A round table conference was organised at the Centre of Excellence, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan Institute for Development Economics (PIDE), here on Monday to outline the preliminary thoughts for consideration and development of state-owned enterprises by the government. The participants included Yao Jing, ambassador of China to Pakistan; Dr Asad Zaman, Vice-Chancellor PIDE; Istaqbal Mehdi, Chairman Al-Aman (Pvt) Ltd; Dr Arshad Zaman, former chief economist Planning Commission; Dr Shahid Rashid, Executive Director Centre of Excellence, and other dignitaries. Ambassador Yao Jing overviewed the Chinese ‘opening up’ reforms from 1978 till present. He also narrated as to how China built its economic strength over the years in different phases while introducing and implementing further reforms in the state-owned enterprises. “The key to state-owned enterprises development in China relies on two factors: management and ownership. Management was modernized, aligned and tailored according to the Chinese way of development while ownership still pertains to the state,” he said. “Sharing experiences by both countries can enable Pakistan to reform the state-owned enterprises. The CPEC projects, especially the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), can bridge the gap between state-owned enterprises of China and Pakistan,” he added. PIDE VC Dr Asad Zaman explained the importance of state-owned enterprises and stressed that Pakistan needs to introduce both economic and social reforms in the right direction and China can prove to be a great help in this respect. The other participants discussed at length the importance of reform in state-owned enterprises and stressed the need to hold further consultations in the future. Published in Daily Times, November 13th 2018.