As an Egyptian expert on Chinese politics and the policies of the Communist Party of China, I have deeply researched the Belt and Road Initiative and evaluated the contribution of this initiative to Egypt’s transformation. There has been a moment when I felt that the Belt and Road Initiative brought substantial changes to Egypt or other regions. Especially, Egypt benefits from many projects from the Belt and Road Initiative, which include important and powerful financial arms that are important for Egypt and for the countries of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as a multilateral bank, the Silk Road Fund, and Chinese banks that have recently become a source of financing. Both the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, and other institutions, have provided investment and financing support to hundreds of projects in Egypt.
The Belt and Road Initiative provides a very great opportunity for cooperation between Egypt and China in the maritime field because the Suez Canal is part of the maritime component of the initiative, and Egypt has extensions to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt is one of China’s pivotal partners in the Belt and Road Initiative, particularly given the strategic importance of the Suez Canal as one of the most important maritime corridors for global trade. Furthermore, major national projects currently being implemented in Egypt, such as the Suez Canal Economic Zone, are important within the framework of the initiative. The initiative’s axes are also aligned with many of Egypt’s development priorities and national plans, in accordance with Egypt’s 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, as well as the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China.
What caught my attention most was the video released by the Egyptian Ministry of Transport in October 2023, which illustrated the Belt and Road routes in Egypt. The video showcased the development projects along the route, most notably the New Suez Canal project and the expansion of its waterway, along with the development of Egyptian ports and their connection to railway lines, which represent strategic corridors. We analyze that within 12 years of announcing China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Egyptian state has taken serious steps toward integrating major ports and commercial cities and achieving strategic integration of the Egyptian logistics services system, investing approximately $100 billion across four main axes:
– Suez Canal navigation corridor
– International logistics infrastructure (logistics corridors)
– Special industrial and economic zones in Ain Sokhna and East Port Said in Egypt
– Roads, railways, and corridors connecting with neighboring countries to Egypt
In this context, the Egyptian state has doubled its efforts under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to enable the Egyptian logistics sector to integrate with the Chinese logistics sector, serve and meet the needs of Chinese international trade, and make Egypt a major hub for Chinese companies in the Middle East and Africa, including the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Egypt is considered a “key player” in the Belt and Road Initiative. Its distinguished geographical location enables it to provide logistical services to the Middle East and Africa. The Suez Canal is the gateway to the Maritime Silk Road, as it is the main shipping lane linking the East and the West. Therefore, it is indispensable for the passage of trade transported via this road and bound for Europe. From this standpoint, the role of developing the Suez Canal region axis to be a logistical center for ships and goods to serve the Silk Road comes.
Regarding manufacturing, the Chinese presence in the Suez Canal Economic Zone has contributed to transforming it into an industrial zone, and Egypt is counting on China to play a major role in transferring technology and expertise to it. The initiative also gave great importance to the issue of interaction between peoples, the essence of which is tourism, and Egypt expects an increase in the volume of Chinese tourism in the coming period.
Egypt also interacted with the Chinese initiative in a very significant way, whether by attending the Belt and Road forums or opening the way for Chinese investments. With radical and comprehensive developments in the Egyptian Suez Canal through the development of many logistical ports, as I see on a personal level, it was a kind of preparation for the expected major development in international navigation and trade through the maritime component of the initiative.
Emphasizing that Egypt’s interaction with the Belt and Road Initiative was positive, and Egypt benefited greatly from the financing institutions established by China, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which contributes to financing important projects in Egypt, including the “Giant Benban Project in Aswan for Solar Power Generation.”
From here, we find that the Belt and Road Initiative is a very important opportunity within an important framework to activate and enhance the comprehensive partnership between Egypt and China so that it is strong and based on mutual gains between the two parties.
The Belt and Road Initiative launched by China in 2013 is consistent with national development priorities and the goals of Egypt’s Vision 2030, given Egypt’s distinguished geographical location linking the continents of the world, the presence of the Suez Canal Economic Zone and its pivotal role in the maritime route network within the Belt and Road Initiative, and the fact that the Suez Canal is one of the most important maritime corridors for global trade that links the continents and accounts for a significant percentage of global trade.
With the launch of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” in conjunction with the continuous progress in the development plan of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, cooperation between China and Egypt in the fields of trade, investment, and infrastructure has developed steadily and achieved fruitful results. Over the past ten years, TEDA Egypt has become one of the important platforms for economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchange between China and Egypt. One of the most important achievements that TEDA has been able to achieve is the establishment of several joint companies in the region, the most important of which are Jushi Egypt Fiberglass Company and Honghua Egypt China Petroleum Equipment Company.
The coming period is expected to witness more Chinese investments in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, in conjunction with the state’s efforts to stimulate foreign direct investment in Egypt, and to enhance the partnership between the government, the private sector, and major Chinese companies in the Suez Canal region due to its investment-stimulating privileges. The Belt and Road Initiative works to enhance development in many vital sectors, which are a priority for Egypt within the framework of its development vision for 2030 to implement the sustainable development goals, such as upgrading infrastructure in the fields of transportation, energy, information technology, and utility linkage projects, and it is also consistent with our development priorities in terms of stimulating economic growth and industrialization, enhancing trade and economic cooperation, increasing inter-trade movement, and financial integration.
Accordingly, The objectives of the Belt and Road initiative are consistent with the efforts of the Egyptian government to launch a number of giant projects with high returns and diverse investment opportunities, most notably the Suez Canal Development Axis, which is based on establishing an industrial, commercial and logistics center, which is a promising opportunity for Chinese companies, member states of the initiative, and other countries around the world wishing to benefit from Egypt’s strategic location as a center for production and re-export of products to various countries of the world, especially those countries with which we have free trade agreements, especially in the Arab region, Africa and Europe.
