A Tale of Two Cities, a documentary jointly produced by broadcasters from China and Egypt, is set to premiere soon on some mainstream media platforms in both countries, reaching audiences across China, Egypt and global markets.

Launched on Thursday, August 20, as a key audiovisual achievement of China-Africa media cooperation at the 7th Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation, the documentary takes two port cities – Quanzhou in China and Alexandria in Egypt – as its narrative anchors. It follows real-life stories of exchanges and collaboration between the two nations across trade, culture and education, presenting vivid, living examples of civilizational mutual learning under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The release also marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt in 2026.

Meanwhile, a recent seminar themed people-centered cross-cultural communication was held alongside the documentary launch.

Professor Yin Hong from the Tsinghua University School of Journalism and Communication, also Vice Chairman of the China Film Association, outlined the defining strengths of the work: It grounds broad Sino-Egyptian relations in ordinary people's daily lives across diverse fields and adheres to a people-first creative philosophy that conveys mutual respect and warm connections between the two peoples in a subtle, immersive way.