THE Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) took place this September. African and Chinese heads of state and government met in Beijing to plan the next three years for a closer and productive China-Africa partnership. It is also the first meeting between China and African countries in the new era after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 2017. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attended the meeting and paid a state visit to China on the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This was President Sisi’s fifth visit to China.
In retrospect, Egypt was the first African nation that established diplomatic relations with China back in May 1956, heralding a new stage for China-Egypt and China-Africa relations. Despite being separated by a vast distance, China and Egypt have been supporting and respecting each other, from the fight for national independence and the people’s liberation to the efforts to develop their economies. The bilateral ties contributed to fostering brotherly relations between China and Africa who share weal and woe and help each other in distress.
On July 2, 2018, Egyptian workers at a workshop of the High Voltage Electric Equipment Co., Ltd., a joint company of EGEMAC and China XD Group Corporation in Sokhna, Egypt.
China is the largest developing country, whereas Africa is the continent with the most developing countries. There has been a solid foundation and robust momentum for China-Africa cooperation in various sectors. When Xi Jinping was elected and re-elected Chinese President in 2013 and 2018, he chose Africa as the destination of his first state visit, de-monstrating that the Chinese government values its ties with Africa.
In July 2018, he went to Africa for the fourth time, giving full play to the leading role of head-of-state diplomacy in China-African relations. President Xi pledged to further friendship with African countries more proactively by adhering to the principles of sincerity, practical results, affinity, and good faith to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.
China has been supporting peace and development in Africa and has spoken out for African countries on international occasions. It sent peacekeepers and medical teams to the continent and offered emergency assistance to disaster-stricken countries. China is also ready to strengthen cooperation with Africa under the Belt and Road Initiative in an attempt to address the most prominent problems in development. With pragmatic partnerships in such areas as trade, investment, and technology exchanges, China will assist Africa to share the benefits of its rapid economic growth by improving local infrastructure and industrialization.
On September 5, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi meet at Xiamen, Fujian Province.
Egypt is a major power in Africa and a large developing nation. As China, it has an imperative task of growing the economy. Connecting the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, Egypt enjoys geographical advantages in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative. At present, the Egyptian government is committed to economic reform to attract more investment and create more jobs. While entering a new era, China, for its part, is furthering reform and opening-up. As both embark on a new journey for national development, the two countries share highly aligned development strategies and broad prospects for future cooperation.
China and Egypt established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014 when President Sisi visited China, marking the acceleration of the development of bilateral ties. In January 2016, President Xi visited Egypt to further the friendship. In recent years, the frequent meetings between the heads of the two states have injected robust vitality to bilateral relations. The political mutual trust was further enhanced. The two sides also maintained in-depth exchanges on governance and close coordination and cooperation in regional and international issues. Meanwhile, bilateral trade and investment partnerships saw fruitful results. The Egyptian EETC 500kV Transmission Line Project, the largest ever project in the country’s history, is currently under construction. So are the 10th of Ramadan Suburb Railway Project and the Central Business District project in the new governmental capital. The friendship between Egypt and China has reached new historical heights.
On August 4, 2018, Chinese made vehicles are loaded onto the GLOVIS SONIC Ro-Ro ship at the Meishan area in Zhoushan Harbor, Ningbo. It is the first Ro-Ro ship berthed at the harbor this year, and will ship 850 Geely autos for export to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Notably, the Sino-Egyptian partnership on economic zones has spearheaded fruitful, pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa. The first one jointly built by China and African partners, the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, has grown to be an exemplary project under the Belt and Road Initiative. Leaders of the two countries both attached great importance to it. In 2016, President Xi and his Egyptian counterpart jointly inaugurated the zone in Egypt. At present, scores of companies have invested more than US $1 billion in the economic and trade cooperation zone, creating thousands of jobs and contributing considerable tax revenue to local government. They also improved local productivity and industrial development, and spread technical and management skills to local staff. Some even help Egypt build industries from scratch and grow them to a level comparable to the world’s best. With joint efforts, more and more achievements will be made in bilateral cooperation.
The China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone is an exemplary project under the Belt and Road Initiative.
This year is pivotal to both China-Africa relations and China-Egypt ties. The five pillars to prop up China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership proposed by President Xi in the Johannesburg Summit in 2015 are being cemented, and the 10 major cooperation plans are being acted on. Indeed, the China-Africa relationship is a most dynamic global partnership with massive potential. And the China-Egypt relationship is indicative of such partnership.
With the theme of “China and Africa, Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation,” the Beijing Summit will enhance cooperation and exchanges in various areas and upgrade mutually beneficial partnerships to a new level. China will assist Africa to meet the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2063 Agenda of the African Union. China and African countries, including Egypt, have been good partners in the community of a shared future. Sharing common aspirations, they will achieve high quality and high standard cooperation for mutual benefit and common development in the future.
SONG AIGUO is Chinese Ambassador to Egypt.
