Chinese President Xi Jinping published a signed article in a local newspaper in Egypt on Tuesday ahead of his visit to the country which is due to start on Wednesday.
The letter tittled “Let China – Arab Friendship Surge Forward like the Nile” was published in the leading newspaper in Egypt Alharam.
President Xi states that it is in his first overseas visit in 2016 that he will pay a visit to Egypt at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a purpose to renew friendship, discuss cooperation and development with Egyptians.
“Egypt is the gift of the Nile.” When I first visited Egypt 16 years ago, I learned how people of ancient Egypt harnessed the Nile floods for agricultural production. I marveled at the Nile, mother of the Egyptian civilization, and was amazed by the wisdom and strength of the Egyptian people. Ever since then, the great Nile has been etched in my mind.” Read the statement
In the article, President Xi says that China will continue to develop it relations with Egypt from strategic and long-term perspectives. Looking to deepen political trust and strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Egypt was the 1st Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with China over 60 years ago.
President Xi attended the opening ceremony of the sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2014, where he presented the strategic vision for China and Arab countries to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which will be realized in the coming 10 years.
Eight Arab countries, namely Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sudan, Jordan and Iraq, have established or elevated to strategic cooperative relations or partnerships with China.
In 2014, trade between China and Arab countries exceeded 251.1 billion U.S. dollars. China imported 146 million tons of oil from Arab countries and was the second largest trading partner for Arab countries.
In the past 60 years, China has provided Arab countries with a total of 25.4 billion RMB yuan in economic assistance, trained over 20,000 people in different professions and sent medical teams to eight Arab countries.
Eleven Arab countries have become approved destinations for Chinese tourists. There are now 183 weekly flights between the two sides, and every year, 1.02 million people travel back and forth between China and Arab countries.
According to President Xi, China will continue to support the Middle East Peace process. He calls upon the Arab countries to defend regional peace not by force but by finding consensus and being understanding and accommodative between differing sides.
