“Pakistan should take solid steps to bolster reforms related to the market-oriented allocation of data elements and speed up the construction of digital infrastructure, including the Industrial Internet and computing power networks, as part of its broader push to advance the building of a Digital Pakistan, just like Digital China.”

Zafar Iqbal, Vice President
Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry
March 6, 2025

Executive Summary

A senior Pakistan–China business official has urged Pakistan to use Digital China as a model for its national digital development, highlighting China’s approach to data markets, computing infrastructure, and integrated digital systems. Speaking at a March 2025 meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vice President Zafar Iqbal recommended adapting elements of China’s national digital strategy to advance Digital Pakistan. The proposal offers an early indication of Digital China’s potential influence beyond China’s borders, although it does not establish that Pakistan has formally adopted the Chinese model.

Model Digital Pakistan on Digital China

A senior Pakistan–China business official explicitly urged Pakistan to model “Digital Pakistan” on “Digital China,” an important signal that China’s system-level national digital strategy is beginning to influence how other countries conceptualize their own digital governance and development paths.

The Associated Press of Pakistan has summarized a March 6 think-tank meeting at the Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Secretariat. During the discussion, PCJCCI Vice President Zafar Iqbal highlighted key elements of the 2023 Digital China Plan and broader aspects of China’s national digital strategy, Digital China.

Most notably, Iqbal recommended that Pakistan’s own digital initiative, Digital Pakistan,1 be modeled directly on Digital China. While this idea surfaces periodically in Pakistani commentary, it is notable that, as of March 2025, the official Digital Pakistan website did not reference Digital China, even as Pakistani analysts explored how China’s systems-level digital strategy might apply to Pakistan’s governance, economic development, and infrastructure goals.

The meeting’s summary was republished by both UrduPoint and Business Recorder. No details were provided about the participants or the broader agenda.

Footnote

  1. The official Digital Pakistan website notes: “Pakistan introduced its first ‘Digital Pakistan policy’ back in 2018. The primary aim of this policy was to bolster the IT industry by building a digital ecosystem. Taking a step forward PM Imran Khan launched a ‘Digital Pakistan Vision’ in December 2019 with an aim of enhancing connectivity, improving digital infrastructure, increasing investment in digital skills, promoting innovation, and tech. entrepreneurship.” The website adds that “Tania Aidrus, who quit her position as a Google executive in order to lead the ‘Digital Pakistan Vision’ initiative, is of the view that the digital policy 2018 needs revisiting.” ↩︎

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