Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a four-nation tour of Africa in Cairo, meeting Jan. 14 with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and newly-reelected President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. They signed a joint statement on the situation in Southwest Asia (see separate entry), and also reached broad strategic agreement on four points. Xinhua reported:
“The two ministers have held fruitful talks and achieved a broad consensus, according to Wang.… Firstly, the two countries will continue to deepen strategic mutual trust and firmly support each other in safeguarding core interests.” Egypt’s support for the One China policy was mentioned, as was China’s continuing to “support Egypt in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security and taking a successful path of development that suits its national conditions, Wang said.
“Secondly, the two countries will jointly work on high-quality construction of the Belt and Road to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results at a higher level.” This will include more Chinese investment in Egypt, and greater China imports from Egypt.
“Thirdly, it is necessary to strengthen inter-civilizational dialogue and achieve deeper people-to-people exchanges between the two sides….
