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters represents a major milestone in Pakistan-China digital cooperation and fully demonstrates the increasingly close strategic synergy between the two countries in the digital economy sector. She noted that the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication would provide comprehensive policy support for IBI’s operations in Pakistan and jointly promote deeper and more practical digital cooperation between Pakistan and China, contributing digital momentum to the building of a China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication ▲

Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and Minister of State for Industries and Production, emphasized that the Pakistani government has positioned the second phase of CPEC as a “Corridor of Industrial Cooperation and Growth,” focusing on export-oriented manufacturing, modern agriculture, and the digital economy. He stated that the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters is a model project for Pakistan-China digital economic cooperation. Pakistan would fully support its operation and expansion and looks forward to leveraging digital platforms to deepen the integration of industrial chains, supply chains, and value chains between the two nations.

Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and Minister of State for Industries and Production ▲

H.E. Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, stated in his remarks that the stable, healthy, and positive development of IBI serves as a model example of implementing the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership envisioned by the leaders of both countries. He noted that IBI has become a bridge and bond connecting enterprises of China and Pakistan and serves as a business diplomacy ambassador between the two nations. Through its deep engagement in Pakistan-China digital industrial cooperation, regular linkage of government and enterprise resources, and large-scale facilitation of enterprise matchmaking and project implementation, IBI has transformed strategic directives from national leaders, policy dividends arising from bilateral agreements, and diplomatic achievements into tangible industrial cooperation outcomes.

Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China ▲

Qian Xiaojun, Founder and CEO of IBI, stated:

“China’s mature industrial and supply chain capabilities, combined with advanced digital operational expertise, are highly complementary to Pakistan’s urgent needs for industrial upgrading and digital transformation.”

He emphasized that Pakistan is the first core strategic hub in IBI’s global expansion and a key foothold in the company’s Belt and Road market strategy. The newly launched IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters will leverage its mature “6+N” full-chain service system to provide enterprises from both countries with one-stop, end-to-end services, including cross-border transactions, intelligent logistics, digital supply chain development, cloud AI empowerment, joint venture facilitation, and investment compliance support. It will also establish a China-Pakistan business exchange platform to comprehensively empower industrial ecosystem co-development and mutually beneficial growth between the two countries.

Qian Xiaojun, Founder and CEO of IBI ▲

Liu Zhai, Director and Senior Vice President of IBI, systematically shared IBI’s investment and operational plans in Pakistan. She stated that, alongside the launch conference, IBI led a Chinese business delegation on a six-day intensive engagement program across Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad, conducting industrial matchmaking activities and project negotiations. More than 110 cooperation agreements were signed, with many rapidly converting into practical orders and implementation projects.

Looking ahead, IBI will use the Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters as its core platform to focus on key sectors including deep processing of agricultural products, motorcycles, three-wheelers, KD assembly lines for new energy vehicles, healthcare, one-stop procurement of raw materials, and facilitating the entry of high-quality Pakistani products into the Chinese market. The company will fully replicate China’s “Cloud Factory” digitalization model, leveraging its global supply chain and cloud warehouse network to support Chinese SMEs in cluster-based overseas expansion while assisting Pakistani SMEs in digital upgrading and export growth.

She added that IBI aims to create a benchmark model for private enterprises deeply participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, driving deeper integration of industrial demand between China and Pakistan, and continuously injecting new vitality into the iron-clad friendship between the two countries through industrial cooperation and digital empowerment.

Liu Zhai, Director and Senior Vice President of IBI ▲

To break through information barriers, geographical limitations, and inefficiencies in cross-border trade matchmaking, the organizers arranged a series of high-level industrial matchmaking events in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi in conjunction with the conference. These activities covered key complementary sectors between China and Pakistan, including chemicals, textiles, renewable energy, building materials, electronics, and automobiles. Through targeted B2B matchmaking, the events enabled enterprises from both countries to accurately identify business opportunities, connect demand with supply, and unlock new avenues for cooperation.

It is worth noting that Qadir, General Manager of IBI Cross-border E-commerce, has been deeply engaged in Pakistan-China cooperation for many years. Previously serving as Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Pakistan in China, he possesses extensive experience in diplomacy and international trade. Following the completion of his diplomatic tenure, he actively joined the front lines of Pakistan-China digital industrial cooperation. Qadir stated that, with the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Headquarters serving as a key platform, two-way industrial cooperation will become an important barometer of bilateral political, economic, and trade relations.

As part of the broader Pakistan Digital Tour initiative, IBI led more than 50 Chinese enterprises in conducting in-depth business engagement activities across Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. The vibrant atmosphere of cooperation demonstrated the strong momentum generated by the deep integration of China’s high-quality industrial capacity and digital technologies with Pakistan’s local industries. This growing synergy is continuously injecting fresh digital momentum and industrial vitality into the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan in the new era.