BySudeshnaSarkarandNiYanshuo
AmodeloftheChina-EgypteconomicandtradecooperationzoneneartheSuezCanalWhenEgyptianPresidentAbdelFattah
al-SisiattendstheG20SummitinHangzhou,ZhejiangProvince,inSeptember,itwillbehisthirdvisittoChinasinceassumingofficein2014andwillsignal,accordingtoTarekKabil,Egypt’sMinisterofTradeandIndustry,thedepthoftherelationshipbetweenChinaandEgypt.
“Intwoyearswehadthreemeetingsbetweenthetwopresidents[ofEgyptandChina],”KabiltoldChinAfricaduringhistriptoChinainJulytoattendtheG20TradeMinistersMeeting.“ItshowshowimportanttherelationshipisbecauseEgyptisamongtheveryfewcountriesthatChinahasinvited.ItalsogivesamessagetothewholeworldaboutEgypt’sstabilityandreadinessforeconomicgrowth.”
ThoughEgyptfacedturbulenceandsawthreegovernmentsinthelastfiveyears,KabilsaysafterPresidentSisicametopower,heimplementedhisthree-prongedpoliticalroadmap:holdingpresidentialelections,passinganewconstitutionandcallingparliamentaryelectionsin2015.
“Todayweareonoureconomicroadmaptorevitalizethecountryinallaspects,[suchas]infrastructure,legislation,[and]systems,”Kabilsaid.“Despiteallthathappenedinthepast,oureconomyisgrowingat4.2percent.Ourtargetnextyearis5percentGDPgrowth.”
TheChinacard
China,ChineseinvestmentsandChinesetouristsareamajorfocusofthatroadmap.
ThoughcurrentlyChinaisthe23rdlargestinvestorinEgyptwithalow-levelinvestmentofabout$500million,accordingtoDaliaKhorshid,Egypt’sMinisterofInvestmentwhowaspartofthevisitingdelegation,thegoalistoincreasetheamount10times.
DaliaKhorshid,Egypt’sMinisterofInvestment“WeareworkingwithourChinesecounterpartstoensureadditionalinvestmentinlogistics,portsandindustrialandinfrastructuredevelopmenttoensurewehavetheinvestmentclimatetoattractmoreinvestments,”Khorshidsaid.“Wehaveatarget:toensurethatChineseinvestmentranksamongthetopfiveto10investorsinEgypt.”
Ofthe18projectsdiscussedbetweenEgyptandChina,thepowerprojects,togetherworth$10billion,aretheonesmostontrack,accordingtoEgyptianofficials.Theyearsofturbulencesawlittleinvestmentinthesectorbutnow,realizingtheimportanceofastrongpowerindustrytoboosttradeandinvestment,EgyptisdiscussingpowerprojectswithChinaonaprioritybasis.TheExport-ImportBankofChinaandtheprivatesectorarealsotobeinvolvedintheprojects.
AnewmajordevelopmentistheplannedconstructionofatextilescityinEgypt,wooingChinesecompaniesastheyseektorelocateinotherdevelopingeconomiestomeetthechallengesofrisingland,powerandlaborcostsinChina.AfterVietNam,BangladeshandEthiopia,itisEgypt’sturntoplayhosttoanewtextilescity.AmemorandumofunderstandinghasbeensignedbetweentheEgyptianauthoritiesandaprivatecompanyinChina,whichhasinspectedthesiteinMinyaCityinUpperEgyptandapprovedit.
TheprojectwillseeChineseinvestmentandtechnologicalexpertisecombinewithEgyptianrawmaterialandskilledlocallabor.“Wehavemissinggapsintextiletechnology,”Kabilsaid.“Forexample,wedon’thavethedyeingtechnology.Sowemakethefabricandsendittobedyed.Thisisamissingpartintheindustrialvaluechain.Sowewanttohavethattechnologyinordertoensurewehaveacompletevaluechain.”
ItmakessensetorelocatetextilesindustriestoEgypt,or,forthatmatter,otherindustriesaswellbecauseEgyptisnotjustamarketof90millionpeoplebutmoreimportantly,agatewaytoabiggermarketof1.6billion.
KabilsaidEgyptenjoysseveralfreetradeagreements.“AnybusinesshappeningontheEgyptiansoilwillenjoytariff-freeaccesstothe[19-member]CommonMarketforEasternandSouthernAfrica,theEuropeanUnionandallArabcountries,”Kabilsaid.“WearealsohavingdiscussionswithRussiaontheEurasianmarket.”Thetextilescity,forexample,hesaid,couldbeusedtoexporttoallthesecountriesaswellasre-exporttoChina,whichwouldalsoaddressthe$8-billiontradeimbalancebetweenChinaandEgypt.
Capacitycooperation
Todevelopitsindustries,EgyptisseekingChinesecooperationtobuildupitsproductioncapacity.ThetwosidesearlierdiscussedthisinCairoandlastmonth,inBeijing.TheChineseexperience,especiallyindevelopingsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises,isanareatheEgyptianauthoritieswanttolearnfrom.Anotherisindustrialareadevelopment.ChinesecompanieshavealreadybuiltanindustrialparkalongtheSuezcorridorinEgypt.TheEgyptiandelegationvisitedanindustrialparkinChinatolearnmoreabouthowChineseindustrialparksoperate.
TarekKabil,Egypt’sMinisterofTradeandIndustryCOURTESYPHOTOAlso,aspartofproductioncapacitybuilding,theChinesesideisassistingindevelopingtherequiredinfrastructureinEgypt,likepower,housingandtransportation.
TheBeltandRoadInitiativeannouncedbytheChineseGovernmentisgoingtobeanimportantboosttodevelopingtheEgyptianeconomy,allthemoresobecauseitdovetailswiththeSuezCanalDevelopmentProjectundertakenbyEgypttobuildoneofthebiggestlogistichubsintheworld.
“TheBeltandRoad[route]isvery,verylong,[planningtoconnectAsia,EuropeandAfrica],”Kabilsaid.“DuringChinesePresidentXiJinping’svisit[earlythisyear],wesignedanMoUregardingtheBeltandRoad.Egypt’sroleistohelpandprepare,withthecooperationoftheChineseside,theinfrastructurerequiredtocontinuethe[route].Thatincludesports,airportsandroads.”
TheEgyptianauthoritiesarequietlyjubilantthattheroadprojectisofftoaflyingstartwithabout5,000kmhavingbeenbuilt.“WehaveahighwaygoingthroughSudananditcouldbegoingtoEthiopia.ThevisionistohaveitfromAlexandria[inEgypt]toCapeTowninSouthAfrica,”Kabilsaid.
Safetyfromterroracts
EgyptisalsoupgradingthreeportsaroundtheSuezCanalandbuildingthreenewones.ItplanstodiscusswithChina“howwecanstartbuildingeconomiczonesaroundthoseroadsbecausethat’sthewholeidea,”Kabiladded.“HowyoucandevelopthisanddevelopthebilateraltradenotonlybetweenEgyptandChinabutalsobetweenthepeoplearoundtheBeltandRoadInitiative.”
AskedhowEgyptwouldofferinvestmentprotection,especiallyinviewofterroristattacks,theministerpointedoutthatterrorattackshadbecomeglobal:“Idon’tthinkterroristattackstodayareaffectingEgyptonly,youhaveseensomanyattackshappeninginEurope,intheUnitedStatesandothercountries.”
ButthoughtherewasfightingaroundEgypt-inLibya,SyriaandYemen-andsomechaosinonepartofEgypt,Kabilsaidthedomesticsituationwasundercontrol.“Politicallyandsecurity-wise,Egyptisextremelystable,”hesaid.“Wecontinuetohaveinvestmenteveryyear,over$6billionandgrowing.AlotofcountriesarealreadyinvestinginEgypt.TheChinesepresident[himself]cametoEgypt,sowhatmoremessagedowewant?IfEgyptwasunstableorunsafe,hewouldnothavecome.”CA
africaReportCallingChineseTourists
TarekKabil,Egypt’sMinisterofTradeandIndustry,admitsthattourism,oneofEgypt’sgrowthengines,isdown,duetopastupheavalsandthetworecentfatalcrashessufferedbyEgyptAir,theflag-carrierairlineofEgypt.
“Whatwearedoingnowistryingtodiversifythesourceoftourists,movingalittlebitfromEuropetoalltheArabcountriesaswellasAsia,”KabiltoldChinAfrica.“Lastyearwehadmorethana100,000touristscomingfromChinaandourobjectiveistotriplethatnumber.ThereareprogramsunderwaytotackleoverallAsiaandinparticular,China."
MagdiAmer,theEgyptianAmbassadortoChina,hadimpressivestatisticstoshowhowChinesetouristsarebeingluredbythePyramids.In2015,nearly125,000ChinesetouristsvisitedEgypt,doublethefigurethepreviousyear,around60,000.
“Thisyear,wehavealreadyachieved100,000.Soweexpecttoachievesomethinglike200,000thisyear,”Amersaid.“ThisgivesyouagoodideathatthenumberoftouristsfromChinaisincreasingeveryyear.”
Thereareseveralreasonsforthat.Besidesthescenicbeautyandthelandmarksinoneoftheoldestcivilizations,thereareadditionaldirectflightsfromChinatoEgypt.“It’snotonlyEgyptAiroperatingfromBeijingorGuangzhoutoEgyptbutwehaveanotherEgyptianairlineAirLeisure,whichisoperatingfromBeijingandShanghaitoHurghada,Egypt,”Amersaid.