Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao kicks off a tour of Africa in Egypt on Saturday, celebrating Sino-African political ties in the nation where they began, before resuming the hunt for mineral wealth in six other countries. On May 30, 1956, Egypt became the first African state to establish diplomatic relations with the People s Republic of China, and both countries have since maintained warm ties. This is a relation that both countries cherish very much, Egypt s assistant foreign minister for Asian affairs, Ali Al-Hefny told AFP, speaking of the festivities to take place at the foot of the pyramids. Wen s trip is the latest in a series of high-profile visits and President Hosni Mubarak, who has traveled to China six times since reaching power in 1981, is expected in Beijing again before the end of the year. No less than 10 bilateral agreements, memoranda of understanding and letters of intent will be signed between the two countries during Wen s 24-hour visit. Bilateral trade reached 2.2 billion in 2005, with the balance leaning heavily in China s favor. Egypt, whose prime source of revenue is tourism, will seek to tap into the 100 million Chinese tourists expected to flood the world annually by 2020. Around 50,000 Chinese tourists visited Egypt in 2005. We want to increase that number and attract as many as possible, said Hefny, a former ambassador to China. But he said the two sides would also discuss means of establishing Egypt as a gateway for China s booming trade with the rest of the continent. Despite Beijing s attempts to depict Wen s visit as more than an oil-hunting safari, experts insist China s main concern is to secure enough raw materials to quench the ever-growing thirst of its economy. Of course there are historical ties with Egypt, but let s face it, it s all about oil. Stopping in Cairo gives the whole tour a more official and political veneer, said one Cairo-based diplomat on condition of anonymity. Wen s visit will include a stop in Angola, China s second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, and five other countries that helped boost Beijing s trade with the continent to $39.5 billion last year. It is critical for China to guarantee a supply of oil and metals and anything it needs to feed its economy, which is highly energy intensive as growth is essentially industrial, economist Nicolas Pinaud told AFP. China s trade with Africa increased forty-fold between 1990 and 2004, with Beijing now getting 15 percent of its oil from Angola and Sudan, said Pinaud, from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Observers say China is also seeking to extend its diplomatic influence in Africa, a major voting bloc on international issues such as Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. China, who is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, is eager to coordinate its policies with Egypt. In most cases, we have similar views when it comes to world issues, Hefny said. Egypt has a lot to gain in China s two-pronged offensive to garner alliances in Africa and gain control of mineral deposits long left fallow by years of civil strife, Pinaud said. What is clear is that Egypt plays an important role on the continent and in the region and holds a strategic place in the Mediterranean area … It could aim to become a re-export hub for China s activites, he said. China is also a major customer in Egypt s neighbor, Sudan, absorbing 80 percent of its oil exports. But Wen will not include the pariah regimes of Sudan and Zimbabwe in his tour, in what some observers have interpreted as a bid by Beijing to appear as a responsible power in Africa rather than a ruthless plunderer. AFP
Premier of China kicks off Africa tour in Egypt
