TEDA Cooperation Zone-Enterprises provide us with rich resources

TEDA Cooperation Zone-Enterprises provide us with rich resources
Source: People's Daily (17th Edition, July 21, 2021)

Reporter: Zhou

Egypt Yanjiang New Materials Co., Ltd. is a Chinese-funded enterprise located in the Sino-Egyptian TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone. The picture shows the company's production workshop. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Hui

In the workshop where the machines roared, several Egyptian workers in uniforms and masks were operating skillfully in front of the instruments. Amir, a 31-year-old Egyptian boy, was very busy while leading several new employees to visit the production process while communicating with suppliers on procurement matters by phone. As an assistant to the general manager and head of the quality department of China Hengshi Egypt Fiber Fabric Co., Ltd. (Hengshi Egypt), it is one of his daily tasks to maintain close communication with customers, suppliers and production teams to ensure that each production link meets the requirements.

"Our company's glass fiber fabric products are sold to Europe, America, the Middle East and other regions, and enjoy a high reputation in the international market." Amir proudly told reporters that in just a few years after the establishment of the factory, the company has developed into an important part of the Egyptian glass fiber industry chain. Hengshi Egypt is a Chinese-funded enterprise in the Sino-Egyptian TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone. The cooperation zone was established in 2008 and is a key cooperation project between China and Egypt in the fields of special zone development, production capacity cooperation, and attracting foreign investment. With the in-depth advancement of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", as of the end of last year, a total of 96 companies had been attracted here, with actual investment exceeding US $1.25 billion, cumulative sales exceeding US $2.5 billion, and taxes and fees paid nearly US $0.176 billion, which directly solved about 4000 jobs. People, the industry has driven more than 36000 jobs. Like Hengshi Egypt, many companies in the park have become leading enterprises in the development of Egyptian industry. "This not only brings significant economic benefits to Egypt, but also improves the technical level of related industries in Egypt." Amir said.

Amir graduated from the Chinese Department of Cairo University, and then went to China to study as a graduate student. When he first joined the company, he was a translator. With the continuous accumulation of business ability, he has been promoted many times in his work, and "his salary has increased several times". "Chinese enterprises have provided abundant resources for me and my Egyptian colleagues." Amir said, "The company's employee training system has benefited everyone a lot. As long as they are willing to learn, Chinese colleagues will teach us all the knowledge they have." From the initial "don't know what glass fiber is", he has been able to talk with customers on his own. Many Egyptian colleagues have also experienced the growth and change from "Chinese masters can't do it without the scene" to skillfully completing various operations. Currently, the company is dominated by Egyptian employees, and many of its managers are Egyptian. "After all these years of mutual communication and understanding, Egyptian and Chinese colleagues get along very well. We are not only partners at work, but also friends in life." Amir said.

Today, Amir, with a stable income, has a family and a pair of children. The experience of studying in China and participating in company training in Zhejiang twice made him intuitively feel the progress of Chinese society and the development of science and technology. Because of this, he really wants his children to learn Chinese. Now, his 3-year-old daughter has begun to learn Chinese language and Chinese culture.

During the prevention and control of the epidemic, both Hengshi Egypt and the Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone put forward strict requirements for epidemic prevention and achieved good results, ensuring the safe production and employment of employees in the park, and making people full of hope for the development prospects of the park. "If I were given another chance, I would still make the same choice without hesitation." Amir said that learning Chinese and entering a Chinese company is the right decision he made. In the future, he will continue to learn and improve in Chinese companies.