Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said that the two countries are cooperating to establish the largest cold storage facility for vaccines and serums in Africa. This contributes to raising Egypt's capacity to store and distribute vaccines, as it is seeking to be the largest producer of vaccines against the coronavirus in the region, he said, explaining that China is keen to transfer its technology to Egypt. Furthermore, the ambassador disclosed that China has been Egypt's largest trading partner in the past eight years. He added that Chinese investments in Egypt have also continued their business despite the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, Liqiang noted that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries has reached $19bn, an increase of 37.3%. In a press conference held on Wednesday, the ambassador stated that the Chinese president confirmed that China will give Egypt 60m doses of vaccines in several batches and that cooperation protocols between Chinese and Egyptian companies would be established to enhance Egypt's role in combating the pandemic. Additionally, Egyptian-Chinese cooperation resulted in half a million doses of the VACSERA-Sinovac vaccine being allocated to the Palestinian people. He pointed out that Chinese investments last year in various Egyptian sectors amounted to about $223m, almost doubling from the previous year. These investments included work on projects in the New Administrative Capital and 10th of Ramadan City, and cooperation in the Suez Canal region contributed to creating more than 40,000 jobs in Egypt. The ambassador also stressed that the Chinese and Egyptian sides have witnessed cooperation in the fields of agriculture and clean energy, as they cooperated on developing green agriculture. Additionally, 240,000 buses will be converted from gasoline to natural gas, which will contribute to achieving common development goals in Egypt. Furthermore, there is cooperation in the field of combating climate change, especially with Egypt hosting the Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) this November in Sharm El-Sheikh by strengthening cooperation in developing clean and renewable energy. Liqiang elaborated that the current year is full of complex challenges and more complex conditions prevail compared to last year, stressing that the comprehensive Chinese-Egyptian partnership made great achievements last year and will witness a boost during the current year. "Despite changing circumstances and challenges, Egyptian-Chinese relations withstand all changes and have become a model for the world to follow," he said. "When President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi visited Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympics on 4 February at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the two leaders discussed strengthening relations and reached a series of understandings to strengthen the partnership and raise its level." The two presidents also talked about the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries, especially with regard to development cooperation within the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in all fields, especially in economy and trade, as well as strengthening communication and political consultation between the two countries on regional and international issues.
