China-Africa Cooperation: A look inside a Chinese-owned fiberglass factory in Egypt

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03:33

China is looking forward to next month's forum on cooperation with Africa, to be held in Beijing. As part of our coverage in the lead-up, we sent reporter Meng Qingsheng to Egypt to check out an example of China-Africa cooperation, a fiberglass factory, that's among the world's largest.

Chinese technology blending with Egyptian skills. Jushi Egypt produces around 200-thousand tons of fiberglass every year, making Egypt the world's third-largest fiberglass producer, after the United States and China.

Twenty-nine-year-old Ahmed Soliman joined the company in 2012. In less than five years, he rose from a front-line worker to an assistant general manager.

AHMED SOLIMAN, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER JUSHI EGYPT FOR FIBERGLASS INDUSTRY S.A.E. "If I double my efforts, I will find better chances. So the more hard-work, the more level for my thinking, for my family, and for my life."

The fiberglass company has nearly two thousand employees. Nearly all of them are locals, and 70 percent are in management positions.

General manager Wu Ping says, localization, along with advanced technological input, has contributed to its rapid growth, securing one-fifth of the global fiberglass market.

WU PING, GENERAL MANAGER JUSHI EGYPT FOR FIBERGLASS INDUSTRY S.A.E. "We did encounter cultural collisions at first. Most local staff were not accustomed to the high work efficiency required by fiberglass production. But we made it after striking a balance, and sending them to China to experience the culture."

Jushi Egypt is among the 68 tenant companies operating inside China's TEDA Cooperation Zone, one of the largest industrial developers of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

MENG QINGSHENG SUEZ, EGYPT "The establishment of the TEDA Cooperation Zone has so far created more than three thousand job opportunities for local people. As the business expands, this number will rise to 40 thousand. It has also contributed nearly 60 million U.S. dollars to local tax revenues. The project has become an important platform for China-Egypt capacity cooperation."

The Suez Canal Economic Zone occupies over 400 square kilometers. More than eight percent of global trade passes through this economic hub every year.

Admiral Mahfouz, the vice chairman of the Zone's General Authority, praises the closer cooperation with Chinese investors.

ADMIRAL MAHFOUZ TAHA MARZOUK, VICE CHAIRMAN GENERAL AUTHORITY FOR SUEZ CANAL ECONOMIC ZONE "They gave us the know-how; they built the factories; they built industrial parks. We should cooperate with TEDA, and also we are dealing with them as partners, not like as authorities and developers. We are more than partners."

Ahmed says his experience at Jushi Egypt has made a huge difference in his life, and he has decided to keep it up.

AHMED SOLIMAN, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER JUSHI EGYPT FOR FIBERGLASS INDUSTRY S.A.E. "My plan is to work here for at least 20 years, to complete my thinking and to improve method. As I start, I will continue."

Most of Jushi Egypt's products go to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, serving industries like aerospace, clean energy and electronic equipment. The company is now poised to expand its business in Egypt. It's an opportunity to fulfill the career aspirations of more locals. Meng Qingsheng, CGTN, Suez, Egypt.