People associated with the hotel industry believe that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) significantly created huge opportunities benefitting the commercial entities on both sides of the border.

 

With the launch of CPEC in 2013, the visibility of the Chinese in public spaces has increased in the main cities of Pakistan. CPEC, the flagship project of the Belt and Road initiative(BRI) therefore has successfully paved a way of introducing Chinese cuisine in Pakistan.

 

 

I have been running this restaurant for over 20 years, back then we only had 8 tables but thanks to all the support from the local people and love for Chinese food that we were able to expand it. said Zhang Guo Gen, restaurant’s owner while talking to China Economic Net (CEN).

 

 

Kim Mun in downtown of the federal capital Islamabad is one of the most popular Chinese restaurants which reopen and back to business since the COVID-19 lockdown was eased by the government. It’s the oldest restaurant serving Chinese food since last 20 years. Kim Mun is running two branches in Islamabad, one in Jinnah super market and other in the well-known Centaurus Mall.

 

 

When asked about the response from local people being a Chinese in Pakistan, Zhang replied cheerfully “We have been living here as Pakistani for the past 30 years. You can say I am as Pakistani as anyone else here. Pakistani people are really friendly and welcoming, they never make you feel like an outsider. I love the food and culture here.”

 

During the Covid-19 pandemic and due to the lockdown, the hotel industry was also disastrously affected. Since the opening back and lockdown relaxation in August the restaurants are coming back to work. 

 

When inquired from Zhang about the business in Pakistan during Covid-19 period he told the CEN reporter that We take public health and safety very seriously, this pandemic is a serious problem and unfortunately we do not know when it’s going to end. In the past few months we did shut down our restaurant as per government’s request.

 

“It was very difficult time for us same like everyone else in the hospitality industry but on the other hand it gave me an opportunity to self-reflect and see what I can improve further.”

 

“I mean business is not as good as It used to be during the pre-COVID period but now slowly people are becoming more confident at coming to the restaurant. We take utmost importance in terms of hygiene and cleanliness to ensure customers satisfaction of coming to our restaurant for food.”

 

 

On Pakistan’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic Zhang replied “I feel like the Pakistani government are doing a great job, I mean on a data perspective Pakistan is handling the pandemic really well.”

 

“Pakistan as a country is very supportive  in terms of new business but you have to understand who your target market is and just focus on it”. The Kim Mun owner advised his countrymen who are interested to run a food business in Pakistan.

 

The inflow of Chinese nationals has greatly helped hotels and the restaurant industry to grow. According to the data from The Capital Development Authority (CDA) there are around 15 Chinese restaurants in total in the city while 12 among them were opened after 2013.

 

In addition, many Pakistani restaurants located in the cities included in CPEC projects have incorporated famous Chinese dishes in their traditional Pakistani menus following the presence of Chinese citizens there. The introduction of Chinese food has given a fresh look to Pakistani dining tables.