The Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) office in Beijing carried out an intensive programme of activities across Shandong and Hunan provinces in November 2025, as part of efforts to widen trade and investment cooperation with key Chinese industrial hubs and strengthen linkages between Chinese supply chains and Egypt's manufacturing and logistics capabilities. Minister Plenipotentiary for Commercial Affairs Khaled Milad Razek, Head of the Commercial and Economic Office in Beijing, participated in the "Dialogue with Shandong Enterprises within the BRICS Framework" forum, where he delivered a presentation on Egypt's position as a preferred destination for foreign direct investment and a gateway to African, European, and Middle Eastern markets. A dynamic discussion with participating companies followed. The ECS office also convened a roundtable in the city of Dongying, bringing together leading companies in the tyres, oil, and petrochemicals sectors. The meeting included B2B sessions and a workshop on joint manufacturing, component localisation, logistics, and supply-chain integration, with representatives from around 30 Chinese firms. The Shandong tour concluded with participation in the "Shandong External Investment and Foreign Trade Matchmaking Conference" in Jinan, which was attended by representatives from around 60 Chinese companies. Razek delivered a detailed presentation on investment incentives in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and Egypt's competitiveness as a manufacturing and distribution hub for regional markets. In Hunan, the ECS office took part in the Hunan–Arab States Economic and Trade Cooperation Meeting in Changsha, which included a dedicated session to promote Egypt's investment climate and incentives, alongside networking engagements with the province's business community. The visit also featured a field tour of Qilu Pharmaceutical, one of China's leading pharmaceutical producers and a long-standing partner of major Egyptian drug manufacturers. Discussions focused on opportunities for technology transfer, local production, the establishment of an R&D centre in Egypt, and broader avenues for cooperation. These meetings generated discussions on concrete investment opportunities in the tyres, pharmaceuticals, building materials, and glass industries, with agreement reached to organise reciprocal familiarisation and exploratory visits to Egypt in the coming period. Shandong, China's third-largest provincial economy, hosts major companies investing in Egypt, including Haier, Hisense, and Sailun Group. Meanwhile, Hunan is a fast-growing industrial centre specialising in construction equipment, railways, machinery, and advanced materials, and is home to the permanent China–Africa Economic and Trade Expo—an important platform for expanding cooperation between Egypt, the Arab region, and Chinese provinces. Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, Head of ECS, said the activities fall within the broader framework of expanding economic, trade, and investment cooperation between Egypt and China. He noted that bilateral trade reached $17.378bn in 2024, underscoring the significant potential to increase and diversify Egyptian exports to the Chinese market. He added that Chinese direct investment in Egypt currently stands at around $1.2bn, while the total value of Chinese deals and implemented investments exceeds $10bn since the beginning of the modern phase of cooperation between the two countries.
