Ideal Partners

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations， China and Egypt have sought common development and expanded the areas for cooperation. Today， with China spearheading the Belt and Road Initiative and Egypt having launched its Suez Canal Corridor Development Project， the two countries are in a new stage of development with new opportunities. Song Aiguo， the Chinese Ambassador to Egypt， shares his views with ChinAfrica reporter Liu Jian on the future of China-Egypt economic and trade cooperation. Excerpts of the interview follow：

ChinAfrica： While China is developing its Belt and road Initiative， egypt is speeding up the development of its Suez Canal Corridor Development Project. What new opportunities will the two initiatives bring？

Song Aiguo： The Belt and Road Initiative， first proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013， comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road， which would better connect Asian， European and African countries. The Suez Canal Corridor Development is a long-term project meant to transform the canal area into a global economic hub， with industrial， technological and agricultural zones and major residential areas. China， as an emerging， developing country with rich industrial capacity， capital and technology advantages， could be a preferred partner in developing the Suez project.

During Xis visit to Egypt this January， China and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly implementing the Belt and Road Initiative， as well as a number of other cooperation agreements covering areas such as electricity， space， infrastructure and trade. The Silk Road Fund， the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and ChinaAfrica Development Fund proposed by China will provide strong support for investment and financing. The two countries complement each other and have coordinated well in many fields. There is huge cooperation potential for them in fields like trade， investment， energy， transportation， port logistics and aerospace science and technology.

Egypt is a big Arab and African country. The strategic cooperation between China and Egypt will go beyond bilateral scope， boosting the overall level of cooperation between China and Arab and African countries.

Whats the prospect for China-egypt eco

nomic and trade cooperation？ What is the impact of the China-egypt Suez economic and Trade Cooperation Zone on bilateral ties？

Despite the weak global economic recovery in 2015， China-Egypt economic and trade cooperation maintained a good development momentum. Bilateral trade reached $12.9 billion， almost double that in 2010， when I was appointed ambassador and came to Egypt. In 2015， the value of Chinas newly signed project contracts in Egypt amounted to $3.46 billion， hitting a record high. Chinas non-financial direct investment in Egypt reached $728 million. By the end of the year， Chinas total actual investment had exceeded $6 billion.

The China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone， Chinas only state-level overseas economic and trade zone in the Middle East launched in 2008， is a model of China-Africa cooperation. With its first phase of construction complete， the zone has attracted 32 manufacturing companies and 30 service businesses. Construction on the second phase has started. Besides providing job opportunities to thousands and training local technical workers， the cooperation zone also plays an important role in enhancing bilateral industrial cooperation and driving pragmatic cooperation in investment and financing.

In which areas have Chinese companies mainly invested in egypt？

Chinese enterprises have expanded their scale and area of investment mainly in energy， manufacturing， telecommunications， and infrastructure construc-tion. Investment in oil and gas exploration and oilfield services accounts for 84 percent of the total Chinese investment. The major companies include Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp.， SinoTharwa Drilling Co.， and the Honghua Group， a large-scale equipment manufacturer and drilling service provider. Investment by manufacturing enterprises account for 12 percent of the total and they include names like Jushi Egypt for Fiberglass Industry and Huachen Automotive Group. Telecommunications， shipping and other service enterprises， accounting for the remaining 4 percent of the investment， include Huawei， ZTE and China Ocean Shipping Corp.

While running businesses in Egypt， Chinese enterprises also pay attention to their corporate social responsibility. For instance， during the period of fasting in Ramadan in 2015， the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt and the Chinese People Association in Egypt in cooperation with local charity organizations offered 300 free meals daily， the donation exceeding 150，000 Egyptian pound（$16，890）.

What are the complementary advantages of the two countries in production capacity cooperation？

Egypt has been promoting industrialization and modernization， attracting investment， creating job opportunities and boosting the economy， while China is conducting economic restructuring and industry transformation and upgrading. China would be an ideal partner for Egypt in its industrialization process. There can be huge potential for cooperation.

Currently， Egypt is speeding up the construction of the New Suez Canal， power， energy， railways and ports infrastructure as well as industrialization. With its rich human resources and geographic advantage， Egypt has great potential for development. Chinese enterprises have advanced equipment， mature technology and experience. They can also help the Egyptian side get financing for projects. The two sides complement each other in industrial capacity cooperation.

What are the highlights of the Chinese Culture Year in egypt？ What kind of image will the cultural events present to egyptians？

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations， China and Egypt have jointly launched the Chinese Culture Year in Egypt and the Egyptian Culture Year in China. Over 40 cultural activities on the theme“Fashionable， Developing and Progressive China”will be held in Egypt. They will include fashion shows， music and dance performances， Chinese martial arts performances， painting， calligraphy and photo exhibitions， film screenings and an archaeology forum. We hope to present to the local people traditional Chinese culture， a vibrant developing China， and the positive spirit of the Chinese. Its important to deepen understanding between our peoples and enhance mutual friendship.

What do you think of the increasing people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries？

In recent years， along with deepening SinoEgyptian relations， our cultural exchanges have transformed from a mere government initiative into a new pattern characterized by the governments leading role and the participation of all sectors in society. Cultural and people-to-people exchanges， including arts and cultural appreciation and student exchanges， have been enriched and expanded. They are a good supplement to intergovernmental exchanges， promoting mutual understanding and friendship in a more down-toearth way.

An egyptian-Chinese consortium is building egypts new capital city， which has been dubbed a “global city for egypts future.” How will this project benefit egypt？

During President Xis visit to Egypt， China State Construction Engineering Corp. and Egypts Housing Ministry signed a package of agreements for the Capital Cairo project. It has four subprojects： a major conference center， ministries， the parliament building， and a fair zone， with a construction area of about 1.19 million square meters. The Capital Cairo project would effectively extend greater Cairo as far as the Red Sea port city of Suez to ease congestion and overpopulation in the crowded capital. It is expected to become the new political center and drive the development of the New Suez Canal Corridor and the Red Sea Economic Belt to boost the economy and fulfill the governments economic recovery plan.