CAIRO, Sept 4 – Egypt and China have signed five agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at expanding economic cooperation across trade, industry, technology and strategic infrastructure during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Cairo.
One of the agreements sets out priority areas for cooperation between Egypt’s Vision 2030 development strategy and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The memorandum was signed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Zheng Shanjie, Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
The two countries also signed an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement and a separate memorandum focused on industrial development and strengthening supply chains. The agreements were signed by Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.
Cooperation in technology was also included in the agreements. Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and China’s National Development and Reform Commission signed a memorandum covering collaboration in information technology.
Another agreement was signed between the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and China’s Ministry of Commerce to expand economic cooperation, reinforcing the strategic importance of the canal zone in Egypt’s efforts to attract investment and strengthen its position as a regional trade and industrial hub.
Beyond the five principal agreements, more than 20 additional cooperation documents were signed on the sidelines of the presidential visit. The documents cover a broader range of areas, including technology, financial services, digital transformation, transportation and media.
The agreements come as Egypt and China seek to deepen a strategic relationship that has increasingly focused on investment, infrastructure, industrial capacity and technology. For Egypt, stronger economic ties with China provide an avenue for attracting investment and developing productive sectors, while China gains further opportunities to expand commercial links with one of Africa’s largest economies and a major gateway between Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
The visit began with an official reception for President Xi Jinping and his wife at Al Ittihadiya Palace, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and First Lady Entissar El-Sisi. The ceremony included a cavalry parade, a 21-gun salute, an inspection of the honour guard and the national anthems of both countries.
The latest agreements reinforce the broader Egypt-China strategic partnership and signal an intention by both governments to move beyond traditional trade relations towards deeper cooperation in manufacturing, supply chains, technology and investment.
As implementation progresses, the focus will shift from the signing of agreements to the mobilisation of investment and delivery of projects, particularly in industrial development, digital infrastructure and the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
