Chinese Ambassador in Cairo Liao Liqiang has expressed his country’s confidence in Egypt’s ability to overcome current challenges, maintain social stability and economic development and make a new progress in its march towards building the “New Republic”.
In exclusive statements to MENA on Tuesday, the Chinese diplomat said that Egypt, under the wise leadership of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, managed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain positive economic growth, thanks to the measures taken by the Egyptian government.
Egypt’s macroeconomic indicators improved as the economic growth rate reached 6.6 percent during the fiscal year 2021/2022, he added.
As for strategic ties between the two countries, the Chinese ambassador said that China has been Egypt’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years and it is one of the key and fastest-growing investors in the country.
He also underlined the meeting between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the First China-Arab States Summit in December, adding the meeting helped in pumping new blood into consolidating mutual political trust, expanding areas of bilateral cooperation and paving the way for the future of Chinese-Egyptian relations.
In his statements to MENA, the Chinese ambassador said that Beijing is keen on working with Egypt to build a community of shared future between the two countries and the Arab countries.
China also works on boosting coordination with Egypt to implement the Nine Projects of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the “eight joint actions” for the Chinese-Arab practical cooperation, strengthen cooperation in building the Belt and Road and expediate the implementation of the railway project in the 10th of Ramadan City and the Central Business District in the New Administrative Capital and major cooperation projects in China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone.
Beijing is keen to import high-quality Egyptian products, expand cooperation with Egypt in the fields of investment and financing, shift towards green energy, green industries, low-carbon technology and space, the Chinese ambassador said.
China has included Egypt in the list of the first batch of foreign tourist destinations for Chinese citizens, he said, expressing trust that the number of Chinese tourists will increase in the future.
Regarding China’s investments in Egypt, the Chinese diplomat said that China has investments worth 560 million dollars in Egypt in the fiscal year 2021/2022, with an increase of 16 percent on an annual basis, representing 6.3 percent of FDI net inflows into Egypt.
Chinese companies focus their investments in the sectors of oil and gas extraction activities, services, manufacturing, construction and information technology, the Chinese ambassador said, adding that major Chinese companies; topped by Sinbok, Jushi Egypt for Fiberglass Industry, ZhenHua Oil and New Hope Group have large investments in Egypt.
China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone is the model project for cooperation in building the “Belt and Road” and it has become the best industrial park in Egypt in terms of integrated environment, investment intensity, productivity and the number of Chinese companies, the Chinese diplomat said.
The ambassador also referred to the implementation of the projects of the eco-industrial park and the “OPPO” mobile phone factory.
Shifting to the Palestinian cause, the Chinese diplomat stressed the importance of solving the Palestinian problem to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East, stressing the need for the international community to stick to the two-state solution and the land-for-peace principle.
China has recently succeeded in mediating a dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which contributed to improving the relationship between the two countries and represented an important example for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among the countries of the region and easing tensions, he said, adding that the Chinese mediation has been widely appreciated by the international community.
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