Xi's visit to Egypt to be historical, fruitful: media

CAIRO - Local media in Egypt on Tuesday hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Cairo as a "historical" leap in the mutual comprehensive ties.

"The visit is completion of steps that have started from both sides on the road of cooperation at several levels, especially the strategic one," said Essam al-Sebai, managing editor of state-run Akhbar newspaper.

The visit will shadow a very old mutual heritage and strong history of cooperation and common interests, al-Sebai told Xinhua.

Cairo has attempted balanced political and economic ties with many countries, especially those with which it has common interests, like the powerful China, he added.

In the economic sphere, Egypt needs China's experience particularly in the IT industry, while China eyes new markets in Africa via Egypt, he said.

On the future of ties between the two countries, al-Sebai said good intentions are not enough, and they should develop it through partnership and work.

Ahmad al-Naghar, editor-in-chief of Egypt's official Ahram newspaper, said Xi's visit is a "reflection of true desire in strengthening the strategic ties."

Besides Egypt, the Chinese president's Middle East tour also includes Saudi Arabia and Iran, which mirrors the Chinese attempt to calm the tensions in the region, al -Naghar said, adding that Egypt as a pioneering country in the region really wants to spread regional peace.

On tourism, al-Nagar said 127 million Chinese tourists traveled overseas in 2015, but only a small number of them visited Egypt, expecting tourism to be a promising field of more cooperation.

He also said Xi's "Belt and Road" initiative has a very symbolic meaning as it will be "a model for cooperation among countries with different powers, cultures, races, religions and motivations in peaceful way."

Alaa Hayder, head of the official news agency MENA, agrees with the Al-Ahram editor-in-chief, saying Xi's visit is historical especially on the economic side.

Egypt has adopted a pivotal project, the Suez Canal corridor. "There should be integration between the Suez corridor and the Silk Road," he suggested, expecting more projects to be launched in the corridor during and after Xi's visit.

"Investing on the Suez corridor developmental area would also serve the Silk Road," the MENA chairman added.

Meanwhile, Adel Sabry, chief editor of "Arab Egypt website," told Xinhua that the Chinese president's tour is significant for the Middle East region which is facing huge political developments.

"China has very powerful ties with the three countries at the economic level and there are sort of confidence between them," he said, adding that China is trusted by Iran and Saudi Arabia as a non-interfering country at the political level.

At the cultural level, Magdy Lasheen, head of the State Television & Radio Union, said "we always trust China because it's a country with no imperialism objectives."

Egypt and China have recently launched the 2016 Sino-Egypt Culture Year to enhance mutual understanding, which covers tourism, culture and media among other fields.

On the occasion of Xi's visit, Egypt's state TV will air a Chinese series subtitled in Arabic, while a similar Arabic show is on display in China.