Egypt-China business cooperation gets stronger during 2017

CAIRO – 19 December 2017: Egyptian-Chinese business cooperation grew during 2017 on many levels, Chinese Economic and Trade Minister Counselor Han Bing said during a conference organized by the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, on Tuesday.

During his speech, Bing reviewed the bilateral activities in which Egypt and China were involved during 2017. “Egypt and China economic and trade relations entered a golden stage,” the counselor said.

Egypt participated in the China–Arab States Expo last December. The seventh session of a joint economic and trade committee was held in July, Bing added.

Bing noted that this year witnessed the first meeting of governmental committees for joint economic and trade cooperation in Tianjin, China.

The two countries have been involved in strong cooperation in the fields of manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, finance, trade and investment and they are in negotiations to broaden cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and satellites.

Bing pointed out that China is still the largest trade partner with Egypt, adding that Egyptian agricultural exports have contributed to improving the trade deficit between the two countries.

Chinese investments increased by $106 million during the first half of 2017, an increase of about 75 percent compared to the same period last year.

The Counselor explained that Chinese investors listed sixth among foreign investors in Egypt and that total Chinese investments registered $6.5 billion, according to Chinese statistics.

Financial cooperation between the two countries also flourished. The Yuan started to be used in Egypt, as per an agreement between the two countries’ central banks.

Egypt and China signed a number of credit agreements at a value of $5 billion between a string of Egyptian banks and the China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China and the Asian Development Bank in 2017.

Bing pointed out that the total Chinese investments in this Suez Canal Economic Zone exceeded $1 billion, creating 3,000 jobs in Egypt.

On tourism, Bing said that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Egypt has increased to more than 300,000 tourists this year, compared with 130,000 tourists in 2016.