Chinese projects in Egypt not affected by COVID-19: ambassador

CAIRO - 23 May 2020: Chinese ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang affirmed that the Chinese projects in Egypt have not been affected by the new coronavirus (COID-19) pandemic.

In a webinar titled “Unit and Cooperate to overcome the pandemic and participate in building a healthy community” on Thursday, he affirmed that the projects in Egypt’s in Sukhna, Suez Canal, and the new Administrative Capital did not stop amid the outbreak of the virus.

Commercially, China is the largest trade partner for Egypt as Beijing imports several Egyptian crops, besides its investments in a number of Egyptian megaprojects.

As yet, the volume of Chinese investments in Egypt reached $7 billion, while the number of Chinese companies operating Egypt registered 1,600 businesses which created more than 30,000 job opportunities for the Egyptians, the ambassador continued.

Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs of the Chinese embassy in Egypt Han Bing said that the China State Construction Engineering Corporation’s works in the Egyptian new administrative capital did not stop, noting that high protective health measures have been taken in the TIDA Suez zone to not suspend the work.

Concerning the medical cooperation, Chinese authorities and medical companies have sent Egypt three cargos of medical aid including personal protective equipment (PPE), he said, noting that the Chinese aid to Egypt was estimated at more than LE 100 million.

Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cultural activities in the Chinese cultural council have not stopped.

A total of 1233 Chinese workers returned to Egypt and they abided by the quarantine rules and will resume their works soon. He added that 91% of small and medium-sized businesses in China reoperate after the lockdown.

Additional reporting by Rabab Fathy