Pakistan has promising digital future: Chinese expert

According to a prominent Chinese authority, Pakistan possesses a promising digital future and it is an emerging digital economy that is facing both opportunities and challenges. 

In an interview with China Economic Net, Vice Chairman of China Association for International Economic Cooperation (CAFIEC) Dai Xulong talked extensively about Pakistan’s potential as a digital economy. 

“As an emerging economy, Pakistan is facing both opportunities and challenges. It is considered to be the fifth-largest young country in the world,” Dai said. 

“Around 63 percent population of the country comprises youth aged between 15 and 33. The large proportion of young people means they are adaptable but they have weak spending power.” 

Dai offered market segmentation as a viable solution to the problem of weak spending power. 

“Some Chinese phone brands’ performance in Pakistan has been impressive in recent years,” Dai observed. “So to divide a target market into smaller, more defined categories would definitely help win more market share; that’s what we could share with our Pakistani brothers.” 

The expert also noted how, while COVID-19 had negatively affected the global real economy, the digital economy still had room to grow and was in fact thriving. 

“We would like to share our experience in developing digital technology and scientific and technological innovation with Pakistan, but it takes a process,” Dai explained, pointing out that the development of digital economy cannot be achieved without the development of digital infrastructure. 

China needs to take note of the importance of digital infrastructure when working with countries with weak digital infrastructure like Pakistan to promote its development of digital economy, he further mentioned.