China and Egypt Work Together for Development and Common Prosperity

China and Egypt are good friends who share the same aspirations and trust each other, as well as good partners who work together for development and common prosperity. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Over the past 10 years, the two heads of state have jointly led the flourishing development of bilateral relations. The China Egypt relationship has become a vivid portrayal of China's unity, cooperation, and mutual benefit with Arab, African, Islamic, and developing countries.

Jointly building the "the Belt and Road" has achieved fruitful results

On May 17th, the China Egypt "Dual Port and Dual Zone" Joint Development Promotion Association was held in the China Egypt Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (Teda Cooperation Zone) in Suez Province, Egypt. Institutions and enterprises from China and Egypt have signed multiple memorandums of understanding on cooperation.

Located in Suhnai Spring Port, Suez Province, Egypt, TEDA Cooperation Zone is a landmark project for the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the development plan of the Suez Canal Corridor in Egypt. Over a hundred Chinese funded enterprises within the TEDA Cooperation Zone have created tax revenue, stimulated employment, and injected impetus into the local economic development.

Walid Jamal Din, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority in Egypt, stated that the TEDA Cooperation Zone helps Egypt and regional countries develop and provides opportunities for all parties involved. Egypt will deepen cooperation with China and strive to promote the landing of more industries in Egypt, while expanding exports while meeting local consumer demand.

Egypt is one of the first countries to join the the Belt and Road Initiative. The two countries have carried out fruitful cooperation under the framework of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", and many projects undertaken by Chinese enterprises have been steadily implemented locally, benefiting the people of both sides.

As Egypt's first electrified railway, the Ramadan 10th City Light Rail connects the city of Cairo with the new administrative capital, Ramadan 10th City, and satellite cities along the eastern route, benefiting over 5 million residents; Since the completion and operation of the Exsadia 500 kV substation project for over a year, it has ensured the stability and reliability of the power grid and alleviated the power shortage in the region; The second phase container terminal of Sede East Port and the second container terminal of Sukhna have significantly improved the cargo throughput capacity of Egyptian ports, making important contributions to the development of the Suez Canal Corridor; China has successfully launched Egypt's second satellite into space and helped Egypt become the first African country with complete satellite assembly and testing capabilities

Dia Hermi, Secretary General of the Egyptian Egyptian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said that under the framework of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", the level of mutually beneficial cooperation between Egypt and China has continued to improve. A large number of cooperation projects have promoted trade exchanges and connectivity, bringing positive effects to the development of both countries.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi said that Egypt and China have achieved remarkable results in jointly building the "the Belt and Road". Egypt attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China, and is willing to establish a closer partnership with China to expand cooperation in various fields. Thank you to Chinese enterprises for making important contributions to Egypt's national construction and economic development. We welcome more enterprises to invest in Egypt.

Economic and trade investment cooperation is flourishing

China has maintained its position as Egypt's largest trading partner and is also one of the most active and fastest-growing countries in investment in Egypt in recent years. High quality agricultural products such as fresh oranges, grapes, frozen strawberries, dates, and fresh pomegranates from Egypt have successively landed in the Chinese market. Last September, the General Administration of Customs of China issued a notice allowing fresh Egyptian mangoes that meet plant quarantine requirements to be imported into China. The relevant departments of both sides are actively promoting the export of Egyptian dried chili peppers to China.

Egypt was one of the guest countries at the first China International Import Expo and has participated in the expo for six consecutive years. The 7th CIIE Promotion Conference was held in April this year in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Egyptian politicians and businessmen attending the event expressed that Egyptian companies look forward to continuing to expand their market in China and share the benefits of China's development by participating in the CIIE. Sherif Mawaldi, Chairman of the Egyptian General Administration of Exhibition and Conference, said that the CIIE provides a great opportunity for Egyptian companies to showcase and sell Egyptian products, and to promote "Made in Egypt" globally. Many Egyptian companies are also preparing to participate in the 7th CIIE this year.

Driving northeast from Cairo for over an hour, you will arrive at the Haier Egypt Ecological Park located in the city of Ramadan 10th. In the spacious and bright factory building, the air conditioning, washing machine, and television assembly lines are all concentrated in a spacious space. Local workers are proficient in their work under the guidance of Chinese masters, and the processing of electronic circuits, casings, heat sinks, and other processes is carried out in an orderly manner.

In May of this year, Haier Egypt Ecological Park officially opened. In the park, the air conditioning and television production lines began trial production in March this year, and with the washing machine production line put into operation in May, the annual production capacity of household appliances is nearly one million units. Refrigerators, freezers, and other categories have been included in the second phase plan of the project. The entire elements and process of the park are visible and controllable, which not only optimizes resource allocation and management decisions, but also accurately analyzes the energy consumption of water and electricity in the park, effectively saving energy. Ahmed Mossad Jandi, General Manager of Haier Egypt Trading Company, stated that the ecological park will create over 3000 job opportunities in the local area.

China is deepening cooperation with Egypt to create new growth points in areas such as cloud computing, digital economy, and artificial intelligence, helping Egypt's digital transformation. Not long ago, Huawei's public cloud Cairo node, operated by Chinese companies, was officially launched. This is the first public cloud service in Egypt and even northern Africa, providing over 200 cloud services including artificial intelligence platforms, data platforms, and development platforms. It is reported that in the next five years, Huawei will cultivate 10000 local developers and 100000 digital professionals in the local area, promoting local digital transformation.

The First Vice Chairman of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, Sharif Yahya, stated that China is Egypt's largest trading partner, and Egypt is an important trading partner of China in the African region. The Cairo Chamber of Commerce is committed to seeking trade and investment cooperation opportunities for Egyptian Chinese enterprises and providing corresponding convenience.

Civilization exchange, mutual learning, beauty and cooperation

In July this year, the "Summit of the Pyramid: Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition" will open at the Shanghai Museum. The exhibition will showcase over 700 cultural relics from different periods of ancient Egyptian civilization, of which over 95% are first-time visitors to Asia, making it the largest exhibition of ancient Egyptian cultural relics in Asia.

Ismail, Secretary General of the Supreme Cultural Relics Committee of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Relics, stated that this exhibition will showcase the profound historical connection between Egypt and China that has lasted for thousands of years. The joint hosting of this exhibition by Egypt and China can promote cooperation between cultural institutions of the two countries, promote joint efforts between the two sides, and jointly build an open and inclusive society.

Both China and Egypt have a long history and splendid civilization. In recent years, cultural exchanges between the two countries have continued to deepen and strengthen, continuously enhancing the friendship between the two peoples. China and Egypt have active exchanges and cooperation in fields such as culture, education, journalism, and technology. Both sides have held rich and colorful activities such as cultural weeks, film festivals, cultural relics exhibitions, and photography exhibitions, which are highly welcomed by the people of both countries.

In recent years, significant achievements have been made in the cooperation between China and Egypt in the field of archaeology. In 2018, the first Sino Egyptian joint archaeological project - the Sino Egyptian Luxor Mengtu Temple Joint Archaeological Project - was launched at the Mengtu Temple site, and 18 months of archaeological excavation work have been completed so far. Chinese technology and equipment provide strong support for joint archaeological work.

Jia Xiaobing, the Chinese executive leader of the Sino Egyptian joint archaeological project, told reporters that after 60 days of field work, archaeologists have for the first time fully drawn the overall outline of the fourth temple in the Osiris Temple area, taking another step towards drawing a complete floor plan of the area. The China Egypt Joint Archaeological Team will conduct a new season of archaeological excavations in December this year. At that time, more archaeological achievements will be released, revealing more historical mysteries and making greater contributions to China Egypt archaeological cooperation and cultural exchange and mutual learning.

In September 2022, Egypt launched a pilot project for Chinese language education during the secondary education stage, marking the entry of Chinese language teaching into the Egyptian national education system. Currently, nearly 30 universities in Egypt offer Chinese language programs; Build 4 Confucius Institutes, 2 Confucius Classrooms, and 2 Luban Workshops. Nasser Mandor, President of Suez Canal University in Egypt, stated that Egypt and China have engaged in extensive cooperation in the field of education. Suez Canal University is committed to strengthening cooperation with Chinese universities and creating exchange opportunities for students from Egypt and China. The people of the two countries use education as a bridge, learn from each other, share beauty and beauty, and their profound friendship will surely endure forever.

(Cairo, June 3rd)

People's Daily (June 4, 2024, 3rd edition)