America News Agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on an official visit to Egypt, met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo today.

During his meeting with Sisi following the welcoming ceremony, Xi said that over the 70 years since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries, bilateral ties have developed on the principles of equality and mutual trust, friendly mutual learning, harmonious cooperation and win-win cooperation.

Noting that breakthrough progress has been made in the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership in recent years, Xi emphasized that amid complex and unstable international and regional conditions, the two countries should support each other, deepen cooperation and continuously advance the building of a China-Egypt community with a shared future.

Xi listed his expectations for the development of bilateral relations as follows:

-China and Egypt should firmly support each other, maintain high-level exchanges and strengthen contacts and cooperation at all levels and in all fields.

-The two sides should increase alignment between their development strategies and unlock the potential for cooperation in traditional sectors such as infrastructure, energy, agriculture and telecommunications technologies. They should also create new areas of cooperation in fields such as green energy, electric vehicles, aviation and space, the digital economy and modern agricultural technologies.

-The two countries should intensify exchanges and cooperation across a broad range of fields, particularly culture, education, science and technology, health and sports, and increase people-to-people exchanges in order to deepen mutual understanding.

-China and Egypt should strengthen cooperation in the security field, jointly combat international crime, deepen international cooperation against corruption, firmly support each other’s counterterrorism efforts and safeguard common security.

-The two sides should further strengthen coordination and cooperation on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations and BRICS and jointly advance the development of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. They should also jointly oppose unilateralism and coercion and promote the building of a fairer and more reasonable global governance system.

Egyptian President Sisi said they were very pleased with Xi Jinping’s historic official visit to Egypt on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Sisi said that since diplomatic relations were established between Egypt and China, bilateral relations have developed in a healthy and stable manner and important and positive results have been achieved in cooperation across various fields. He said Egypt, which adheres to the One-China principle, is working to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Sisi said Egypt is ready to intensify cooperation with China in areas such as trade, investment, manufacturing, infrastructure, finance, science and technology and new energy in order to bring greater benefits to the two peoples and contribute more to regional development and prosperity. Sisi also said they want to strengthen communication in the field of military security and increase people-to-people exchanges.

Noting that China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, plays an important and constructive role in international affairs, Sisi emphasized that Egypt is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on multilateral platforms to jointly address global challenges and uphold international justice and fairness.

The two leaders also had an extensive exchange of views on the situation in the Middle East during the meeting.

Xi Jinping said China supports countries in the region in developing good-neighborly and friendly relations and in building a new security architecture for the Middle East by embracing a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept.

Xi said the internal driving force for ensuring the region’s common security should be encouraged and comprehensive governance strengthened, adding that the foundations of common security should be consolidated. Emphasizing that development is the fundamental path to lasting peace and stability in the Middle East, Xi called for increased international coordination for the region’s common security.

Sisi, for his part, said Egypt appreciates China’s consistent, objective and impartial position on Middle Eastern issues.

Emphasizing that Egypt is working to reduce tensions in the region, resolve disputes and conflicts through political means and enable the region to achieve security and development, Sisi said Egypt will continue to strengthen coordination with China to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, preserve regional stability and establish a regional security framework.

Following the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of numerous cooperation documents covering areas such as the Belt and Road, artificial intelligence, the economy, trade, industry and supply chains.

The two countries also issued the “Joint Statement on Further Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Arab Republic of Egypt.”

More than 20 cooperation documents were also signed in various fields during Xi’s visit to Egypt, including the digital economy, science and technology, education and transportation.