( Last Update: 2011/08/22)

The People's Republic of China and the Arab Republic of Egypt entered into diplomatic relations on 30 May 1956. Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic ties with the New China and Egypt is China's important cooperation partner in developing countries. A strategic and cooperative relationship was established between the two countries in 1999. In the year 2010, new progress was made in the exchanges and cooperation across the board

The two countries maintained high-level exchanges. Wang Gang, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of CPPCC, visited Egypt in June and met with Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt and Chairman of the National Democratic Party, Ahmed Mahmoud Mohammad Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt, and Mohammed Safwat El-Sherif, General Secretary of the National Democratic Party and Speaker of the Shura Council. Wang Zhaoguo, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of NPC, visited Egypt in March and met with Speaker of the People's Assembly Ahmed Pathy Sorour and Prime Minister Nazif. Wang and Sorour co-chaired the opening ceremony of the fourth meeting of the regular exchanges mechanism between the NPC and the People's Assembly. Visits to Egypt were also made by the following Chinese officials: Li Yizhong, Minister of Industry and Information, Zhao Hongzhu, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Congress of Zhejiang Province, Huang Huahua, Governor of Guangdong Province, and Cao Kangtai, Director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. A number of Egyptian officials also visited China, including Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Petroleum Amin Fahmy, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged Ghattas, and Minister of Transport Alaa Fahmy

The two countries maintained close communication and coordination on major international and regional affairs to jointly safeguard the interests of the two countries and other developing countries, and enjoyed sound cooperation on China-Arab Cooperation Forum (CACF) and the FOCAC. China's Special Envoy for the Middle East Issue Wu Sike visited Egypt in October and exchanged views with the Egyptian side on regional situation and the peace talks between Palestine and Israel. Egyptian Investment Minister Mohieldin attended the fourth ministerial meeting of CACF in China in May

After the outbreak of the earthquake in Yushu County, Qinghai Province in April, President Mubarak, Speaker Sorour and Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit sent messages of condolences to President Hu Jintao, NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi respectively. President Mubarak sent messages of condolences to President Hu Jintao in June and August on the flood disasters that struck some parts of South China

Economic cooperation and trade between the two countries grew fast. Chinese enterprises scaled up their investment in Egypt and the two countries pressed ahead with the cooperation in the Suez Economic and Trade Zone. The bilateral trade in 2010 saw a considerable growth from that of 2009

Cooperation in other fields such as culture, education and tourism was also deepened. There were frequent exchanges of visit between the art troupes of the two countries. The dance drama "Dream of the Red Mansion" staged by Beijing Friendship Art Troupe in Egypt was a success. A number of agreements and letters of intent were signed on the exchanges and cooperation between universities of the two countries and efforts were made to improve the Confucius Institutes and the teaching of the Chinese language in Egypt. The number of Chinese tourists to Egypt increased steadily. A direct flight between Beijing and Cairo was opened by China's Hainan Airline in November. Egypt took an active part in World Expo 2010 Shanghai China and exhibited in its pavilion eight pieces of state-level treasure from the reign of different Pharaohs