Dozens of agreements signed between Egypt, China

CAIRO – 7 September 2017: An array of cooperation agreements and contracts were signed Thursday between Egypt and China on the sidelines of the Egyptian-Vietnamese Business Forum.

The General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) signed a $60 million contract with fiberglass manufacturer China Jushi to expand its factory in the Red Sea resort of Ain Sokhna, which was originally established in 2014.

During the forum, Minister of Industry Tarek Kabil witnessed the signing of five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between Egypt and China in the fields of information technology, automotive, fiber optics manufacturing and boosting agriculture exports.

Under the agreements, China’s JAC Motors and Egypt’s Engineering Automotive Manufacturing Company will establish a production line for drillers and trailers, with JAC Motors providing the maintenance services.

The Engineering Automotive Manufacturing Company signed another MoU with FAW Group Corporation to secure funding for its operations in the field of assembling Chinese cars.

Another MoU was signed between Horticultural Export Improvement Association (Heia Egypt) and China’s agriculture and animal production authority to increase bilateral trade in agriculture products. As part of the agreement, both entities will be committed to market and promote the products of each other.

In cooperation between the China-Arab States Technology Transfer Center and the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, one more MoU was signed to establish the China-Egyptian Technology Transfer Center.

Additional 19 cooperation agreements in the field of science and technology were signed between research centers and universities in Egypt, China, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Head of the General Organization for Export & Import Control Sherine el-Shorbagy called on Chinese companies to start investing and manufacturing in Egypt to benefit from reasonable costs and a huge market size.

The authority is willing to cooperate with similar entities in China to amplify bilateral trade volume.

Kicked off in Yinchuan, capital of China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Wednesday, the China-Arab States Expo has chosen Egypt as a guest of honor. The expo is held under the rubric "Friendship, Cooperation and Development" and will run until Saturday.

A large Chinese delegation will visit Egypt’s new administrative capital next month to check on the progress of the Chinese projects there, a government source told Egypt Today Wednesday. Chinese businessmen will also pay a visit to a number of compounds in Egypt’s North Coast, along the Mediterranean, to search for tourist investment opportunities there.

Earlier this week, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi headed to China to attend the BRICS summit upon an invitation by Chinese President Xi Jiping.

During that visit, Egypt and China signed two agreements, with $739 million in funding and $45 million in a grant.

The first agreement is for an electric train that connects the 10th of Ramadan City in Greater Cairo and the New Administrative Capital with the cost of $739 million, while the second is to provide a $45 million non-refundable grant for the establishment of Egypt’s second satellite “Egypt Sat 2”.