Egypt’s exports to China up more than 20% in 2022

Egypt’s trade with China increased significantly in 2022, an Egyptian government agency said on Saturday. 

Egyptian exports to China reached $1.7 billion from January through November of 2022, an increase of 20.8% from the $1.4 billion during the same period in 2021. Chinese exports to Egypt amounted to $13.2 billion from January through November of 2022, up 0.6% from 2021, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a statement. 

CAPMAS did not indicate what the countries traded. In 2021, China's top exports to Egypt consisted of electronics, machinery and vehicles. The top Egyptian exports to China that year were overwhelmingly fuels, followed by fruit, according to Trading Economics.

Why it matters: Egypt-China economic relations are improving rapidly. China has emerged as the lead funder of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, Al-Monitor reported in December. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed the project at a summit in Saudi Arabia that month. 

Also in December, the two countries created the Egyptian-Chinese Entrepreneurs Association to promote Chinese investment in Egypt. 

Egypt also said last year it was considering issuing bonds in China’s currency, the yuan, though the plan has yet to come to fruition. Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency and Chinese tech giant Huawei also signed a deal last year on startup training. 

Know more: China’s relations have also improved with Israel and Gulf countries in recent years. Last week, China brokered the agreement leading Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic relations.