China, Egypt build on 70 years of diplomatic relations

Egyptian actor Sherif Sobhy was almost lost for words after watching a video of a sandpainting created by a Chinese fan featuring his character Zayd in the Chinese film Once Upon a Time in the Middle East.

The artwork depicts the changes Zayd undergoes after war breaks out in a Middle Eastern country. Sobhy shared the video on his newly created Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, account, describing it on the Chinese social media platform as "an amazing piece of art" and "one of the best gifts" he had ever received.

Part of the film was shot in Egypt, with an Egyptian cast.

The film is being screened in China as the nation and Egypt, the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, celebrate 70 years of bilateral ties. Since 1956, the two countries have expanded their collaboration to cover political coordination, trade, investment, infrastructure, technology, education, culture and tourism.

China and Egypt are both home to ancient civilizations. More than four millennia ago, when ancient Egyptians were building pyramids along the Nile, early societies were flourishing along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers in China. Though separated by thousands of kilometers, the two ancient civilizations gradually connected through the Silk Road.

Wang Xiaoyu, an associate research fellow at Fudan University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Shanghai, said that over the past 70 years, China-Egypt relations have remained highly stable, with a great degree of continuity.

She credited this resilience primarily to the political trust and mutual respect between the two nations.

Wang said that high-level exchanges have further reinforced this relationship, helping to provide more predictable expectations for cooperation and translate political consensus into concrete cooperation agendas.

In congratulatory messages exchanged on May 30 on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, President Xi Jinping said China-Egypt relations have become a model of amity, solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, as well as a benchmark for collective cooperation between China and Arab states and between China and Africa.

Xi said he is ready to work with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to take the anniversary as a new starting point, carry forward the traditional friendship, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and push for the growth of China-Egypt relations featuring greater strategic guidance, stronger synergy for development and broader international influence.

Egyptian President El-Sisi said Egypt and China have stood shoulder to shoulder through different historical periods and that bilateral relations have maintained steady growth over the past 70 years. He expressed the hope of working with Xi to advance bilateral ties and jointly build a more stable multipolar world with a greater capacity to address global challenges.

Practical collaboration

China and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly building the Belt and Road in January 2016, when Xi made a state visit to Egypt. In 2024, the two countries signed a cooperation plan to further align the Belt and Road Initiative with Egypt's Vision 2030.

Wang of Fudan University said practical collaboration has continued to expand since the two countries began jointly building the Belt and Road, producing a number of major projects.

Chinese companies have played a role in building the Central BusinessDistrict in Egypt's new administrative capital and the 10th of Ramadan light rail transit system.

Wang described the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone as a representative project. The zone has attracted more than 200 companies and developed industrial clusters in sectors including new building materials, equipment and machinery manufacturing, and textiles.

Wen Jing, a scholar at Tsinghua University's Center for International Security and Strategy in Beijing who visited Cairo and Alexandria last year, said the trip gave her a more concrete sense of Egypt's development potential.

She visited Haier Egypt Ecological Park, an industrial park invested by Haier Smart Home Co, a subsidiary of Chinese home appliance giant Haier Group. Localized manufacturing at the park serves the Egyptian market and supports exports to other parts of Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Tarek Nosseir, president of the Cairo-based think tank Global Forum for Future Studies, told Xinhua News Agency that Chinese participation in major projects had helped to localize advanced technologies, attract investment, support national development plans and create tens of thousands of jobs. He also pointed to collaboration in renewable energy, the national power grid and transportation networks.

The first Strategic Report on Egyptian-Chinese Relations 2024-2025, published by the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in June, examined collaboration in politics, trade, investment, infrastructure, technology, security, education, culture and tourism.

Ahmed Kandil, head of the center's International Relations Unit and Energy Programme and editor of the report, wrote that China-proposed initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, offered Egypt opportunities in the areas of development financing, infrastructure modernization, technological advancement and deeper integration into emerging global networks.

People-to-people bonds

Collaboration between the two countries also covers tourism, education, archaeology, culture and media.

The exhibition On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, jointly organized by the Shanghai Museum and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, ran for 13 months in Shanghai, and was viewed by more than 2.77 million visitors.

According to the Chinese embassy in Cairo, Egypt received 360,000 Chinese tourists last year, up from about 300,000 in 2024.

In Egypt, Chinese-language information is now displayed at tourist sites, and services for Chinese visitors have been expanded. Direct flights and electronic visas have also made travel between the two countries more convenient.

A year ago, China's National Center for Archaeology and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities signed an agreement on advancing maritime archaeology and protecting underwater cultural heritage. It covers joint research, academic exchanges and training for archaeologists and restorers.

Kandil of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies described Egypt-China relations as "the story of two civilizations rediscovering each other in a changing world".

A sustainable strategic relationship could not rely solely on governments, companies or infrastructure projects, but also requires people-to-people connections, he said.