People walk past the display board of FOCAC outside a trade market complex in Beijing, on September 2, 2024. Photo: VCG

Editor's Note: 

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) kicked off in Beijing on September 4. It takes place at a critical juncture when the world is grappling with various regional and global crises and there is a pressing need for countries from the Global South to join hands. How will this year's FOCAC elevate ties between China and Africa? What is the significance of building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future? The Global Times (GT) interviewed a number of former officials and pundits from various African countries to share their insights and stories. 

In the third article of this series, GT reporter Li Aixin interviewed Hisham El-Zimaity (El-Zimaity), secretary general of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former ambassador of Egypt to Japan, Hungary, Slovenia and Pakistan.

GT: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership. How do you view the progress in China-Egypt relations over the past decade?

El-Zimaity: A decade is a just a part of the friendship between China and Egypt. Our relationship originally dates back to 1956. Egypt was the first country in the Middle East and Africa to establish diplomatic relations with China. Since then, our friendship has grown deeper and deeper. The elevation of our relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, which happened just 10 years ago, was a natural and logical outcome of this deep bond.

The civilizations of China and Egypt have histories that stretch back thousands of years, unlike other countries that count their histories in the hundreds of years. China and Egypt each have a history of 5,000 years, perhaps more. The depth of these civilizations is deeply rooted in history, rich in experience and abundant in wisdom.  

GT: How do you understand the idea of a "high-level China-Africa community with a shared future," which is a part of the theme in this year's FOCAC?

El-Zimaity: In this interconnected world and in this era of globalization, we are all in the same boat. While we may be geographically distant, we are united in our goal to develop our nations and benefit our people. We face significant challenges in education, health, industrialization and agriculture. We struggle with issues like water scarcity and diseases. Therefore, modernizing and building a strong China-Africa community with a shared future is essential. The populations of China and Africa together make up about one-third of humanity. Working together on issues and sharing a future is both natural and something we strongly support.

We should not forget the flagship initiatives introduced by China, such as the Global Development Initiative, which assists developing countries in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and strengthens the understanding of development; the Global Security Initiative, which aims to bring countries together under a security framework governed by the principle of mutual non-interference; and lastly, the Global Civilization Initiative, which advocates for respect for the diversity of civilizations, rather than imposing ideas, such as universal values that are not universally agreed upon. If we add these three initiatives to what will be discussed by the leaders in Beijing, I believe we have a very rich agenda, which will contribute to the success of this forum.
 
GT: The FOCAC theme also focuses on modernization. How could China and Africa cooperate to join hands to advance modernization? 

El-Zimaity: Modernization is the culmination of development. Development begins with establishing political stability and educating people. Additionally, infrastructure is crucial for attracting investments. While Chinese investments across the continent are most welcome, there is a need to attract even more. To achieve this, we must focus on improving education, healthcare and infrastructure, while maintaining political stability. Modernization is a goal in itself that will be achieved through the sustainable development goals. 

During the pandemic, Egypt and China demonstrated a remarkable example of solidarity. While other countries were refusing to provide vaccines to Africa, China and Egypt worked together to supply vaccines to African nations. It's a wonderful example of our collaboration.

GT: How do the Egyptian public and businesses view the BRI? 

El-Zimaity: Egypt was among the very first countries to join this important initiative. When I say "important," it's because it was a game changer - a game changer that addressed a significant gap in the field of development. This initiative was introduced by the Chinese president as something that would bring us together - not only China and Africa, but China and probably the rest of the world, as the initiative now involves more than 150 countries.

For the Egyptian business community and the public in general, this is a very welcome initiative, and will be fruitful. The initiative itself, as you know, focuses on infrastructure, such as developing ports, roads and industrial zones. It also includes health, the digital Silk Road and the educational Silk Road. It is a comprehensive initiative, where everyone stands to gain, and no one loses.

On the other hand, other [countries'] initiatives launched after the BRI have not materialized. The only initiative that is functioning properly is the BRI. What has greatly contributed to its success is the AIIB, which serves as the tool to implement agreements made among governments. This is something we greatly appreciate in Chinese thinking regarding the development of our region.

China's developmental experience, which managed to lift over 800 million people out of poverty through hard work, sacrifice and real efforts by everyone, is something we in Africa would like to learn from. Unfortunately, in Africa, we have around 600 million homes without electricity and about 900 million households without clean cooking energy. These are challenges that Africa hopes to address by learning from China's successful experience in reducing and alleviating poverty, and hopefully, one day, eliminating it completely from the developing world. 

GT: From Egypt's perspective, what would an ideal world order look like? How can China and Africa collaborate to fulfill this vision?

El-Zimaity: It's a difficult question. We want a stable world where we can conduct business, trade, communicate, and exchange goods, services, and ideas. However, this ideal situation unfortunately does not exist.

What we need to do now is to try to pacify all parties. Let's do our best to achieve as much stability as we can. We need to stop further destabilization and the financing of terrorism by some actors. Terrorism has destabilized many countries in the Middle East and Africa. It's high time we cooperate to stabilize the world and address its problems. 

It would be much better to resolve these issues at the negotiating table so that we can all benefit from the future. Egypt is not an enemy to anyone and wants to play a role in stabilizing the world, or at least our region, if possible. This includes solving the Palestinian issue by allowing Palestinians to establish their own state and live in peace. This is crucial for our stability, future and the development of our nation.