Peking University, April 30, 2017: On April 20, 2017, China and Egypt Strategic Cooperation Workshop was held in School of Foreign Languages, Peking University. Egypt’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy, Professor Ibrahim Awad from American University in Cairo, Professor Moustoifa Said from Cairo University, former Chinese ambassador to Iran Wang Shijie and other guests attended the conference.
The scene of the conference
During the discussion in the morning, Nabil Fahmy pointed out that the Middle East was facing serious challenges. The Middle East problem involved not only political power, but also national and personal identity. He thought Middle Eastern people’s opinions on their identity had an important effect on the interpretation of the area.
After Nabil Fahmy’s speech, Wang Shijie said that the root of the Middle East problem lay in the development issues of Middle Eastern countries. He suggested each country find its own way of development. In the following Q&A session, he said the problem of employment was the primary challenge to Egypt, and that China Model might provide beneficial experience for Egypt. Nabil Fahmy also answered the question on palestinian refugees, holding that compromise was necessary for solving the problem.
The scene of discussion
Required by Egyptian scholars, the topic on East Asian and Southeast Asian politics and safety was also discussed in the conference so that they could better understand issues on Far Eastern countries. Under this topic, Chinese experts talked about the phenomenon of Vietnamese brides in China, the South China Sea dispute, and possible cooperation between China and Egypt on the issue of Korean Peninsula.
When discussing the strategic cooperation between China and Egypt, Nabil Fahmy mentioned that they could seek further cooperation in fighting terrorism. He praised Belt and Road Initiative for establishing a closer connection between Asia, Africa, and Europe. China’s former ambassador to Egypt, with a look back at the history of China-Egypt relationship, pointed out that they had achieved a lot in economic and trade cooperation.
The experts delivering speech
In addition, Professor Ibrahim Awad emphasized the importance of multilateral cooperation, as it contributed to the global governance. He said Egypt wanted to act in accord with the trend towards multi-polarization. Chinese scholar Wang Lincong said that the system of Middle East governance relied on the global governance. And another Chinese scholar Liao Baizhi said that a stable and progressing Middle East was in accord with China’s interest.
At the closing ceremony, Nabil Fahmy said the communication between China and Egypt had a long history. If Chinese wanted to make more contribution to the peace of Middle East, they must let Middle Eastern people learn more about Chinese culture and Chinese way of thinking. Wang Shijie concluded that China, as one of the permanent UNSC members, was obliged to show its attitude towards the Middle East problem. He wished more cooperation in politics, culture, and science between the two countries.
Written by:Xie Changli
Edited by: Li Ruiqi
