Posted on 01/22/2016 8:10:56 AM PST by Eddie01
CHINA signed a raft of economic deals with Egypt yesterday during a visit by President Xi Jinping, including US$1.7 billion in loans to the banking sector.
After arriving late on Wednesday from Saudi Arabia, Xi held talks with Egyptâs President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and was scheduled to address the Cairo-based Arab League.
State television broadcast the live signing of the agreements at a presidential palace in Cairo in the presence of the two leaders.
âThe two sides have agreed to undertake 15 projects ... mainly in sectors like electricity, transport and infrastructure,â Xi said in a joint statement with Sisi.
âThe total investment in these projects is US$15 billion. These projects will offer a new impetus to the economic development of Egypt,â he said.
Sisi said the agreements were the âbest evidence of the two countriesâ determination to improve their levels of cooperation.â
Heralding an era of closer political and economic ties, officials from the two countries signed 21 agreements that could see China significantly ramp up investments in the most populous Arab country.
The deals span several infrastructure investments, from power generation to the first phase of a new Egyptian administrative capital unveiled last year. They also include a US$1 billion financing deal for Egyptâs central bank and a US$700 million loan to state-owned National Bank of Egypt.
Egypt has been battling to restore growth since the 2011 uprising ushered in a period of political instability that scared off tourists and foreign investors.
Chinaâs US$1 billion loan could help bolster the central bankâs foreign reserves, which have more than halved since 2011 as it battles to defend the currency against downward pressure.
Meeting Egyptian President Sisi, Xi said China and Egypt had developed a deep friendship based on mutual respect and expressed Chinaâs backing for Egypt running its affairs without outside interference.
âWhat path a country or people chooses cannot be separated from historical and cultural traditions or the reality of economic development,â Xi said.
âChina supports the people of Egypt in making independent choices,â and also in âplaying an active role in regional and international affairs,â he said.
As well as addressing the Arab League, Xi was scheduled to visit Egyptâs newly convened parliament, which was sworn in earlier this month.
He was also set to visit the famed temple city of Luxor later yesterday to attend celebrations marking six decades of diplomatic relations between Cairo and Beijing.
His visit to Luxor is also seen as an attempt to attract Chinese tourists to Egypt, whose economy is heavily dependent on revenue from the tourism sector.
Xiâs tour, his first to the Middle East as president, will take him next to Iran.
In Saudi Arabia â Chinaâs biggest global supplier of crude â he met with King Salman and oversaw the opening of a joint-venture oil refinery in the Yanbu Industrial City on the Red Sea.
The Saudi Press Agency said the two countries decided to establish a âcomprehensive strategic partnership.â
During his visit to Riyadh, Xi had been expected to seek to help ease tensions between Saudi Arabia, the regionâs main Sunni power, and Shiite rival Iran.
Xi is expected to arrive in Iran today, just days after the lifting of sanctions on the country.
China, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Russia reached a deal with Iran in July to curtail its nuclear activities in exchange for ending international sanctions.
Read this. China is winning. The are cutting smart global deals and growing as a world power.
I don't like it, but I envy it. I want to America to win again.
Leaders are only as smart as the people they arise from; the people are only as smart as the educational system they create; look to the schools, not the leader of the moment.
China’s signing all these stupid deals and stuff, but we have a carrier group running on fat waste. Green baby!!!!
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