China and Egypt are forming a strong economic alliance that will change the shape of international trade in the near future.

Utilizing China's capabilities and Egypt's geographical location, the two countries are joining hands to create a new successful economic construction.

Economic relations between Egypt and China have been developing rapidly, especially in the sectors of infrastructure, energy and transportation.

China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), one of the largest construction companies in the developing world, is creating a central business district in Egypt's new administrative capital located outside of Cairo.

The zone includes 20 towers for residential, commercial and administrative uses, and a 385-meter skyscraper that will be the tallest in Africa once completed.

In May 2018, CGC Overseas Construction Group Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the first industrial zone in the new city of Alamein. The huge plots of land from the city's desert will be transformed into green fields for agricultural products and used in the industrial complex.

A contract was signed in 2017 with China Railway Group Ltd. for the construction of an electric railway line linking Cairo with the new administrative capital as well as distant districts such as Al Salam. With an investment of 1.2 billion US dollars, the railway will feature 11 stations over 66 kilometers.

Egypt and China signed a currency swap deal in 2016 worth 2.6 billion US dollars, allowing both countries to pursue trade using their respective currencies without needing the greenback. The transaction came just months after the International Monetary Fund officially added the yuan to its basket of reserve currencies, alongside the US dollar, Japanese yen, euro and British pound.

Two Chinese companies in 2017 signed a contract to build six solar power plants in Aswan, Egypt. The project was funded by the two companies and loans from two Chinese banks – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

During the Beijing summit of the Forum on Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC), Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi witnessed the signing of agreements with Chinese companies worth 18.3 billion US dollars, including the establishment of phase two of the central works in the administrative capital, the construction of a power plant in Hamrawein, the Xiamen Yanjiang factory for the manufacture of new materials, and the establishment of a textile industrial zone by the Shaunong Ruyi Textile Group, which will build 50 factories and provide an estimated 10,000 jobs in the first phase alone.

In 1953, Egypt exported 10 times more products to China than China exported to Egypt. The trade between the two countries reached about 11 million US dollars, of which 10.4 million US dollars were Egyptian exports to China.

In the past five years, Egypt-China trade has expanded as Egypt further opened its markets to Chinese products.

China has started to accept more Egyptian products over the past year, especially in the agricultural sector, giving a positive indication that the two countries are pursuing fair and balanced relations.

As a result, the Egypt-China trade volume reached 11 billion US dollars in 2017.

China's bilateral trade volume grew 24 percent year on year in the first seven months of this year to 7.5 billion US dollars. Chinese exports to Egypt reached 6.5 billion US dollars in the seven months, up 22.6 percent year on year.

China's imports from Egypt reached one billion US dollars, an increase of 34.1 percent year on year, which is a continuation of the increasing flow of Egyptian exports to China.

Egyptian exports to China in 2017 rose by 60 percent year on year, from 255 million US dollars to 408 million US dollars.

Chinese direct investments in Egypt witnessed an increase of 106 million US dollars in the first half of 2017, jumping 75 percent over the same period of the previous year.

China is ranked sixth in the list of countries investing in Egypt after ranking 15th in 2016.

However, the volume of Chinese direct investment is still small compared with the growing level of bilateral relations.

Not including those in the Suez Canal, there are 1,459 Chinese companies working in Egypt with a combined investment of 610 million US dollars.

About 68 percent of China's investments are concentrated in industrial projects, 15 percent are in finance, nine percent in communications and information technology and eight percent in other sectors, providing about 27,566 jobs.

In the past five years, Egypt and China have deepened relations to a level not seen before, which promises impressive results for the next five years as the strategic partnership model brings win-win cooperation and prosperity for all.