Cairo - Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed Tuesday an agreement with the Export–Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) to cooperate in financing national and development projects. Coming in preparation for President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to China in September, Nasr said the agreement will finance implementing projects over the next three years. The Chinese bank has funded the implementation of a number of projects in the fields of electricity, transport and maritime ports, Nasr said. Economic relations between Cairo and Beijing are deemed strong. The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and China recorded $5.178 billion from January to June 2017. China's exports to Egypt decreased by 20.79 percent on a year-on-year basis to $4.518 billion, while Chinese imports from Egypt increased by 298.37 percent to reach $660 million. Egypt ranked 52nd in list of China's largest trading partners, according to the latest statistics released by the Chinese General Administration of Customs. Also, the number of Chinese tourists coming to Egypt has increased by 94% during the year 2017, compared to the same period last year, according to Xinhua News Agency.
