China-Egypt relationship ‘at its best’, says envoy

China and Egypt are now at the peak of their bilateral relationship after a golden decade of leapfrogging development, and more progress is expected to be made as they continue to deepen cooperation, China’s Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang says.

The two countries have consolidated their political mutual trust, achieved fruitful results in practical cooperation and jointly safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries over the past 10 years, Liao said in an interview with China Daily.

“The development of bilateral relations has entered the fast lane and is now at its best,” he said, highlighting the fruitful Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries.

Egypt was among the first countries to respond to the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013. In 2016, a memorandum of understanding was signed to boost bilateral cooperation under the initiative.

The two countries have joined hands in building Egypt’s first electrified light rail transit system, establishing Africa’s largest vaccine storage center in the country and constructing a huge cement plant that boasts six production lines, among others.

In addition, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, a demonstration project set up in 2008 that aligns the BRI with the development of the Suez Canal Corridor Project, has attracted 145 companies with an investment of more than $2 billion.

“China and Egypt, both of which are representatives of major developing countries and emerging economies, have provided strategic stability to a changing and turbulent world through their cooperation,” Liao said.

Egypt was the first African country and the first Arab state that established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

Development vision

“For China and African countries, walking side by side on their respective paths toward modernization will create a favorable environment for realizing our development visions,” he said.

He said he believes a new chapter for a China-Africa community with a shared future will be created this fall during the meeting of the Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation in China.

Liao, who is also China’s representative to the League of Arab States, said more than 200 largescale projects have been carried out by China and Arab countries under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation, with the results benefiting nearly 2 billion people on both sides.

The Arab League was the first regional organization to sign a cooperation agreement with China on BRI, and China has signed bilateral cooperation documents on the initiative with all 22 Arab countries.

“China and Arab countries enjoy broad prospects in terms of pushing forward all-around cooperation and working together to realize their respective national rejuvenation,” Liao said.

On Jan 1, five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, joined BRICS, marking a historic expansion of the bloc’s membership.

“In a broader sense, BRICS expansion reflects the collective rise of the Global South and a world evolving faster toward multipolarity,” Liao said.

“At a time when the world pattern is undergoing profound changes and human society is facing multiple challenges, it is of great significance for China and Arab countries to strengthen cooperation,” he said.

Liao Liqiang