On May 24, Pakistani and Chinese officials, business leaders and investors gathered in Hangzhou, in China’s Zhejiang province, for the Pakistan-China B2B (Business-to-Business) Investment Conference. More than 500 leading enterprises from both countries attended the event, where Islamabad and Beijing signed several new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

The Pakistan-China B2B investment conferences are a series of meetings between the two countries to enhance strategic and economic ties through tech and other sector-specific partnerships. The first conference was held in Shenzhen in June 2024, which resulted in several commercial agreements. Over 600 Chinese companies participated in the second conference in September 2025, when the two countries signed 21 joint agreements and 148 MoUs, and bilateral accords worth $8.5 billion across many sectors.

The most recent conference, the third in the series, was focused on technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), telecommunication, agriculture, fintech, and energy storage. Pakistani officials touted the engagements as a new phase of economic cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

For Islamabad, already on a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and struggling with unrelenting economic and political instability, the promise of new investments and economic partnerships offers some hope of relief from financial pressures, especially at a time when trade disruptions and high energy costs due to the U.S.-Iran conflict have worsened the economic condition of the country.

However, Islamabad’s continuous reliance on Chinese investment, which the Pakistani officials call “economic diplomacy,” is often criticized as “debt trap diplomacy.” Many question the long-term economic implications of the investments, mainly because there is very limited clarity on how much of this financing constitutes loans, direct investments or other forms of financial assistance.

For example, CPEC, which was initially projected to involve projects worth $45.6 billion, has already surpassed an estimated $62 billion. There is little transparency on how these projects are being funded, the kind of loans that Pakistan is accumulating, and the extent and timeline of repayment obligations.

Regardless, can rebranding CPEC and the new investments and partnerships through B2B conferences actually make any economic impact in the country?

For an economy struggling with debt, political instability and repeated security challenges, any new foreign investment opportunity is welcome as a way to keep the economy afloat. Even as Chinese officials and companies frequently criticize Islamabad for project delays, security risks, especially in the Balochistan province, and although CPEC may have lost most of the momentum it once had, both Islamabad and Beijing remain unwilling to let the initiative lose relevance any time soon.

For Pakistan, the major incentive is the inflow of Chinese investment, and for China, beyond economics, CPEC is of long-term strategic importance. Because of Gwadar Port’s geographic position and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, having a foothold in the region through CPEC remains important for China.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has also positioned itself as a mediator in the U.S.-Iran conflict. For Pakistan, such diplomacy is important not only geopolitically but also to further its economic interests, as maintaining strategic relevance in the region may help Islamabad secure continued economic and political support from China as well as from Gulf countries.

Hence, the new Chinese investment through B2B accords and a renewed emphasis on the CPEC are coming at a time when Pakistan is actively seeking both economic relief as well as geopolitical importance. At the same time, the future of CPEC’s Phase II also depends on the broader geopolitical situation.

China is also renewing its relationship with the U.S after years of tensions. Whether that relationship improves or frays will impact countries like Pakistan, which rely on Western financial institutions like the IMF on the one hand, even as they are tied to Chinese investments. But, unlike the previous investments, which were state-backed and focused on infrastructure, the B2B model is more of a commercial and business-driven partnership.

Many find the recent B2B conference’s focus on technology to be contradictory to the reality on the ground.

In recent years, the digital environment in Pakistan has been very restrictive. While Pakistan is promoting its IT sector and digital commerce through agreements with Chinese companies, its policies at home have resulted in internet shutdowns, digital surveillance and controlled online spaces, which are making work in the tech sector challenging.

Whether the B2B agreements with China turn into economic opportunities for Pakistan or are shelved remains to be seen. It is evident, however, that both Islamabad and Beijing still see strategic value in keeping the economic corridor politically and economically relevant, even when the regional and global political and economic environment around it is in a state of flux.