China to send purchase delegation to Egypt in January, eyes $60mn in deals

China will be sending a purchase delegation to Egypt next January amid expectations to sign US$60 million worth of deals, said Minister Plenipotentiary Medhat Saeed – head of Egypt-Asia Commercial Representation.

The delegation is to accompany Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Egypt in January.

Minister Plenipotentiary Saeed further added that the Chinese delegation’s visit would involve an exhibition on science and technology to cover fields of high-speed rails, nuclear power, as well as new and renewable energy.

In December 2014, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited China, resulting in signing 26 agreements, including 15 in energy sector, 8 in transport, and 3 in tourism and telecommunications, the Egyptian official said. During Sisi’s visit, around 15 projects were marked as high-priority for Egypt. In addition, Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) has already pledged to grant soft loans for some projects including Egypt’s planned high-speed rail as well as a programme to upgrade the country’s electricity grid.