Geng Shuang at regular press conference (Photo from Foreign Ministry website)

Measures aiming to lower bilateral tariff levels under the upgraded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and Pakistan took effect on January 1, Geng Shuang, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday.

Under the upgraded FTA, which came into force on December 1 last year, the two neighbors will gradually liberalize 75 percent of their total tariff lines compared with 35 percent in the previous version. Upgrades and revisions were also made to sections dealing with market access, investment, customs and other areas.

Bilateral trade reached $19.08 billion in 2018, with Pakistani exports to China increasing 18.7 percent year-on-year to $2.17 billion, Chinese official data showed. Trade volume in 2018 was 3.6 times that of 2006, before the original China-Pakistan FTA was signed.

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners, Geng said, and the relationship between the two countries has good momentum for development. China is willing to work with Pakistan to consolidate political mutual trust, deepen all-round cooperation including trade and investment, promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and bring more benefits for people from the two countries, Geng said.

China and Pakistan signed the upgraded FTA in April last year, as the two close neighbors sought to strengthen their bilateral economic and trade ties and deepen cooperation under the CPEC, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.