Pakistan urged to tap China’s services boom for IT, BPO exports
- CIFTIS 2026 in Beijing drew more than 1,800 exhibitors and 1,200 outcomes.
- More than 470 Fortune Global 500 and industry-leading firms attended on site.
- FPCCI’s president called for a structured services-export strategy.
- IT, BPO, software and fintech were named as target sectors.
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan is being urged to build a dedicated strategy to sell information technology (IT), business process outsourcing and other knowledge-based services into China’s fast-growing services economy, rather than relying on traditional merchandise exports.
The call follows the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, which drew more than 1,800 exhibitors from China and abroad and recorded more than 1,200 outcomes.
FPCCI wants follow-through after trade fairs
More than 470 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises took part on site, while over 5,300 companies joined online, The Nation reported, citing media reports.
Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), said Pakistan had particular potential in IT and IT-enabled services, software development, fintech, digital marketing, business process outsourcing and professional consultancy.
“Pakistan’s key competitive advantages include a large and young talent pool, a growing IT and digital ecosystem, competitive operating costs, English-language capabilities, and increasing expertise in software, freelancing and technology-based services,” Sheikh said.
He pointed to gaps in awareness of the Chinese market, language and cultural differences, certification requirements and knowledge of Chinese procurement systems.
“Pakistan should therefore move from an event-based approach to a structured services-export strategy,” Sheikh said.
He proposed business-to-business matchmaking, sector-specific trade missions, dedicated facilitation desks and mechanisms to track business leads until they result in contracts.
China’s AI shift could lift demand for BPO
Aadil Nakhoda, a research fellow at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, said China’s shift toward artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization was likely to generate substantial demand for business process outsourcing, data processing and IT-enabled services.
“There is considerable scope to facilitate Pakistani service providers’ participation in China’s expanding digital economy,” Nakhoda said.
He called for cooperation on standards recognition, regulatory coordination, licensing procedures and digital trade rules to support partnerships between Pakistani and Chinese firms.
For Pakistani providers, China’s services demand could add a new market for business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) work, if trade fair contacts turn into contracts.
Buyers comparing the top BPO companies worldwide will watch whether Pakistan can close the language, certification and procurement gaps its own business leaders identified.
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- Pakistan call centers hit record $392Mn in exports: report · 1 Sep
- Pakistan’s IT exports hit a record $4.6 billion · 21 Jul
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