Seventy Years of Rising Tides, United in Pursuit of the Future | On the Shores of the Red Sea, a City is Born

Driving more than 120 kilometers east from Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and crossing the vast Gobi Desert, you arrive at Suez, a city on the shores of the Red Sea. In Arabic, “Suez” means “hot spring.” Today, this land is dotted with factories, and container‑laden trucks shuttle back and forth—this is the Sino‑Egyptian Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone.

The first batch of employees dispatched by Tianjin TEDA to work in Egypt recalled: “Back then, the vast Gobi Desert was swept by flying sand and rolling stones, and securing water and electricity supplies was extremely challenging.” In 2009, the Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation was scheduled to convene in Egypt, at which time the TEDA Cooperation Zone was set to be officially inaugurated. Within one year, construction was to be completed on numerous factory buildings, office towers, and other infrastructure and supporting facilities.

That was back in 2008.

The first shovel of earth on the wasteland

In 2008, China–Africa Teda Investment Co., Ltd., established jointly by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co., Ltd. and the China–Africa Development Fund, officially undertook the development of the TEDA Cooperation Zone. In November of the same year, Ahmed Radwan joined the zone, starting as a financial manager. He later told reporters: “Sixteen years ago, when I first arrived at TEDA, this was still just a desert. As I pored over the development plan for the TEDA Cooperation Zone, it seemed like nothing more than an unattainable dream.”

Time was extremely tight. Chinese and Egyptian staff worked closely together as a project management team, spending every day on the scorching construction site. Amidst incredulous stares, rows of state-of-the-art workshops and employee housing sprang up miraculously; in particular, the Investment Service Center building has remained a local landmark since its completion. In 2009, the 1.34-square-kilometer initial development zone was officially inaugurated.

After eight years of development, the initial zone has begun to take shape. On January 21, 2016, the heads of state of China and Egypt jointly unveiled the plaque marking the 6-square-kilometer expansion area. This historic moment was captured as a warm, close handshake between two continents.

From a single tree to an entire forest

From 1.34 to 6, and then to 10.2, the TEDA Cooperation Zone has achieved three major leaps in just over a decade.

On July 16, 2025, with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in attendance, the West‑Expansion Extension Phase of the TEDA Cooperation Zone was officially launched. Building on the existing Initial and Expansion Zones, the total development area of the cooperation zone has surpassed 10 square kilometers, marking its entry into the “3.0” stage of development. Walid Jamal al‑Din, Chairman of Egypt’s Special Economic Zones Authority, described the move as a “strategic step” and a “clear testament to the remarkable success of bilateral cooperation over the past few years.”

Behind the numbers lie tangible changes. As of the end of July 2026, the TEDA Cooperation Zone has attracted more than 200 resident enterprises, forming leading industrial clusters spanning new building materials, petroleum equipment, high- and low-voltage apparatus, mechanical manufacturing, textiles, chemicals, new energy, and white goods. Industry leaders from both China and abroad—including China Jushi, Xi’an Electric International, Midea, and Xinxing Cast Pipe—have successively established operations in the zone.

In January 2012, Giant Stone Egypt established itself in the TEDA Cooperation Zone, marking the birth of Egypt’s fiberglass industry. With a total designed annual capacity of 360,000 tons, it has become the largest fiberglass production base on the African continent and has elevated Egypt to the rank of the world’s fourth-largest fiberglass producer. To date, the company has generated over US$1.9 billion in export revenue, created approximately 2,000 jobs, and achieved a local workforce share exceeding 98%.

In the dishwasher assembly workshop of Midea Egypt Kitchen and Water Heater Co., Ltd., Egyptian employees are skillfully assembling dishwashers. According to General Manager Chen Weiwei, project feasibility studies began in 2021, mass production and market launch commenced in June 2023, and by the end of 2024, the company had achieved its target of an 80% export share. This production line has filled a technological gap in Egypt’s dishwasher manufacturing sector.

The deeper the roots, the taller the tree can grow.

A park can be built in a year, but trust between people requires daily nurturing.

The TEDA Cooperation Zone has created nearly 10,000 direct jobs in Egypt and generated tens of thousands of indirect employment opportunities, with a local workforce participation rate exceeding 90%. Egyptian employees can be found at every level, from middle and senior management to frontline technical positions.

Ahmed Radwan, Executive President of Egypt Teda Investment Company, has steadily risen from a financial manager in 2008 to his current role. He reflects, “At first, I only planned to stay here for five or six years, but before I knew it, I had spent 16 years. Here, I’ve realized my professional aspirations, and none of this would have been possible without the support of the Teda team and the selfless assistance of my Chinese colleagues.”

Dina Mahmoud Hassan of Jushi Egypt joined the company in 2013, right after graduating from university, becoming one of the few female employees. “I started as a production planner and worked my way up to deputy manager of the Logistics Scheduling Department,” says the 32-year-old, candidly acknowledging that “competing with my male colleagues was far from easy.” After becoming a mother in 2022, she faced significant pressure as she sought to balance her career and family life. “Fortunately,” she adds, “my colleagues offered me tremendous support and understanding.” She is the only female mid-level manager at Jushi Egypt. On her desk, two awards for outstanding workers and one for an exemplary mid-level manager stand out prominently.

Mariam, from Egypt’s Midea company and a resident of Suez Governorate, joined Midea in 2022 after studying Chinese at Suez Canal University. From witnessing the rollout of the first dishwasher in March 2023 to today, when the production line has an annual capacity of 350,000 units, she has risen to become the head of the quality‑inspection department. In 2023, she traveled to Foshan, Guangdong, China, to undergo intensive training in machine testing, standard‑setting, and related skills. “A globally renowned enterprise has set up right on my doorstep,” she said. In her spare time, she even teaches language classes to her Chinese colleagues.

Xidian‑EGEMAC High‑Voltage Electrical Co., Ltd. currently employs 260 staff members, with a local‑staffing rate exceeding 97%. According to General Manager Li Jianfei, over the past 16 years, the company has undertaken turnkey construction projects for 33 substations across Egypt, significantly alleviating the country’s electricity‑supply constraints. The company has sent Egyptian employees to Xidian’s headquarters in Xi’an in phased batches for comprehensive training; many have since assumed key positions and risen to mid‑ and senior‑level management roles.

Beyond the transmission of technology, there is also everyday companionship. The TEDA Cooperation Zone has participated in Egypt’s Ramadan charity events almost every year. In addition to collective initiatives, TEDA has voluntarily donated school supplies to Egyptian orphans, partnered with local cardiac‑care organizations to organize fundraising efforts to treat young patients, and visited the Egyptian Children’s Cancer Hospital Foundation.

Heading toward the sea, thriving with innovation.

In 2025, the TEDA Cooperation Zone will benefit from a confluence of favorable developments. On the financial front, the zone has signed a trilateral memorandum of cooperation with the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and Egypt’s Suez Canal Bank, facilitating secure and efficient RMB clearing and settlement within the zone. In terms of spatial expansion, the western extension area has officially been launched. As for logistics, construction is accelerating on Egypt’s first high-speed electrified railway—the Ain Sokhna–El Alamein–Matruh line—a “golden artery” that makes extensive use of Chinese equipment and technology.

Industrial upgrading is also accelerating. In August 2025, the Sailun Egypt project, with a total investment of approximately US$300 million, signed an agreement to establish operations; on August 27, a solar‑energy complex project totaling about US$220 million was also sealed. In 2026, the third-phase expansion of the TEDA Cooperation Zone was successfully completed. Local technical expert Mohamed said, “In the past, finding a job meant traveling all the way to Cairo, but now I can secure stable employment right at my doorstep, while also acquiring specialized skills and seeing my monthly salary more than double.”

The year 2026 will mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has personally visited the TEDA Cooperation Zone nine times— a frequency that is exceptionally rare among economic and trade cooperation zones in Egypt and across the Middle East and Africa. The TEDA Cooperation Zone is evolving from a single‑purpose manufacturing park into an integrated “industry‑city convergence ecosystem” that combines production, logistics, trade, finance, innovation, and residential amenities.

Seventy years represent a significant chapter in the diplomatic history of any nation. The 18-year journey of the Tianjin–Egypt Industrial Cooperation Zone, built from the ground up, encapsulates the entire evolution of China–Egypt industrial collaboration—moving from tentative exploration to mutual trust, from isolated efforts to cluster‑based symbiosis, and from “Made in China” to “co‑created by China and Egypt.”

Ahmed Radwan, Executive President of Egypt Teda Investment Company, said: “Together, we have transformed this once‑deserted land into a modern industrial new city.”

As evening fell, the park’s streetlights came on one by one. Chinese and Egyptian employees, leaving work in small groups, made their way to the bus stop—some bidding farewell in Arabic, others saying “See you tomorrow” in Chinese.

This, perhaps, is the very best kind of city—where people from all walks of life can find a life just as beautiful.

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