On July 2nd, Hou Jianxin, Chairman of Shandong Xinxu Group, held talks with Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Parwaz Malik in Islamabad. Hou formally submitted an investment plan covering the entire energy value chain to the Minister, encompassing four major sectors: upstream oil and gas exploration and development, refinery upgrading and transformation, energy equipment manufacturing, and coastal integrated energy infrastructure construction. This marks another significant cooperative intention in the energy sector within the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Upstream Reserve and Production Increase: The plan proposes to increase Pakistan's domestic oil and gas production through oilfield optimization, drilling technology services, and capacity transformation, while simultaneously developing offshore oil and gas exploration and development to broaden resource acquisition channels.

Refining and Efficiency Improvement: For existing refineries, the plan includes installing fluidized bed catalytic cracking (FCC) units to efficiently convert low-value fuel oil into high-value-added products such as gasoline and diesel, effectively optimizing the oil supply structure and reducing import dependence.

Equipment Manufacturing and Regional Expansion: The plan proposes to build an energy equipment production base, meeting Pakistan's domestic needs while targeting the Middle East export market, creating a regional manufacturing and maintenance center.

Coastal Integrated Development: The plan includes the construction of an integrated energy industrial city, complemented by an LNG receiving terminal, oil storage terminal, petrochemical industrial park, sulfur processing plant, and lead mine development projects, forming a complete industrial chain cluster effect from resource import to deep processing.

Pakistani Petroleum Minister Malik highly praised the plan, stating that the government will provide full-process policy support for commercially viable projects and has instructed the Ministry of Petroleum to assign dedicated personnel to each cooperative project to ensure efficient progress. He emphasized that this move will strongly promote Pakistan's energy self-sufficiency and industrial upgrading, serving as another example of pragmatic cooperation under the framework of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative, Central Asian cooperation, trade exceeding 100 billion, connectivity, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, action plan implementation

This comprehensive investment plan not only demonstrates the determination of Chinese private enterprises to deeply cultivate the Pakistani energy market but also injects new momentum into the high-quality construction of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. With the gradual implementation of subsequent projects, both sides are expected to achieve deeper mutual benefit and win-win results in the energy sector. Editor/Sunyaxin