The weekly has been operating from Islamabad since two years. - Photo: contributor 

ISLAMABAD: With the recent influx of Chinese investment in Pakistan have arrived other avenues such as restaurants and language courses catering to Chinese nationals working in the country. 

It is in this light that Huashang ? the first Chinese weekly newspaper ? operates out of Islamabad.

According to BBC Urdu, the publication, which also has an English version, produces 5,000 copies a week and claims a readership of 60,000 people. The newspaper has been working in Pakistan for the past two years. 

The paper is mainly targeted towards Chinese embassy staff, its nationals living in Pakistan and those working on Chinese projects. 

In the Chinese language, ?Hua? means flower and ?Shang? means business, therefore, the literal meaning of Huashang is 'business of flower', or 'pure business'.

According to the Facebook page of the newspaper, Huashang was launched in response to the Chinese "One Belt, One Road" initiative to better promote enterprise-depth cooperation between China and Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Talking to BBC Urdu, the publication's chief editor said their focus is on news stories related to culture, tourism and recreational activities in both countries.

The publication is willing to transform into a daily newspaper and sees a bright future for Chinese language journalism in Pakistan.

According to senior member of the newspaper's staff, Arsalan Raza, there are 400,000 Chinese nationals in the country, with around 25,000 in Islamabad. He said there is thus a substantial readership for Chinese language publications in Pakistan.