On December 9, Her Excellency Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Group) and Chief Minister of Punjab, led a delegation to China for a visit and held bilateral talks with the Bluetech Clean Air Alliance (BCAA).
BCAA Director Xie Hongxing（Tonny Xie） was invited to give a presentation on the Alliance and elaborated on China's clean air roadmap, as well as the progress and experience in addressing haze issues over the past decade. During the talks, Her Excellency Maryam Nawaz Sharif and senior officials of the visiting delegation exchanged views with BCAA representatives on issues of common concern. China has achieved remarkable results and accumulated rich experience in the fight against air pollution from 2013 to 2023, and China's experience can provide reference for the Punjab government to achieve its clean air goals. China's innovative green technologies can also provide good support for Punjab to win the battle for blue skies.
Her Excellency Maryam Nawaz Sharif stated that BCAA is a leading think tank in China on clean air and energy issues, with extensive knowledge, experience, technical capabilities, and cooperation resources to support the Punjab government in addressing air pollution issues.
Witnessed by Her Excellency Maryam Nawaz Sharif and representatives from both China and Pakistan, BCAA, the Punjab government, and Punjab Bank jointly signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote further cooperation. The MOU mainly involves the following: jointly exploring the introduction of BCAA green technology enterprises to tailor cost-effective and impactful fog and haze control solutions for Punjab; cooperating with Punjab Bank to hold the "BCAA Competition" to discover locally applicable, scalable, and sustainable technological solutions in Punjab with the support of BCAA; and BCAA supporting Punjab in carrying out related capacity-building and coordinating related investment activities.
Director Xie Hongxing and Her Excellency Maryam Nawaz Sharif exchanged gifts, and both sides expressed their strong willingness to continue deepening exchanges in cooperation on related projects in the future and create a successful model for regional clean air management and climate change response.
During this bilateral meeting, more than 30 representatives, including Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Minister of Information Azma Zahid Bokhari, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Syed Ashiq Hussain, Minister of Transport Bilal Akbar, and Pakistani Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi, as well as BCAA Supervisor Zhou Yuguang, Senior Advisor Li Bin, Project Director He Hong, and Alliance enterprise representative Wang Xiaoli, attended the talks. Relevant leaders from the CPC International Liaison Department also participated in the meeting.
About Punjab, Pakistan:
Located in eastern Pakistan, Punjab covers an area of approximately 205,000 square kilometers. It is Pakistan's most populous province and its largest economy, contributing more than 60% to Pakistan's GDP. Punjab produces 90% of Pakistan's paper, 75% of fertilizers, 70% of sugar, and 40% of cement. Punjab is also the only province capable of supplying food to neighboring provinces, producing nearly 80% of the country's food. Punjab's importance also lies in its military and political influence. During elections, it is often said that "winning Punjab is equivalent to winning Pakistan."
About Her Excellency Maryam Nawaz Sharif:
Maryam Nawaz Sharif is the daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Group) and Chief Minister of Punjab. Maryam has clear views on politics, economy, and social development, especially in promoting environmental protection, clean energy, agricultural modernization, and information technology development.
About Bluetech Clean Air Alliance (BCAA):
The Zhongguancun Bluetech Clean Air Industry Alliance (BCAA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the development of clean air technologies and industries and accelerating the improvement of global air quality through technology transfer, technology evaluation and demonstration, investment services, patent protection, policy research, and other work. BCAA evolved from the China Clean Air Alliance. In January 2013, the China Clean Air Alliance was jointly initiated by ten core research institutes in the field of clean air in China, aiming to accelerate the improvement of China's air quality and reduce the harm of air pollution to public health by supporting the formulation and implementation of clean air policies. Since its establishment, the Alliance has carried out a series of research projects related to clean air, established pilot projects in 12 provinces and cities, published more than 60 policy and market research reports, evaluated more than 600 clean technologies from 22 countries, and established cooperation with partner institutions in more than 20 countries.
