China's New FM Visits Egypt, Concluding His Five-Nation Africa Tour

China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited Egypt on Sunday, concluding his week-long Africa tour, which was his first official visit to the continent as a foreign minister, aimed at strengthening China-Africa cooperation.

During his visit to Egypt, the minister held talks separately with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, as well as with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. The discussions were mainly focused on enhancing bilateral relations in various areas of mutual interest.

At the meeting with Arab League secretary-general in Cairo, Egypt, Qin praised the successful convening of the first China-Arab States Summit, which was held on December 9, 2022, saying that it became a "milestone" in boosting China-Arab ties to new highs. He stated that China is ready to work with Arab countries to implement the realization of the summit's outcomes, which include initiatives in such spheres as development support, food security, public health, green innovations, security and stability.

The countries' foreign ministers held talks on Sino-Egyptian ties, specifically regarding growing Chinese tourism to the North African country, which has been struggling to revive its tourist sector since it was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his meeting with el-Sissi, Qin stated that China fully supports Egypt's positive contribution to ensuring peace and security in the Middle East, underlining that the country is determined to cooperate on this issue with Egypt and jointly promote stability in the region.

The Egyptian president praised China's great development and its commitment to maintain strong ties with African nations, adding that relations between the two countries are "unbreakable."

Addressing the prominent results that China and Egypt have achieved in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), el-Sissi stated that the country is inviting Chinese companies to invest and set up businesses. The Chinese foreign minister, for his part, reassured that Beijing will continue to expand its investment programs, and in particular, invest into Egypt’s infrastructure projects, including those within China’s BRI.

The BRI is a global infrastructure development strategy, proposed by China in 2013. It involves infrastructure, trade, and investment enhancement aimed at improving connectivity on a transcontinental scale. As of now, up to 43 African countries have joined the BRI by signing memorandums of understanding with China. Under this initiative, China has invested heavily in infrastructure on the African continent, including railways, roads, telecommunications, health and energy facilities.

Gang's trip to Africa, which took place from January 9 to 16, also included such countries as Ethiopia, Angola, Benin, and Gabon. During his visit to Ethiopia, he signed an agreement to partially forgive the country's debt, stating that China is ready to help and support the people of Ethiopia after the conflict in Tigray, and urging the international community to increase the scale of humanitarian assistance for the country.

He also visited the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he responded to allegations that China is creating a "debt trap" in Africa, saying that it is a false narrative, intentionally imposed on the cooperation between China and African states.

In Benin, the Chinese government minister reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding on partial debt cancellation. Apart from that, the two sides inked various cooperation documents, including on people-to-people and cultural exchanges.