Thu, September 17, 2026
Guiyang, China (Web Desk): Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has suggested forming a joint working group between Punjab and China’s Guizhou Province to deepen cooperation in digital technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and smart farming.
She said Punjab was actively looking to attract international investment and was willing to develop practical, long-term partnerships with China in areas that could produce tangible results.
The chief minister made the proposal while meeting Guizhou Party Secretary He Zhongyou and a Chinese delegation on the sidelines of the International Big Data Expo in Guiyang. According to an official handout issued on Saturday, she also called for a business and investment conference that would focus on technology transfer and the establishment of local manufacturing capabilities.
Maryam Nawaz further proposed cooperation in AI-driven medical diagnosis and extended an invitation to the Guizhou delegation to visit Lahore. She said the delegation could meet officials from relevant provincial departments, universities, chambers of commerce and potential business partners to identify opportunities for joint ventures.
She said China’s rapid digital transformation was reshaping the global economy and praised Guizhou for making particularly notable progress in the field of digital technology. Punjab, she added, wanted to study and benefit from the Chinese province’s experience.
The chief minister said Punjab was especially interested in China’s achievements in industrial development, digitalisation and rural transformation. She also highlighted China’s efforts to reduce poverty and improve the living standards of millions of people as an experience from which Punjab could learn.
According to Maryam Nawaz, Punjab and Guizhou had a number of similarities despite the difference in the scale of their economies. Both had large populations, substantial human resources and considerable potential across agriculture, manufacturing and services.
She said Punjab was Pakistan’s largest agricultural market, an important economic centre and the country’s food basket, contributing approximately 70 percent of Pakistan’s agricultural production.
Maryam Nawaz also outlined the pace of development taking place across Punjab, saying the provincial government had completed construction, rehabilitation and expansion work on nearly 50,000 roads over the past two and a half years.
She pointed to Punjab’s growing electric transport network as another area of progress. Chinese-manufactured environment-friendly electric buses, she said, were already operating in the province.
The chief minister added that Punjab had also benefited from China’s experience in addressing smog.
The provincial government, she said, was taking measures to increase forest cover and strengthen environmental protection.
Turning to artificial intelligence, Maryam Nawaz said Punjab was moving quickly to adopt the technology and had established an Office of Artificial Intelligence to promote its effective use in government and other sectors.
She said Punjab was keen to benefit from the expertise and technological advances of leading Chinese companies, including Huawei and Alibaba. AI-supported medical diagnosis, she added, could become an important area of future cooperation.
The chief minister said Punjab was also establishing a 1,000-bed cancer hospital, describing the facility as a new source of hope for cancer patients. She proposed giving the proposed joint working group a period of 12 months to develop a comprehensive project covering development, cooperation and mutual support between Punjab and Guizhou.
“Punjab is ready for development and partnership,” she said, stressing that Guizhou had advanced technology, dedication and a philosophy based on shared human well-being, while Punjab possessed a large young population, a sizeable market and a strong focus on urban development.
Maryam Nawaz said Punjab’s demographic profile offered another major advantage for investors, with about 65 percent of the province’s population below the age of 30. She said the young population could provide extensive opportunities for investment, manufacturing and economic expansion.
She stressed that future cooperation between Punjab and Guizhou should not remain limited to traditional economic activities. Instead, she called for greater emphasis on productivity, value-added manufacturing, technological advancement and partnerships involving the private sector.
Discussing the broader relationship between Pakistan and China, the chief minister noted that the two countries were celebrating the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year.
She said the friendship between the two nations was much deeper than official relations between governments. According to her, it had developed into a people-to-people bond based on confidence, mutual respect, affection, cooperation and support.
Maryam Nawaz said generations of Pakistani leaders had contributed to strengthening this friendship. She particularly mentioned her father, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, saying he had always attached great importance to Pakistan-China relations.
She also praised Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for his persistent efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
The chief minister said she considered it a privilege to have the opportunity to play a role in further developing the longstanding Pakistan-China friendship.
She also spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping, praising his vision, determination and approach towards development. She said his emphasis on shared prosperity, common human objectives, security, stability and respect for the sovereignty of nations was an approach worth following.
Maryam Nawaz described her visit to Guizhou and her meeting with Chinese officials as a fortunate opportunity and expressed the hope that the visit would lead to a new, practical phase of cooperation between Punjab and Guizhou.
She also wished China continued progress and a prosperous future for its people. The chief minister assured the Chinese side that the safety, security and facilitation of Chinese citizens living in Punjab would continue to be a top priority for the provincial government.
She reiterated her invitation for the Guizhou team to visit Lahore and explore potential areas of cooperation with Punjab’s government institutions, universities and private-sector organisations.
Maryam Nawaz said she was confident that the respective strengths of Punjab and Guizhou could complement one another and ultimately result in concrete projects, increased investment, technology transfer and new employment opportunities.
During the meeting, the chief minister introduced members of her delegation and pointed out that most of Punjab’s provincial ministers were young, with the majority below 50 years of age.
She particularly praised Senior Minister and Planning and Environment Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb for her work aimed at tackling air pollution.
She also introduced Information and Culture Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, Irrigation Minister Kazim Pirzada, Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Ashiq Hussain Kirmani and Provincial Adviser Ali Mustafa Dar, who heads Punjab’s Office of Artificial Intelligence.
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