China and Egypt are good friends who share the same goals and trust each other, and are also good partners who work together for development and common prosperity. Egypt is one of the first countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Egypt continue to deepen cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative.
When President Xi Jinping visited Egypt in January 2016, he emphasized: "China and Egypt should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, accelerate the pace of cooperation within the framework of the joint construction of the 'Belt and Road', and turn consensus into practical results as soon as possible." In recent years, China and Egypt's high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has continued to be deepened and implemented, which has not only improved Egypt's infrastructure and people's lives, but also promoted the development of local industries and talent training, and has yielded numerous fruits.
New Administrative Capital Central Business District Project——
“Work together to create a new landmark of Egypt-China friendship”
Climb the 385.8-meter-high "Africa's tallest building" sign tower, and the view will suddenly broaden. The sun shines through the clouds onto the earth. Buildings are neatly arranged in the desert. The outline of a modern city is clearly visible.
This is the central business district project of Egypt's new administrative capital, located about 50 kilometers east of downtown Cairo. It was built by the Egyptian branch of China State Construction Engineering Corporation. It includes 10 office buildings, 5 residential buildings, 4 large hotels and landmark towers. It is one of the core projects of Egypt's new administrative capital and a key project of China-Egypt high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative".
Nurhan Amin, senior construction coordinator of the project, said that since joining the project team in 2022, she has watched the buildings transform from lines on the drawings into tall buildings in front of her, and she is "very proud of her heart." Egypt lacks experience in the construction of super high-rise buildings, and Chinese companies have brought advanced construction technologies. Through the project’s “mentor-apprentice assistance” mechanism, Nurhan became a mentor and apprentice with Jia Fengling, the project’s chief engineer. "In the past four years, Teacher Jia has taught me step by step how to read drawings. When I encounter problems, he works with me to analyze the causes and find solutions. Now, I can take on the work independently."
"We hope to pass on technology and experience to the local people through the 'mentor-apprentice assistance' mechanism." Jia Fengling said that Chinese and Egyptian employees work together every day and study and solve technical problems together. Groups of Egyptian technical personnel have grown from "learning and doing" to becoming the backbone of engineering management who can take charge of their own work.
In the evening, Nurhan strolled through the streets of the Central Business District, looking back at the buildings behind him from time to time. "After work every day, I like to take a walk here the most." She said, "These buildings contain my efforts and the marks left by our team. Together, we are building a new landmark of Egypt-China friendship."
"Ten Days of Ramadan City" suburban railway project——
"This is a light rail to the future"
At the Adly Mansour Station of the suburban railway in Egypt's "Ten Days of Ramadan City", passengers queued up in an orderly manner to buy tickets and board the train. "This modern light rail allows us to enjoy real convenience." Passenger Ismail said.
The "Ten Days of Ramadan" suburban railway constructed by the China Railway-AVIC International consortium is Egypt's first electrified urban railway and a landmark project of China-Egypt jointly building the "Belt and Road Initiative". The first and second phases of the project will be officially put into operation in 2022, with a total length of approximately 70 kilometers and a total of 12 stations, benefiting more than 5 million residents along the line.
"After the light rail opened, my commute has become much more convenient." Ismail lives in Shurouk City, east of Cairo, and works in downtown Cairo. In the past, he took a private minibus to commute, which took more than an hour one way, and even longer if he encountered traffic jams. "Now you can get to the office in about 40 minutes by taking the light rail." He said that the train runs smoothly, the carriages are clean and tidy, and the fares are relatively affordable.
Guo Kaixiang, general manager of AVIC International Egypt Branch, said that since its opening to traffic, the light rail has been operating safely for about 1,500 days, with a total of about 280,000 trains and more than 22 million passengers. Chinese enterprises have carried out local talent training based on project construction and operation needs, and have trained a total of about 100 operational talents in dispatching, crew, and station management, as well as about 500 maintenance technical talents covering vehicles, signals, power supply, communications and other fields, helping Egypt establish a local electrified light rail operation and maintenance team.
Malik Sisi is one of the maintenance technical talents trained by Chinese companies. As one of the first trainees recruited by AVIC International in Egypt, he went to China in 2018 to participate in a three-year rail transit operation and maintenance training. In 2022, he joined the "Ten Days of Ramadan City" suburban railway project and is now an assistant maintenance project manager.
"During the training in China, I was systematically exposed to rail transit operation and maintenance management for the first time and learned a lot of professional knowledge." Malik said that the project has trained a group of professionals in Egypt who are familiar with modern rail transit technology and management models. "The project connects downtown Cairo and the new administrative capital, helping Egypt realize its '2030 Vision'. Many friends say that this is a light rail leading to the future."
Haier Egypt Ecological Park——
“Let more products become ‘Made in Egypt’”
Walking into the Haier Electrical Appliances Experience Store located in "Madinati City" in eastern Cairo, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, TVs and other home appliances are neatly displayed, and customers are experiencing complete sets of smart home appliances and home life scenes. "Please tell me about this large-capacity washing machine" "I also want to buy a Haier refrigerator"... From the experience in front of the booth to the products taken home, Chinese home appliances are gradually integrating into the daily lives of Egyptian consumers.
Many of the home appliances here are produced in the Haier Egypt Ecological Park located in the "Ten Days of Ramadan City". The park is the first ecological park invested by Haier in the Middle East and Africa region, covering an area of 200,000 square meters. The first-phase project mainly produces household appliances such as air conditioners, televisions, and washing machines, with an annual production capacity of approximately 1 million units. It will be officially put into operation in May 2024. The ice-cold factory of the second-phase project is under construction and is expected to be put into operation in October this year. After full production, the annual production capacity will exceed 1.5 million units.
"In just two years since the first phase of the project was put into operation, Haier's air conditioner market share has ranked among the top three in the Egyptian market, with washing machines and TVs ranking among the top five. This shows that our products have been recognized and welcomed by local consumers." Hu Gang, general manager of the ecological park, said that in the first half of this year, Haier Egypt also realized the localization of manufacturing large-scale commercial air conditioners, becoming the first enterprise in Egypt to have this capability.
Behind the increase in market share is an in-depth understanding of local needs. "Egypt's summer is hot, and many families have a large population, so they have higher demand for home appliance capacity and performance." Yang Linping, general manager of Haier Egypt Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd., said that based on the local climate and household usage characteristics, Haier has made adaptive improvements to its products - air conditioners equipped with T3 compressors can operate stably at high temperatures of 53 degrees Celsius, and ECO energy-saving inverter air conditioners can achieve up to 60% energy saving effects; large-diameter drums and three-tube partitioned washing machines meet the needs of Arabic robe washing and large-capacity washing.
At present, the localization rate of each industrial line in the ecological park is 60%, and the air-conditioning industry has actually reached 63%. Talking about this achievement, Ahmed Abdel-Rashid, the head of the eco-park's household air conditioners, is particularly proud: "Localization means that we can rely more on local suppliers, technical personnel and manufacturing capabilities to respond more quickly to the needs of the Egyptian market." Ahmed said that the eco-park plans to carry out joint research and development with universities such as Cairo University to promote the integration of R&D, production, sales and other links into the local area, "keeping more industry chain links in Egypt and making more products 'Made in Egypt'."
Nasser Mandor, president of Egypt's Suez Canal University, said: "In recent years, Egypt and China have continued to deepen and implement the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative, which not only responds to the actual needs of Egypt's economic and social development, but also focuses on improving local independent development capabilities and injecting new momentum into Egypt's modernization process."
