Lahore, The Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) is advocating for a significant shift towards a digital economy in Pakistan, inspired by China's successful model. This move, proposed by PCJCCI President Moazzam Ghurki, is aimed at modernizing Pakistan’s industrial sector and fostering economic growth through digitalization.

According to Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Moazzam Ghurki discussed the transformation of Pakistan's industrial economy to a digital one at a PCJCCI think tank meeting. He emphasized the importance of establishing integrated computing network hubs across the country, similar to China's approach. These hubs, he suggested, should be set up in major Pakistani cities including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Hyderabad, and Gilgit Baltistan.

Fang Yulong, Senior Vice President of PCJCCI, highlighted that China plans to build national integrated computing network hubs as part of its strategy to enhance "new infrastructure" construction and promote green, high-quality development of the digital economy. Yulong noted that such a network in Pakistan could facilitate the free flow of data, spur economic growth, and support the national big data strategy. He stressed the importance of building large-scale data centers and data center clusters in key regions to support various industries like telemedicine, financial securities, and industrial internet.

Hamza Khalid, Vice President of PCJCCI, added that this initiative would balance data center development between eastern and western regions of Pakistan, fostering innovation in big data applications and improving computing resource efficiency. He mentioned China's big data sector's rapid growth during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), which achieved an annual sales figure of 1 trillion yuan ($156 billion).

Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General of PCJCCI, stated that the big data industry would be instrumental in transitioning from an industrial to a digital economy. He advocated for the acceleration of 5G network development and 1,000M fiber optic networks to create a new intelligent ecosystem in Pakistan.

This digital transformation strategy, as proposed by PCJCCI, aims to not only modernize Pakistan’s economy but also position it as a leader in the digital age, drawing inspiration from China's technological advancements and infrastructure development.