Chinese people in Pakistan
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (10,000 (2009 est.)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Punjab
|
3,754 (2016) |
 Sindh
|
1,141 (2016) |
| Islamabad | 885 (2016) |
 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
698 (2016) |
 Balochistan
|
558 (2016) |
| Languages | |
| Chinese · Uyghur · English · Urdu · other languages of China | |
| Religion | |
| Islam · Buddhism, Taoism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Overseas Chinese | |
The Chinese people in Pakistan (Urdu: چینی) comprise one of the country's significant expatriate communities. There were estimated to be 10,000 Chinese people living and working in Pakistan as of 2009[update]. As of 2015, there were 8,112 Chinese workers in Pakistan. A further 7,000 Chinese professionals involved in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are expected to join the existing nationals, raising the total population to 15,000.
During the 1940s many Chinese Muslims fled unrest in China and settled in Karachi. However the Chinese community there is primarily of non-Muslim origins; their ancestors were Buddhists, but subsequent generations follow other religions or none at all. About 30% are estimated to have converted to Islam.
Most Chinese in Karachi are second generation children of immigrants—the oldest generation have mostly died off, while the third generation have emigrated to other countries. Common destinations for emigrants are the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, or to their ancestral country China. They rarely wear Chinese clothing, but still retain the Chinese language, though in recent years they have shown increasing language shift towards Urdu. Previously, the community was segregated by provincial origin, but with the establishment of a Chinese Committee to represent the community, they have become more integrated. They are concentrated in a few neighbourhoods, including near the PECHS and Tariq Road, as well as Saddar and more recently Clifton and Defence neighbourhoods in Saddar Town. The Clifton and Defense Society areas has about 15 Chinese restaurants; the area is sometimes unofficially referred to as "Chinatown". One of the more well-known of these, the ABC Chinese Restaurant, founded by Li Dianxian (李殿贤) in the 1930s, was once patronised by Zhou Enlai, and continued operating until 1988.
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