China-Egypt ties boosted by Vice President Wang's visit

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01:49

Several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in agriculture, economic cooperation and education were signed during Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan's visit to Egypt, demonstrating the improving ties in all domains.

Wang held extensive talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on a range of issues pertaining to the Middle East.

China is willing to deepen understanding with Egypt and jointly plan for the future, Wang said.

Egypt admires China's developmental achievements, Sisi said, calling for combining the Chinese Dream with Egypt's national rejuvenation to achieve common development.

Egypt will further enhance pragmatic cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Madbouly said, noting that Egypt will use the China International Import Expo (CIIE) as an opportunity to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

"China respects the sovereignty and independence of all countries. On this basis, issues like Syria, Yemen and Iraq were discussed in Cairo, and Libya as well. Both Egypt and China agree on the need to protect these countries from being divided and maintain the safety of its people," said Hany Ghoneim, president at Egypt Center for Political Studies.

Egypt is a big market for China in Africa as it has a highly consumptive population of over 100 million.

"Egypt's success in fighting terrorism and building the proper infrastructure has made it an important destination for Chinese investments," Ghoneim said.