Xi greets Egypt's leader over opening of museum

President Xi Jinping has congratulated Egypt on the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, southwest of Cairo, and called on both countries to deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

In a congratulatory message sent to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday, Xi expressed his belief that the museum will leave a profound mark on Egypt's cultural history and play an important role in preserving and passing on the ancient Egyptian civilization.

Noting that China and Egypt share a time-honored friendship, Xi said the two nations' comprehensive strategic partnership has flourished in recent years.

The two countries have also enjoyed vibrant and diverse people-to-people and cultural exchanges, he said, adding that a grand exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts was successfully held at the Shanghai Museum and that a joint China-Egypt archaeological team is now working beneath the pyramids at Saqqara to explore the mysteries of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Xi said it is encouraging to see the two ancient civilizations reaching out to each other, with the two peoples growing ever closer through mutual understanding and affinity.

As the world today is undergoing accelerated transformation unseen in a century, China and Egypt, both ancient civilizations, should continue to deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations to inject fresh impetus into the development of their comprehensive strategic partnership and contribute the strength of civilizations to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, he added.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn