President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday invited Chinese investment into “priority sectors,” particularly alternative energy sources, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The president arrived in China on Saturday for a week-long visit to the Hunan and Hainan provinces for engagements related to economic and trade cooperation.

President Zardari held a meeting with the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hangzhou Jinjiang Group, Wang Jian, in Sanya, where he invited the Chinese company to invest in “priority sectors, including alternate energy, water treatment, and electric vehicle battery systems”, according to Radio Pakistan.

The president, according to the report, “noted that Pakistan is actively encouraging foreign investment in various sectors, especially water treatment, electric vehicle battery systems and alternate energy”.

“Such partnerships could support sustainable growth and industrial development,” the report said, adding that President Zardari assured the company of “all possible facilitation to foreign companies seeking to invest in the province, particularly under private partnership frameworks”.

The report added that the president was also briefed that the “Hangzhou Jinjiang Group is already engaged in multiple projects in Pakistan and ranks among the top one hundred business groups in China, with operations spanning heavy industry, fertiliser, oil and gas, coal gasification, renewable energy, agriculture and irrigation”.

President Zardari has held a range of engagements during his China visit so far, including the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in water desalination, agricultural technology, and the tea industry.