Informed sources said a Chinese delegation has been engaging with Pakistan authorities for a government-to-government (G2G) deal on the country’s largest industrial complex which shutdown operations in June 2015.

In this regard, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Industries and Production Muhammad Hammad Azhar presided over a meeting on economic and industrial cooperation under CPEC to address outstanding issues. The sale of PSM to Chinese state-run firms under the G2G arrangement also came up for discussions.

The sources told Dawn that during the meeting, also attended by privatisation minister and secretaries of finance and privatisation, authorities explained to the Chinese side that G2G arrangement on PSM was not possible under the country’s privatisation law and the entity was now on top of the divestment list and at an advance stage.Beijing aiming for G2G deal on Pakistan Steel Mills

Sources said the Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation was earlier expected to be signed during the Joint Cooperation Committee of the meeting tentatively scheduled in the last week of March.

An official statement said Federal Minister for Privatisation Muhammadmian Soomro, CPEC Authority Chairman Lt Gen Retd Asim Saleem Bajwa, Chinese Ambassador in Islamabad Nong Rong and Federal Secretaries for Finance and Privatisation Commission attended the meeting.