CAIRO, March 29 (UPI) -- China and Egypt plan to strengthen their trade ties that may include a Chinese industrial zone in the Northwestern Economic Zone in Suez Bay.
Those issues were discussed Thursday at the first Sino-Egyptian conference on trade cooperation and trade deficit relief in Cairo, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Egypt also sought to promote its exports to the Chinese market so as to balance trade between the two countries which currently is weighted heavily in China's favor.
Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid called for the implementation of relevant agreements between the two countries during Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's visit to Beijing last November, the report said.
On the establishment of a Chinese industrial zone, Rachid asked officials of the two nations to work out the details.
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said his country did not pursue trade surplus intentionally and said his government is ready to offer all facilities to boost Egyptian exports.
Sino-Egyptian bilateral trade reached $3.19 billion last year, with Chinese exports totaling $2.97 billion and imports from Egypt worth $220 million.
