Xi Jinping: China and Egypt should strengthen their strategic partnership
Stability in an uncertain world depends on countries’ ability to support one another and deepen cooperation. China and Egypt, whose relations have developed over seven decades, are seeking to strengthen mutual trust and coordinate their efforts in addressing regional and international challenges.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and Egypt should firmly support each other, deepen cooperation and continue advancing the building of a China-Egypt community with a shared future. He made the remarks on Wednesday during talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Xi Jinping noted that Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1956. His current trip marks his first state visit to Egypt in a decade and coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
According to Xi, China-Egypt relations have overcome numerous challenges over the past seven decades and developed a distinctive foundation based on equality, mutual trust, friendship, mutual learning, solidarity and mutually beneficial cooperation. In recent years, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has gained strong momentum.
Xi stressed the need to maintain high-level exchanges and expand cooperation across a wide range of fields. He called for closer alignment of development strategies and greater use of cooperation potential in infrastructure, energy, agriculture and communications technologies.
At the same time, China and Egypt should develop new areas of cooperation, including green energy, electric vehicles, aerospace, the digital economy and modern agricultural technologies. Xi also called for broader exchanges in culture, education, science and technology, healthcare and sports, as well as closer people-to-people ties.
The two sides also discussed security cooperation. Xi called for stronger joint efforts to combat transnational crime, corruption and terrorism, as well as closer coordination on multilateral platforms including the United Nations and BRICS.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi welcomed Xi Jinping’s state visit and said bilateral relations had developed steadily over the past 70 years, with cooperation in various fields producing fruitful results. Egypt reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China principle and its readiness to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership with China.
El-Sisi said Egypt was ready to deepen cooperation with China in trade and investment, manufacturing, infrastructure, finance, science and technology, and new energy. He also expressed readiness to strengthen military and defense exchanges and promote closer contacts between the peoples of the two countries.
The leaders held an in-depth exchange of views on the situation in the Middle East. Xi said the people of the region should remain masters of their own affairs and that external interference should be rejected. China supports regional countries in strengthening dialogue on peace and security and exploring a new security architecture based on common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.
Xi stressed that a comprehensive approach is needed to address the region’s interconnected crises. He said the Palestinian issue remains at the heart of the Middle East question and must never be ignored or pushed aside.
The Chinese president also said that lasting peace and stability in the Middle East fundamentally depend on development. China is ready to work with countries in the region to safeguard international maritime routes, expand development cooperation, bring regional interests closer together, build mutual trust and address the root causes of conflicts.
El-Sisi said Egypt highly values China’s consistent, objective and impartial position on the Middle East issue. Egypt is ready to continue coordinating with China to ease tensions, maintain regional stability and advance the development of a regional security architecture.
Following the talks, the two sides witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents covering the Belt and Road Initiative, artificial intelligence, economic and trade cooperation, industrial and logistics cooperation and other areas. More than 20 cooperation documents were also signed during the visit in fields including the digital economy, science and technology, education and transport.
As reported by SSTV+, China and Egypt also issued a joint statement on further deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership. On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his wife Entissar Amer hosted a welcoming banquet for Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.
