year plan which Pakistan and China are to launch next year should surprise no one, given the long-standing friendship that has characterized their relationship for almost six decades, says the Dawn newspaper online. Excerpts: The projects approved by the joint committee on science, trade and technical cooperation range from thermal, wind and nuclear power plants to plans that concern agriculture, communications, health, urban security, remote-sensing satellites and electronic complexes in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, among others. Even though trade between the two countries has been growing by 30 per cent a year, it is far below its potential. The two sides hope to increase it to $7bn because, as announced by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh at a joint press conference with Chinese Vice Minister for Commerce Gao Hucheng, Beijing has decided to lower tariffs on Pakistani exports, increase imports from this country and facilitate Pakistani businessmen in offering their products to such a large market as China. The big question is: are our public and private sectors in a position to utilize this opportunity and compete with other developing countries which have gained immensely from China's economic boom? Ever since China launched its economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s, the country has made astounding all-round progress and has become the world's second biggest economic power. Among the major reforms were the decisions to decentralize the economic policymaking apparatus, set up special economic zones (SEZs) and give powers to the provinces to contact foreign investors directly, thus cutting down on red tape. __
