Silk Road Connection, United Hearts | TEDA Cooperation Zone Witnesses the Upgrade of China-Egypt Cooperation

Source | CCTV News

Reporter | Lu Junhong

Original Title: "Silk Road Connection, Contractual Unity: Egypt - China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone Witnesses Upgraded Bilateral Cooperation"

Located east of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone was established in 2008. It has developed from a sparsely populated barren land into a demonstration project connecting the Belt and Road Initiative and Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Corridor construction. With the deepening of the joint Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization members working together to build a closer SCO community with a shared future, China-Egypt economic and trade cooperation is embracing more opportunities.

The young Egyptian man currently operating the centrifuge is named Abdullah Zahru. He is a local employee at the pipe casting factory in the expanded area of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone. A few months ago, he returned from training in China and is now the operator of the factory's core equipment.

Local employee of Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes (Egypt) Co., Ltd., Abdullah Zahru By adjusting the centrifuge parameters and accessories, we can produce cast pipes of different diameters. We are the only factory in Egypt capable of producing cast pipes with diameters over 1.2 meters.

Project leader of Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Egypt, Ma Ye We can produce pipes ranging from 80 millimeters to 3 meters in diameter. The production line we brought to Egypt this time can produce cast pipes up to 2.2 meters in diameter, effectively filling an industrial gap in Egypt.

Previously, Egypt had only two ductile iron pipe factories nationwide with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons, and a large amount of pipes needed for infrastructure had to be imported long-term. Currently, Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes has two production lines in Egypt with an annual output of 200,000 tons. Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly called this project a "model of China-Egypt capacity cooperation" during the factory opening ceremony, stating that it will help Egypt save a large amount of related import expenses and holds strategic significance for Egypt.

Enterprises like this are common in the cooperation zone.

Head of Chure Enterprise, Chen Weiwei We are the only dishwasher manufacturing factory in Egypt, and all skilled workers in the entire industry chain are trained by us independently. When we first arrived, we couldn't recruit skilled local workers; processes like basket making, stamping, and powder coating had no workers and were all taught by our Chinese engineers. Within one or two years, we have cultivated the technical skills of workers throughout the dishwasher industry chain.

Human Resources Manager of Chure Enterprise, Islam Shami Currently, our localization rate of parts production has reached 71%. Compared to similar home appliance companies in Egypt, this is a very good figure. Other home appliance companies have an average localization rate of about 50%.

Both the ductile iron pipe and Chure enterprises are located in the expanded area of the TEDA Cooperation Zone and are the most representative companies there. Since its start in 2008 with a 1.34 square kilometer initial area, the TEDA Cooperation Zone has developed to nearly full capacity in its 6 square kilometer expanded area and signed a new expansion agreement with the Egyptian side in July this year.

General Manager of TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, Guo Zheng In the past two years, the park has experienced explosive growth, with more than 70 enterprises entering just in these two years. The park's development philosophy has gradually shifted from "investment attraction" to "business selection," focusing more on choosing enterprises that align with industrial directions and possess advanced technology to promote overall industrial upgrading.

So far, the cooperation zone has attracted nearly 200 enterprises, with an investment amount of about 3 billion US dollars, cumulative sales exceeding 5.9 billion US dollars, and directly created nearly 10,000 jobs.

Reporter from the Central Broadcasting Station, Lu Junhong From the initial area to the expanded area, more and more Chinese enterprises have come to the TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, promoting local employment and industrial upgrading while achieving their own development. All of this is a true reflection of the upgraded cooperation between China and Egypt and the continuous deepening of the Belt and Road construction.

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