SHANGHANI: President Mamnoon Hussain on Saturday called upon the business communities of Karachi and Shanghai to play their role in bolstering Pakistan-China bilateral trade volume from the current over $12 billion to 15bn by 2015.

The President said this during his meeting with the Communist Party Secretary Shanghai, Hang Zheng here.

Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Prof Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi, and ambassadors of the two countries were present during the meeting.

Welcoming the President to Shanghai, Communist Party Secretary, Hang Zheng assured that Shanghai would contribute in a major way to the development of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, bilateral trade and in investment ties.

He also lauded the role of leadership of the two countries for anchoring relations between the two countries on solid foundations.

The president said that fruitful discussions with the Chinese leadership during his visit would help further deepen bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

The president expressed his delight to be in Shanghai, while Shanghai and Karachi were celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their sister-city relationship.

In connection with the anniversary celebrations, President Mamnoon invited Communist Party Secretary, Hang Zheng to visit Karachi along with a business delegation.

This would help bring the two commercial cities further closer and boost bilateral trade and commercial ties to new heights, besides exploring new avenues of trade and investment, he added.—APP