Egypt and China signed a handful of cooperation deals last week in the areas of finance, e-commerce, green and low-carbon development, development assistance, and health. The signatures came during the two-day official visit of the Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang to Cairo on 9-10 July.
During his visit, Li met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafi Gebali and held extensive talks with Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli.
President Al-Sisi reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with China in various sectors of mutual interest and working to activate the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, especially with the upcoming celebration, to be held in 2026, of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and China.
He also commended the contributions of Chinese companies to Egypt’s development projects, expressing Egypt’s eagerness to attract further Chinese investments, especially in the sectors of renewable energy, electric vehicle manufacturing, and tourism.
President Al-Sisi underscored Egypt’s interest in promoting cooperation with China in manufacturing, development, and debt swap mechanisms, said the presidential spokesman.
In response, Li said China’s relations with Egypt were built on long decades of strategic partnership, mutual respect, and common interests. He noted the rapid development in bilateral relations and the close coordination between the two countries on both the regional and international levels, appreciating Egypt’s pivotal role as a cornerstone of stability in the Middle East.
Li also said China hopes to work with Egypt to carry forward the traditional friendship, consolidate mutual trust, and continue to give each other firm support, enriching the comprehensive strategic partnership, delivering more results through cooperation in various areas, and building a China-Egypt community with a shared future for the new era.
Al-Sisi and Li exchanged views on regional and international developments. Both sides stressed the importance of underpinning the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran and resuming the diplomatic path to resolving the crisis through peaceful means.
Both also underscored the necessity of reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ensuring the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.
Madbouli and Li held an expanded session of talks on 10 July at the cabinet’s headquarters in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital.
Describing Li’s visit to Egypt as “historic”, Madbouli commended China’s pivotal role in supporting Egypt’s development efforts, particularly through the participation of numerous Chinese companies in key infrastructure projects in the country, such as the Central Business District in the New Administrative Capital, the new Alamein City Towers, the light rail transit project, as well as the development of China’s successful TEDA area in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), an industrial cooperation model hosting 185 companies.
Madbouli also voiced the hope that Li’s visit would mark the start of a new stage of bilateral cooperation, particularly in localising industry, and transferring Chinese technology to Egypt, especially with regards to solar energy project components, localising electric vehicle manufacturing, and seawater desalination.
Given China’s global leadership in EV manufacturing, Madbouli urged Chinese companies to establish operations in Egypt and take advantage of the incentives offered by the government. He called on Chinese companies and institutions to boost their investments in Egypt, leveraging Egypt’s memberships in free-trade zones with Arab, African, and European countries.
Madbouli also stressed the importance of addressing the trade imbalance between the two countries by expanding Egyptian exports to China. He noted that Egyptian products are of high quality and already reach markets in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Africa.
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, bilateral trade between Egypt and China exceeded $17 billion, with Egypt’s imports from China reaching $15.5 billion, in 2024.
Li highlighted China’s efforts to increase Egyptian exporters’ access to the Chinese market, noting that significant measures have already been taken in this regard.
The Chinese premier further reiterated China’s interest in fostering investment cooperation with Egypt in various sectors, including renewable energy, industry, artificial intelligence, the digital economy, and the financial sector.
Madbouli and Li witnessed the signing of a handful of cooperation deals between the government and the China International Development Cooperation Agency on e-commerce, green and low-carbon development, development assistance, finance and health.
Economic and business observers believe the deals will boost Egypt’s ambition to become a regional energy and logistics hub and to China’s efforts to promote South-South cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Among the landmark deals, the People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen financial cooperation that covers local-currency use when it comes to settling cross-border transactions and the exchange of information and professional expertise in monetary policy, financial markets, central bank digital currencies, digital innovation and electronic payment systems.
Businessman Mohamed Farag Amer, former deputy chairman of parliament’s Industry Committee, described the decision of China and Egypt to use local currencies in settling their business transactions as a landmark step that reflects the trust between the two countries.
“This step will help reduce the dependence on foreign exchange, particularly the US dollar, and comes as a response to the intention of the BRICS countries to settle their financial transactions in local currencies instead of the dollar,” Amer said.
Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and President of the China International Development Cooperation (CIDA) Agency Chen Xiaodogn also signed five cooperation documents aimed at strengthening Egyptian-Chinese strategic relations.
The documents include a memorandum of understanding on the first development cooperation strategy between the two countries for the period 2025-2029 and the first phase of the debt-for-development swap programme.
“Egypt is the first country with which the CIDA has inked such a development financing agreement,” said Al-Mashat, noting that “Egypt has significant experience and success in debt swap mechanisms, especially with Italy and Germany, with over $900 million in such programmes.”
The two sides also inked an exchange of letters for a 1.520 million Chinese Yuan feasibility study grant for a project to set up a prosthetics system, an MoU boosting cooperation in human resource development under which the Chinese side will train some 2,000 Egyptians, and an exchange of letters for a grant to set up a biosafety lab.
Al-Mashat emphasised that Li’s visit to Egypt and his meetings with Al-Sisi and Madbouli reflect the continuous progress of bilateral relations between the two countries and help implement the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed by the presidents of the two countries in 2014.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 17 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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