Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China on February 5, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Friday, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday. 

Xi pointed out that in recent years, China-Egypt political mutual trust has been consolidated and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results. Highlights have also been seen in the two countries' anti-pandemic cooperation. 

The comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and Egypt sets an example for China's win-win cooperation with Arabian, African and developing countries, Xi said. 

Xi noted that amid profound changes unseen in a century, China and Egypt shared the common ideology of defending their own interests, pursuing common development and enhancing people's well-being as well as promoting fairness and justice in the world. 

Xi called on the two countries to continue to support each other on issues of interest and major concerns. The two sides should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, continue to promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and Egypt's Vision 2030, advance cooperation projects such as the development of the Suez Canal Corridor, and carry out cooperation on global development initiatives, he said. 

Xi called on the two sides to lead the way in China's cooperation with the Arab world and Africa, to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in a new era.  

He also vowed to continue to support Egypt in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Egypt has been cooperating with Chinese COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Sinovac in clinical trials since 2020. 

Sinovac announced Saturday that it is helping Egypt build an automatic refrigeration storage that can store as many as 150 million shots, which will be the biggest in Africa when completed. 

The Egyptian president thanked President Xi for inviting him to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony, which was excellent and demonstrated China's strength and influence. 

Al-Sisi said the Belt and Road Initiative has prompted the economic development of Egypt and Egypt is willing to take active part in it. 

He also said Egypt would like to enhance cooperation with China in various areas, to be China's real friend, and to cope with various challenges together with China. 

Al-Sisi also invited Xi to visit Egypt as soon as possible after the end of the pandemic. 

Global Times