Minister sees China overtaking U.S. as Egypt's largest trading partner

BEIJING: Egypt is reaching out to China to help develop a range of heavy industries as part of a rapid blossoming of trade and investment ties, Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said on Sunday. He told a meeting of the World Economic Forum that he expected China to overtake the United States and become Egypt s largest individual trading partner within seven or eight years. Two-way trade with China totals $2 billion a year, compared with more than $5 billion with the United States. The minister has been in China for a week at the head of a business delegation that has discussed a range of industrial deals that, if they materialized, could be worth $2 billion. The sectors include aluminum smelting, glass, cement and paper production, Rachid said. By shifting from being mainly a seller of consumer goods to a supplier of capital equipment and know-how, China is transforming its relationship with Egypt, he said. These are factories that will stay for the next 20-25 years that will need a long-standing cooperation, a continuous supply of technology and, in many cases, even financing, Rachid said. At the same time, China is investing aggressively for the long term in the Middle East and Africa to secure energy and raw materials. If you put all these factors together, it is very clear that the influence of China and the involvement of China in our region, in our country, will increase, Rachid said. A statement issued by his ministry said Egypt and China had also signed a memorandum of understanding to build Egypt s first marble waste recycling plant, using Chinese technology, and to create a series of technology service centers to cater for the Egyptian buildings materials and textile industries. The two sides also agreed to cooperate on setting up an international exhibition center outside Cairo that will entail the investment of $500 million. Reuters