The purpose of this study is to determine and compare the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and banks' performance in China and Pakistan. The data are acquired from listed banks in these two countries during 2010-2018. The Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC ™ ) method is applied as a measure of IC. The results show that capital employed efficiency (CEE) makes the highest contribution to bank performance in both countries. In addition, the profitability of listed Chinese banks is driven by structural capital efficiency (SCE), while human capital efficiency (HCE) positively affects bank profitability and productivity in Pakistan. In addition, we find that the lagged effect of IC has a positive impact on future bank profitability. This study supports greater investment in IC in order to further improve bank performance in emerging Asian markets.Sustainability 2019, 11, 6582 2 of 23 infrastructure, which can bring great facility for companies. Following this, for the ease of channelizing the business transactions, the Bank of China (BOC) commenced its first branch in 2017 in Karachi, the financial capital city of Pakistan. However, before this only the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) operated in Pakistan. Both ICBC and BOC are listed Chinese banks. China and Pakistan are emerging Asian financial markets with good neighborly relations and close cooperation [24]. In emerging markets, the financing and lending role of the banking sector is utmost important for ensuring a sustained economy [17].According to the World Bank, bank capital to assets ratio in China grows from 6.60% to 8.56%, while Pakistan witnesses a downward trend (see Figure 1). Although the nonperforming loans to total gross loans in Pakistan gradually declines over the period 2014-2017, this ratio in China is much lower than that in Pakistan (See Figure 2). Haneef et al. [25] concluded that nonperforming loans have an adverse effect on the performance of banks in Pakistan. These indicate that the Chinese banking industry is much healthier than the Pakistani banking industry, and Pakistani banks operate with relatively higher risk exposure. However, the Pakistani banking system is more open as many foreign banks operating in Pakistan compared to the Chinese banking system [26]. Recently, China has revised the Regulations on the Administration of Foreign-funded Banks to lower the threshold of establishing foreign branches in China, which can stimulate the vitality of banking sector and improve the competitiveness of Chinese and foreign financial institutions. The opening up of the Chinese banking sector will provide opportunities for Pakistani banks to establish their branches in China. Considering that the competition among banks will become severer with financial liberalization, banks will expand their operation in the international market [27]. It will require that banks fully utilize local resources to improve the competitiveness under different business environment. We choose these two countries for comparison, not ...