The Chinese and Egyptian Governments Jointly Plan the Future of the TEDA Cooperation Zone

In order to further implement the intergovernmental consultation mechanism of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "TEDA Cooperation Zone") signed by the Chinese and Egyptian governments in 2016, and promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries to a new level. Chinese companies invest in Egypt and use the TEDA Cooperation Zone to deepen economic and trade cooperation between the two countries to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, December 3, 2018, the Ministry of Commerce of China, the Tianjin Municipal Commission of Commerce and the General Administration of the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone of Egypt (hereinafter referred to as the "General Administration of the Special Economic Zone") held the second meeting of the TEDA Cooperation Inter-government Coordination Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Coordination Committee") in Ismailia, and the project leader of the TEDA Cooperation Zone attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, China and Egypt reviewed and summarized the development of the TEDA Cooperation Zone, affirmed the achievements of the TEDA Cooperation Zone since the first meeting of the Coordination Committee in July 2017, and expressed their appreciation for the results of the first phase of the expansion zone. at the same time,The Chinese and Egyptian governments will strengthen communication and consultation, work together to promote the development of the TEDA Cooperation Zone, provide it with stronger support, more preferential policies, and a better business environment, and help the park attract more companies from all over the world to invest in the park.

Subsequently, the two sides exchanged views on jointly promoting the development and upgrading of the TEDA cooperation zone in the light of the new measures for cooperation with Africa announced by the Chinese government during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2018.

Then, China and Egypt conducted in-depth discussions and consultations on the key issues facing the development of TEDA cooperation zone and enterprises entering the zone, such as the convergence of laws No. 72 and No. 83, value-added tax, infrastructure construction and peripheral supporting issues of the cooperation zone, and energy issues. At the meeting, China and Egypt agreed that the TEDA cooperation zone, as a focus of cooperation between China and Egypt, should enjoy the preferential policies of the two laws at the same time without conflict,The Egyptian side expressed its willingness to work with China to create a better legal and policy environment for the development of the TEDA Cooperation Zone to increase the attractiveness of the TEDA Cooperation Zone.

And finally,At the meeting, China and Egypt made it clear that for enterprises investing in the TEDA Cooperation Zone, their land purchase costs can be included in the investment cost and enjoy the preferential policy of reducing the investment cost in Class A areas in the new Investment Law No. 72; enterprises stationed in the TEDA Cooperation Zone can be exempted from registration service fees in accordance with the law in the process of handling the land use right certificate.In addition, China and Egypt also exchanged views on substantive issues encountered in the operation and construction of the TEDA Cooperation Zone, such as exemption of value-added tax, replacement of medium-voltage cables, and speeding up the construction of supporting sewage treatment plants, and reached a consensus that Egypt should step up coordination and promote the settlement of the problem as soon as possible.

The successful holding of this consultation meeting not only deepened the friendship and strategic partnership between China and Egypt, but also provided a huge boost to the construction and development of the TEDA cooperation zone. With the joint efforts of China and Egypt, with the full implementation of China's "Belt and Road Initiative" initiative and Egypt's "Suez Canal Corridor" development plan, more and more investors from various countries have gathered in the TEDA Cooperation Zone. I believe that in the near future, the TEDA Cooperation Zone will become the most competitive park in the Middle East and North Africa, allowing more high-quality Chinese enterprises and enterprises from all over the world to invest, to make a greater contribution to the development of the Egyptian economy.