OnSeptember5,2017,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingandEgyptianPresidentAbdelFatahel-SisimeetatXiamen,FujianProvince.
THEBeijingSummitoftheForumonChinaAfricaCooperation(FOCAC)tookplacethisSeptember.AfricanandChineseheadsofstateandgovernmentmetinBeijingtoplanthenextthreeyearsforacloserandproductiveChina-Africapartnership.ItisalsothefirstmeetingbetweenChinaandAfricancountriesintheneweraafterthe19thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChinaheldinOctober2017.EgyptianPresidentAbdelFattahal-SisiattendedthemeetingandpaidastatevisittoChinaontheinvitationofChinesePresidentXiJinping.ThiswasPresidentSisi鈥檚fifthvisittoChina.
Inretrospect,EgyptwasthefirstAfricannationthatestablisheddiplomaticrelationswithChinabackinMay1956,heraldinganewstageforChinaEgyptandChina-Africarelations.Despitebeingseparatedbyavastdistance,ChinaandEgypthavebeensupportingandrespectingeachother,fromthefightfornationalindependenceandthepeople鈥檚liberationtotheeffortstodeveloptheireconomies.ThebilateraltiescontributedtofosteringbrotherlyrelationsbetweenChinaandAfricawhosharewealandwoeandhelpeachotherindistress.
Chinaisthelargestdevelopingcountry,whereasAfricaisthecontinentwiththemostdevelopingcountries.TherehasbeenasolidfoundationandrobustmomentumforChina-Africacooperationinvarioussectors.WhenXiJinpingwaselectedandreelectedChinesePresidentin2013and2018,hechoseAfricaasthedestinationofhisfirststatevisit,demonstratingthattheChinesegovernmentvaluesitstieswithAfrica.
InJuly2018,hewenttoAfricaforthefourthtime,givingfullplaytotheleadingroleofhead-of-statediplomacyinChina-Africanrelations.PresidentXipledgedtofurtherfriendshipwithAfricancountriesmoreproactivelybyadheringtotheprinciplesofsincerity,practicalresults,affinity,andgoodfaithtobuildanewtypeofinternationalrelationsandacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.
ChinahasbeensupportingpeaceanddevelopmentinAfricaandhasspokenoutforAfricancountriesoninternationaloccasions.Itsentpeacekeepersandmedicalteamstothecontinentandofferedemergencyassistancetodisaster-strickencountries.ChinaisalsoreadytostrengthencooperationwithAfricaundertheBeltandRoadInitiativeinanattempttoaddressthemostprominentproblemsindevelopment.Withpragmaticpartnershipsinsuchareasastrade,investment,andtechnologyexchanges,ChinawillassistAfricatosharethebenefitsofitsrapideconomicgrowthbyimprovinglocalinfrastructureandindustrialization.
EgyptisamajorpowerinAfricaandalargedevelopingnation.AsChina,ithasanimperativetaskofgrowingtheeconomy.ConnectingtheMiddleEast,Africa,andEurope,EgyptenjoysgeographicaladvantagesinpromotingtheBeltandRoadInitiative.
Atpresent,theEgyptiangovernmentiscommittedtoeconomicreformtoattractmoreinvestmentandcreatemorejobs.Whileenteringanewera,China,foritspart,isfurtheringreformandopeningup.Asbothembarkonanewjourneyfornationaldevelopment,thetwocountriessharehighlyaligneddevelopmentstrategiesandbroadprospectsforfuturecooperation.
ChinaandEgyptestablishedacomprehensivestrategicpartnershipin2014whenPresidentSisivisitedChina,markingtheaccelerationofthedevelopmentofbilateralties.InJanuary2016,PresidentXivisitedEgypttofurtherthefriendship.Inrecentyears,thefrequentmeetingsbetweentheheadsofthetwostateshaveinjectedrobustvitalitytobilateralrelations.Thepoliticalmutualtrustwasfurtherenhanced.Thetwosidesalsomaintainedin-depthexchangesongovernanceandclosecoordinationandcooperationinregionalandinternationalissues.Meanwhile,bilateraltradeandinvestmentpartnershipssawfruitfulresults.TheEgyptianEETC500kVTransmissionLineProject,thelargesteverprojectinthecountry鈥檚history,iscurrentlyunderconstruction.Soarethe10thofRamadanSuburbRailwayProjectandtheCentralBusinessDistrictprojectinthenewgovernmentalcapital.ThefriendshipbetweenEgyptandChinahasreachednewhistoricalheights.OnAugust4,2018,ChinesemadevehiclesareloadedontotheGLOVISSONICRo-RoshipattheMeishanareainZhoushanHarbor,Ningbo.ItisthefirstRo-Roshipberthedattheharborthisyear,andwillship850GeelyautosforexporttoSaudiArabiaandEgypt.
TheChina-EgyptSuezEconomicandTradeCooperationZoneisanexemplaryprojectundertheBeltandRoadInitiative.Notably,theSino-Egyptianpartnershiponeconomiczoneshasspearheadedfruitful,pragmaticcooperationbetweenChinaandAfrica.ThefirstonejointlybuiltbyChinaandAfricanpartners,theChina-EgyptSuezEconomicandTradeCooperationZone,hasgrowntobeanexemplaryprojectundertheBeltandRoadInitiative.Leadersofthetwocountriesbothattachedgreatimportancetoit.In2016,PresidentXiandhisEgyptiancounterpartjointlyinauguratedthezoneinEgypt.Atpresent,scoresofcompanieshaveinvestedmorethanUS$1billionintheeconomicandtradecooperationzone,creatingthousandsofjobsandcontributingconsiderabletaxrevenuetolocalgovernment.Theyalsoimprovedlocalproductivityandindustrialdevelopment,andspreadtechnicalandmanagementskillstolocalstaff.SomeevenhelpEgyptbuildindustriesfromscratchandgrowthemtoalevelcomparabletotheworld鈥檚best.Withjointefforts,moreandmoreachievementswillbemadeinbilateralcooperation.
ThisyearispivotaltobothChina-AfricarelationsandChina-Egyptties.ThefivepillarstopropupChina-AfricacomprehensivestrategicpartnershipproposedbyPresidentXiintheJohannesburgSummitin2015arebeingcemented,andthe10majorcooperationplansarebeingactedon.Indeed,theChina-Africarelationshipisamostdynamicglobalpartnershipwithmassivepotential.AndtheChinaEgyptrelationshipisindicativeofsuchpartnership.
Withthethemeof鈥淐hinaandAfrica,TowardanEvenStrongerCommunitywithaSharedFuturethroughWin-WinCooperation,鈥漷heBeijingSummitwillenhancecooperationandexchangesinvariousareasandupgrademutuallybeneficialpartnershipstoanewlevel.ChinawillassistAfricatomeettheUN2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopmentandthe2063AgendaoftheAfricanUnion.ChinaandAfricancountries,includingEgypt,havebeengoodpartnersinthecommunityofasharedfuture.Sharingcommonaspirations,theywillachievehighqualityandhighstandardcooperationformutualbenefitandcommondevelopmentinthefuture.
SONGAIGUOisChineseAmbassadortoEgypt.
ChinawillassistAfricatosharethebenefitsofitsrapideconomicgrowthbyimprovinglocalinfrastructureandindustrialization.