Sino-Egyptian Relations Deepened During COVID-19 Pandemic

The friendship between Egypt and China has been deepened during the current fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as both countries show great support and unity during the crisis.

While many countries in the world rushed to close their borders to prevent the spread of the epidemic that affected China since the beginning of January, Egypt did not close its borders in the face of China and Egypt Air’s flights remained the same until the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a global epidemic in mid-March.

Also, in the midst of the spread of the epidemic in China, Egypt sent medical aid to China with the Egyptian Minister of Health to show solidarity and Egypt’s leadership and people standing with China, and all the famous Egyptian tourist attractions were marked by the Chinese red flag, in solidarity with the Chinese people.

And as usual, China met Egyptian feelings of solidarity similarly, as China gave Egypt inspection devices, and participated with Egypt in the measures of prevention and protection. Also, Chinese President Xi Jinping then contacted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as soon as he learned of the emergence of cases of coronavirus in Egypt, and he expressed China’s standing by Egypt Faced with this epidemic, China is ready to give all support to Egypt.

Egypt and China have long-standing trade relations

Egypt and China are countries with long history of ancient civilization. They are the oldest two civilizations on Earth. The Egyptian civilization is more than seven thousand years. The Chinese civilization is more than five thousand years. Both countries have landmarks of the Seven Wonders of the World where Egypt has the pyramids, and China has the Great Wall. The people of the two countries also share their kindness, welcoming foreigners and generous hospitality.

Egypt was the first African and Arab country to recognize the People’s Republic of China. On May 16, 1956, the two countries established diplomatic ties.

Since then, the two countries have maintained good and stable relations. The bilateral relations have witnessed great developments during the past six decades and reached the full strategic partnership in 2014. Egypt is also one of the first countries to welcome and participate in the Belt and Road initiative proposed by China.

Egypt is witnessing many projects with Chinese hands. In the new administrative capital, Egypt is building the longest administrative tower in Africa with the help of Chinese companies. The electric train that strips the new capital in Cairo is also in cooperation with China.

China contributed to investing in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, as it established the largest economic zone there with investments of approximately US$1.5 billion and more than 72 Chinese companies, as the China-Egyptian Economic Zone contributed to employing thousands of Egyptian workers and contributed to attracting many investments to the region and motivated many countries, such as Russia, United Arab Emirates and India to come to investment in the region.

As for trade, Egypt and China have long-standing trade relations. The Silk Road for thousands of years was passing from Egypt to reach Chinese goods to Europe, where Egypt was the center of world trade and China is the largest trade partner to Egypt with a trade volume of US$13 billion, as China exports to Egypt goods worth nearly US$11 billion, while China imports from Egypt nearly US$2 billion of goods.

COVID-19 shows the authentic mineral of China and Egypt

An epidemic of COVID-19 has come to show the authentic mineral of the Chinese and Egyptian peoples and that solidarity between peoples is the basis for building strong relations.

It also shows that the community with shared future for all human beings, raised by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is not a political slogan, but a realistic vision as China provides aid to many countries in the world.

China has sent many medical teams and supplies to many countries of the world in Asia, Europe and America, as well as Africa, more than 83 countries so far.

For example, China has sent aircraft loaded with equipment such as masks, gloves and protective gear, as well as doctors, to several countries around the world, including Italy, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, to contribute to saving lives and providing China’s experience to the world.

As for Egypt, during the visit of the Minister of Health to China, China presented a copy of the sixth document to tackle the Coronavirus, which includes a summary of China’s plans to contain the crisis and bring the infection to zero.

The sixth Chinese document obtained by Egypt with more than 1,000 virus detectors included a specific definition of the disease, mechanisms for preventing it, dealing with suspected cases and dealing in quarantine, in addition to therapeutic protocols that can save patients as well as building plans to manage the crisis in hospitals and laboratories.

The information and experience that China offered Egypt played a very big role in helping Egypt succeed in containing the virus so far.

Now the world views China with love, respect and trust, as China has been able to provide an example of how to confront a fierce virus

The Chinese experiences that they exchanged with the world, without exception, contributed to saving many lives.

Finally, the Sino-Egyptian relations are a model for cooperation between countries for achieving a better future for all the people.

Copyeditor: Cai Hairuo