200+ Enterprises / 8 Major Industries / 1 Hub — How China–Egypt Cooperation Is Reshaping Egypt’s Industrial Landscape

In 2026, China and Egypt will celebrate the illustrious 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Seventy years of deep friendship not only mark a milestone in diplomatic relations but also stand as a testament to the profound mutual trust underpinning economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. On the shores of the Red Sea, at the Suheina Spring, a modern industrial new city—the China–Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (TEDA Cooperation Zone)—jointly developed by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. of China and the China–Africa Development Fund, is thriving and writing an inspiring chapter in China–Egypt industrial capacity cooperation.

The Rise of Industrial New Towns

When the first batch of Chinese resident staff arrived at Sukhna Spring in 2008, the scene that greeted them was unforgettable: a vast expanse of Gobi desert, with flying sand and rolling stones, and virtually no proper infrastructure. Under the scorching summer heat, with ground temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius, the builders pressed ahead with “China speed,” overcoming countless challenges to erect rows of modern workshops and factory buildings in the heart of the desert.

After nearly two decades of sustained development, this once-neglected piece of land has blossomed into Egypt’s industrial park with the most favorable overall environmental conditions, the highest investment density, the highest per‑unit output, and the greatest concentration of Chinese‑invested enterprises, earning it the reputation as a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

By the end of 2025, the TEDA Cooperation Zone had attracted more than 200 enterprises, with actual investment exceeding US$3.8 billion and cumulative sales surpassing US$6.6 billion. From its initial 1.34-square-kilometer core area, through the unveiling of a 6-square-kilometer expansion zone in 2016, to the signing of a new 2.86-square-kilometer extension in 2025, the park’s total developed area has now exceeded 10 square kilometers, fostering a continuously expanding industrial belt.

A collaborative ecosystem organized in clusters and chains

One of the most distinctive features of the TEDA Cooperation Zone is its “1+8” specialized industrial system. This structure not only highlights the agglomeration effects of horizontal clustering but also underscores the synergistic logic of vertical supply-chain integration.

“1” refers to bonded warehousing and logistics. Within the zone, there are public bonded warehouses operated by TEDA‑Royal and several other enterprises, along with self‑built and entrusted bonded warehouses and storage yards totaling 145,000 square meters, significantly enhancing cargo clearance efficiency. By 2025, the TEDA Cooperation Zone is expected to drive China’s exports to US$690 million, playing a pivotal role in stabilizing and expanding supply chains, and has become a key hub for China’s intermediate‑goods exports to the Middle East and North Africa.

The “8” refers to eight major manufacturing industries: new‑type building materials, petroleum equipment, high‑ and low‑voltage electrical equipment, mechanical manufacturing, textiles, chemicals, new energy, and white goods. Each sector is led by a market‑dominant enterprise, with mutual support among them, thereby forming modern industrial clusters that are competitively positioned at the regional level.

New‑type building materials, exemplified by the Jushi Egypt fiberglass project, has propelled Egypt into the ranks of the world’s fourth‑largest fiberglass producers. In the oil‑equipment sector, China‑Egypt Honghua Petroleum Machinery stands as a flagship initiative, filling a critical gap in Egypt’s oil and gas equipment manufacturing. Xidian Egemac High‑Voltage Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd. has established Egypt’s first domestic base for manufacturing high‑voltage transmission and transformation equipment, fundamentally ending the country’s century‑long reliance on imports for grid‑related hardware. Mechanical manufacturing spans multiple niche segments—including communication optical cables, batteries, textile machinery, and auto parts—each addressing key gaps in Egypt’s industrial production landscape. The textile industry accounts for the largest number of enterprises in the cooperation zone, covering the entire value chain from spinning and weaving to dyeing, nonwovens, apparel, luggage, and synthetic fibers. Chemical and new‑energy projects not only fill critical voids across various sectors but also align with Egypt’s ambitious 2030 vision. In the white‑goods segment, leading players such as Midea Kitchen & Heating and Wanhe Electric have made significant contributions; Midea’s Kitchen & Heating division has commissioned Egypt’s first smart dishwasher production line.

“National Strategic Industrial Project”

It is worth noting in particular that the TEDA Cooperation Zone has long since been elevated to a model of China–Egypt economic and trade cooperation and a strategic priority at the national level in Egypt.

The heads of state of China and Egypt jointly unveiled the cooperation zone, while Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly personally visited the TEDA Cooperation Zone on eight separate occasions to inspect its progress and attend groundbreaking ceremonies for landmark projects. In 2025 alone, a series of Chinese‑invested projects—spanning new energy, textiles, home appliances, and other sectors—with a combined total investment exceeding US$1.9 billion were signed and commissioned. The Jushi Egypt plant has been officially designated by the Egyptian government as a “national strategic industrial project.”

The TEDA Cooperation Zone is also one of the core industrial clusters within the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Walid Jamal El-Din, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority, noted that under the framework of the TEDA Cooperation Zone, the economic zone has attracted approximately US$11.6 billion in investment over the past three and a half years, with Chinese investment accounting for as much as 50 percent. Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang has repeatedly emphasized that the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt should be seized as an opportunity to further deepen bilateral cooperation within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

It can be said that, within Egypt’s economic strategic landscape, the TEDA Cooperation Zone has become an indispensable and pivotal component.

Fully define “significant contribution”

The value of the TEDA Cooperation Zone extends far beyond attracting enterprises and generating economic output. Its contributions to Egypt’s socio‑economic development are evident across multiple dimensions, including employment, tax revenue, industrial upgrading, and technology transfer.

The cooperation zone has directly created over 10,000 jobs in Egypt and indirectly generated tens of thousands more, with a local workforce participation rate exceeding 90 percent. Egyptian employees can be found at every level, from mid- to senior‑level management positions to frontline technical workers. In particular, the flagship projects—embodiments of advanced productive forces—have significantly boosted local employment and fostered the development of skilled technical talent.

By the end of 2025, the TEDA Cooperation Zone will have cumulatively paid approximately US$310 million in taxes and fees to Egypt. These revenues not only bolster the host country’s local public finances but also provide sustained momentum for Egypt’s industrialization process.

Starting from scratch, companies based in the zone have filled one industrial gap after another in Egypt—ranging from fiberglass and high-voltage electrical equipment to optical cables, ductile iron, photovoltaic modules, and energy-storage systems. Jushi Egypt has helped Egypt become the world’s fourth-largest producer of fiberglass; while Xidian Egemac has enabled high-voltage transmission and transformation equipment to make a historic leap—from 100% reliance on imports to entirely local manufacturing. The continuous infusion of technological expertise and managerial know-how has also nurtured Egypt’s first cohort of specialized professionals in fields such as high-voltage electrical engineering, optical cable manufacturing, and photovoltaic production.

While meeting the needs of the local market, products manufactured by enterprises in the industrial park are also being exported to Europe, the United States, Africa, and Arab countries through Egypt’s network of free-trade agreements, generating substantial foreign-exchange earnings for the country. For instance, Midea Egypt’s single smart dishwasher production line has already achieved its target of 80% export sales.

From an initial cohort of fewer than 10 enterprises to a thriving cluster of over 200, and from a 1.34-square-kilometer pilot zone to an industrial new city spanning more than 10 square kilometers, the development of the TEDA Cooperation Zone stands as a vivid testament to the continuous deepening of China–Egypt relations and the high level of mutual trust and cooperation between the two governments.

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