ISLAMABAD, 5 May, 2021 (TON): Pakistan recorded nearly 70% increase in exports to China in the first quarter of 2021, an official said on Wednesday. 

Pakistan's ambassador to China Moin ul Haque said, "Impressive figures of Pakistan's exports to China in 1st quarter of year 2021. $888 million as compared to 2020' Q1 $526 million. An increase of 69%."  

Last year, phase two of the much-touted China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement came into effect, which now allows Pakistani manufacturers and traders to export around 313 new products to the Chinese market with zero duties. 

Pakistan is already enjoying zero duties on exports of 724 products to China under the first free trade pact signed between the two countries in 2006. After implementation of the second pact, Pakistan has been now allowed to export more than 1,000 products to China with zero duties.  

According to Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI), China was the second largest destination for Pakistan’s exports in 2020 after the US. 

According to official data, Pakistan and China's bilateral trade volume grew to some $15.6 billion in the 2019 fiscal year, up from $2.2 billion in 2005. 

In 2019, Pakistan also signed an agreement with China to use Chinese currency for bilateral trade to get rid of the dollar burden in $15 billion bilateral trade. 

In the past, China-Pakistan ties were mainly of military and strategic importance. But now the economic relations of China-Pakistan are strengthening specially after the conclusion of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2007. 

The two longtime allies are also partnering in the multi-million-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious project to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to boost trade and stimulate economic growth.