ISLAMABAD, Sep 1 (Alliance News): The Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), in collaboration with the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, organized a high-level Pakistan-China Green Development Dialogue on the sidelines of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China, focusing on operationalizing Green Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under CPEC.
At the dialogue, PCI launched a policy paper titled “From Policy to Practice: Operationalizing Green Special Economic Zones under CPEC via China’s Eco-Industrial Parks Lessons.”
The study, authored by Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Muhammad Umar Farooq, and Professor Tian Jinping, adapts lessons from China’s eco-industrial parks (EIPs) to Pakistan’s SEZs with a focus on infrastructure, financing, operations, and data-driven management.
The event brought together policymakers, researchers, and industry experts, including Minister of State for Climate Change Dr. Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal, Professor Tian Jinping of Tsinghua University, Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of PCI, Xu Tianqi, Director of Area Studies at RDCY, Renmin University, Dr. Erfa Iqbal, Additional Secretary and EDG-II at BOI, Professor Bi Kejia of Xi’an International Studies University, and PCI Senior Researcher Muhammad Umar Farooq.
In his remarks, Professor Tian Jinping said the priority was turning ideas into site-level action in Pakistan’s SEZs. “China’s eco-industrial parks worked because we set clear standards, built shared utilities, and backed decisions with verified data,” he noted.
“When parks share treatment plants, steam, and heat-recovery systems, costs fall and compliance improves.”
Mustafa Hyder Sayed emphasized practical implementation, stressing that Green SEZs will succeed when cleaner production reduces costs for firms. He underlined the need for bankable shared utilities, simple rules for SMEs, and incentives tied to performance.
The paper recommends standardizing contracts, publishing KPIs, and embedding data-sharing in SEZ operations to ensure efficiency and accountability.
Delivering the keynote, Dr. Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal said Pakistan must learn from China’s experience and adapt it locally. “The green transition does not mean turning all lights off; it means turning better lights on,” she said.
“Our goal is a competitive industry that uses fewer resources, cuts pollution, and creates jobs.” She called for alignment between federal and provincial policies to ensure industries receive consistent signals and support.
Muhammad Umar Farooq outlined China’s eco-industrial evolution, from early pilots such as the Guitang sugar complex, which turned residues into inputs for paper, cement, and power, to modern models like TEDA, which adopted digital by-product matchmaking.
He stressed that Pakistan should follow a “pilot, measure, and scale” model, with simple, verifiable benchmarks.
From the Board of Investment (BOI), Dr. Erfa Iqbal highlighted investment enablement, noting that over 300 Pakistani companies had joined the Prime Minister’s delegation to China. She said SMEs would be supported with pooled procurement of monitoring equipment, green credit lines, and viability-gap funding for shared utilities.
“All instruments will be embedded in the SEZ one-window system with clear timelines and bundled technical assistance,” she added.
On financing models, Xu Tianqi proposed nominating two SEZs as green pilots by 2025–26, backed by blended financing.
He said concessional policy-bank loans could fund wastewater treatment and steam networks, while sovereign guarantees could reduce borrowing costs. “Performance-based subsidies should be tied to verified savings in energy, water, and emissions,” he added.
Professor Bi Kejia underlined the need for strict KPIs, including by-product exchange rates, greenhouse gas intensity per unit of output, and park-level water reuse ratios.
He recommended monthly monitoring, interoperable meters, and transparent dashboards to ensure SMEs as well as anchor firms could participate.
Liu Shuming, Dean at Tsinghua University, stressed the importance of measurable and financeable solutions. “Park-level utilities make compliance cheaper when designed once and shared widely.
Standards give parks a common language, and training ensures systems run safely,” he said. He reaffirmed Tsinghua’s support for research and capacity-building for Pakistan’s green SEZs.
The policy paper concludes with a concrete action plan: adopt eco-industrial standards, finance shared utilities with blended capital, embed SME support in SEZ frameworks, and deploy digital platforms for energy and by-product exchange.
The dialogue reflected a strong commitment by Pakistan and China to translate green development concepts into practical steps, ensuring that CPEC not only accelerates industrial growth but also aligns with sustainability and environmental protection.
