Chinese, Egyptian FMs reach important consensus during talks in Cairo

CAIRO - Over the past decade since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt, the two countries have opened up a golden era of leapfrog development in bilateral relations under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a joint press conference after talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said that looking ahead, under the leadership of the two heads of state, this partnership will surely embrace an even more brilliant decade.

The two ministers have held fruitful talks and achieved a broad consensus, according to Wang.

Firstly, the two countries will continue to deepen strategic mutual trust and firmly support each other in safeguarding core interests.

China is grateful for the valuable support from Egypt on issues concerning China's core interests, especially the Taiwan question, and will continue to firmly support Egypt in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security and taking a successful path of development that suits its national conditions, Wang said.

Secondly, the two countries will jointly work on high-quality construction of the Belt and Road to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results at a higher level.

China is ready to work with the Egyptian side to implement the outline of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries for the next five years and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, continue to support Egypt to promote its economic and social construction, import more high-quality products from Egypt, and encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Egypt, Wang said.

Thirdly, it is necessary to strengthen inter-civilizational dialogue and achieve deeper people-to-people exchanges between the two sides.

China is willing to work with Egypt to promote cooperation in the fields of culture, youth, think tanks and vocational education, and will continue to encourage more Chinese citizens to visit Egypt and experience the charm of its ancient civilization, Wang said.

Fourthly, the two countries need to carry out closer communication and collaboration on regional and international issues.

Egypt is a major Arab, African, Islamic and developing country. This year, China will host the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and the new session of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. China looks forward to working with Egypt to lead China-Arab States and China-Africa collective cooperation to a new level, and to build a model of high-quality South-South cooperation, Wang said.

The Chinese foreign minister once again congratulated Egypt on becoming a new member of the BRICS group, voicing China's readiness to work with Egypt to strengthen BRICS cooperation and jointly promote global governance toward the direction of building an equitable and orderly multi-polar world and promoting inclusive economic globalization that benefits all.