Chinese, Egyptian FMs Agree to Promote Bilateral Cooperation
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday held talks in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and other five ministers to further advance pragmatic cooperation between the two countries.
Wang, who arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday, expressed China’s strong support for the ongoing political transition in Egypt, saying that he was optimistic about Egypt’s prospects for future development.
The Chinese government attached great importance to China-Egypt ties, he added.
He said that during the 2014 ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on China and Arab states to make joint efforts in building “one belt and one road.”
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also proposed China-Africa joint constructions of Africa’s three infrastructure networks during his recent visit to the continent, he said.
“One belt and one road” refers to the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” infrastructure and trade networks put forward by Xi during his visit to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013.
Egypt has great advantages as it sits in an area where “the belt” and “the road” meets, Wang noted.
He added that Egypt now enjoys political and social stability, and has returned to the right path for development, and China was willing to further promote all-round and mutually-beneficial cooperation with Egypt.
China would like to encourage more Chinese investment in Egypt, and is willing to help the country boost industrialization through the transfer of advantageous production capacity and advanced technologies, said Wang, adding that China also hope to rely on Egypt’s geographical convenience so that more of China’s products could be sold on the markets in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
The Chinese minister called on Egypt to take more effective measures that could facilitate Chinese investment and ensure the safety and security of Chinese firms and their employees.
China does not seek trade surpluses, and hopes that Egypt can be more active in promoting its own products to the Chinese customers, he said.
He also noted that with more Chinese investment and tourists flowing into Egypt, it is even more tangible for a final realization of a trade balance between the two sides.
Beijing would like to cooperate with Cairo, on a basis of mutual benefit, in nuclear power, new energy, railway, ports and tunnel construction, and agriculture, areas in which China enjoys well-tested technologies and rich building and operation experiences, Wang said, adding that it is also expected that progress can be made as early as possible as the two nations work together in the field of aerospace and satellite technologies.
On their part, the Egyptian ministers believed that by promoting their country’s strategic ties, as well as practical cooperation with China, Egypt’s development can be anticipated.
They said that Egypt would like to cooperate with China in strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, new sources of energy, infrastructure, agriculture, as well as a joint effort to explore markets of other countries and regions so as to bring more benefits to the peoples of the two nations.
Source: Xinhua
