Pakistan, June 24 -- The global economy is undergoing one of its most significant transformations since the rise of globalization in the 1990s. For decades, businesses pursued efficiency above all else, shifting production to wherever costs were lowest. China emerged as the undisputed factory of the world, producing everything from smartphones and solar panels to automobiles and industrial machinery. However, recent geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and strategic rivalries have prompted governments and corporations to rethink this model. A new era of "friendshoring" and "nearshoring" has begun, and it is reshaping the future of global manufacturing.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of overreliance on a sin...