BEIJING, Jan 25: Around 70 delegates representing prominent Chinese companies have given their confirmation officially to attend the Expo 2005, scheduled to be held in Karachi early next month.

Besides the official-level participation, nearly 80 to 100 Chinese businessmen are also expected to attend this mega event in their individual capacity, said Shahid Mahmood, Commercial Counselor of the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing.

He told APP here on Tuesday that Chinese companies are showing great interest in the exhibitions and wish to avail this opportunity for furthering cementing trade ties between the two countries.

Some Chinese provinces will be sending official delegations to the Expo-2005. These provinces include Shandong, Yunnan, Liaoning and Xinjiang Autonomous region, besides a delegation from Beijing. Representatives of China's Textile Corporation will also attend the event.

This major participation reflects the growing interest from the Chinese side to develop the Sino-Pak economic partnership. This is in spite of the fact that the exhibition takes at the advent of the annual spring festival, when the most of the Chinese prefer to stay home.

Shahid Mahmood said that the Chinese companies are mainly interested in enhancing bilateral collaboration in textile, marble and granite and Chemical sectors. "We hope that the exhibition will help the two sides to undertake some joint ventures," he added.

The exhibition will provide a good opportunity to have first-hand knowledge of Pakistan's export potential and the recent economic progress in the country. Currently, more than 70 per cent of Pakistan's exports to China are cotton yarn or cotton fabric.

The rest are leather products, minerals and seafood. China's main shipments to Pakistan include machinery equipment, chemicals, electronics and foot-ware. Now Pakistan intends to sell more grain, fruit and vegetables to China. The exhibition is likely to give boost to Chinese investment in Pakistan as well. -APP