Beijing, Cairo build on ties of 70 years

Experts credit highly stable relations to political trust and mutual respect

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, culture, technology, education 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 Shanghai-based Fudan University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, 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 establishment of diplomatic ties, President Xi Jinping said China-Egypt relations have become a model of amity, solidarity and cooperation among developing nations, 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.

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 voiced readiness to work with Xi to advance bilateral ties and build a more stable multipolar world.

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

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

Wang from Fudan University 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 various sectors including new building materials.

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.

In a recent report on Egypt-China relations published by the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Ahmed Kandil, head of the center’s International Relations Unit, described Egypt-China relations as “the story of two civilizations rediscovering each other in a changing world”.

Contact the writers at mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn