Egyptian media have shown great interest in the two-day official visit to Egypt by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, which started on June 17 at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Nazef.

 

Egypt's top-selling daily Al-Ahram on Sunday published a commentary entitled "Prospects of Egyptian-Sino Partnership" and valued highly Wen's visit, saying it is of great importance to improve bilateral relations between Egypt and China.

 

The commentary summed up three characteristics boasted in Egyptian-Sino ties: bilateral relations have kept developing; the two countries have been coordinating in regional and international issues based on bilateral ties; development of Egypt-China ties was based on cultural cooperation and two nations' common stance on regional and international issues.

 

Egypt and China established their diplomatic relations 50 years ago.

 

The ties between the two countries would enter a new stage of maturity and are set to benefit the two nations more, said the commentary.

 

On Saturday, the newspaper also published an article with a title of "New Prospects of Egypt-China Ties," saying that Wen's visit was regarded as a move to open a new page for bilateral relations.

 

It said that China has become a major power in the world both politically and economically, thus China will play an increasing role when the world is seeing political double standards and economic imbalance.

 

China has consistently supported Arab nations, especially regarding the Palestinian question, the article said, adding that China has long called for peaceful means to solve international disputes on the basis of justice and equity.

 

It, however, noted that political and economic cooperation between the two nations was far from enough to satisfy the need of the development of the two nations.

 

Hence, Egypt should politically strengthen cooperation with China, which would generate more support for the Arab cause, said the article.

 

In economic front, Egypt should develop the Egyptian economy through learning experiences from China, especially in the technology and information industry, and lure more Chinese investment, added the article.

 

Another daily newspaper Al-Gomhuria reported on Sunday that Egypt and China signed 11 accords and memorandums of understanding during Wen's stay in Cairo, which are set to push forward economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

 

The report quoted Egyptian cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi as saying that Wen and Nazef agreed to deepen bilateral strategic and cooperative relations.

 

The cooperation between Egypt and China could go beyond the bilateral form to a bigger range, said Radi, citing that China could improve its economic exchanges with European and African countries by making use of Egypt's geostrategic advantage.

 

Radi said that Egypt and China reached broad consensus during Wen's visit, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Egyptian diplomatic ties.

 

The two sides agreed to enhance bilateral political relations through further development in economic and trade aspects, Al-Gomhuria said, praising that both sides also voiced joint commitment to realizing peace and stability in the Middle East.

 

Wen left Egypt for Ghana Sunday noon to continue his African tour, which will also take him to the Republic of Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2006)