CAIRO, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of the Egyptian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Diaa al-Fiqqy said the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a "golden opportunity" to promote Egyptian products in the huge Chinese market.

"The fair is a golden opportunity to reduce the trade deficit between Egypt and China, promote Egyptian products and introduce them to the Chinese consumers," he said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Some 23 Egyptian companies will take part in the CIIE, which will run from Nov. 5 to 10 in Shanghai, under the theme "New Era, Shared Future."

The Egyptian pavilion, which covers an area of 360 square meters, will house food as well as agricultural and services products. Some state-run financial institutions such as National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr will also take part in the event.

According to official statistics, the value of the deals Egyptian companies concluded in the first edition of the Chinese import expo in 2018 amounted to 42 million U.S. dollars.

In 2018, the trade between Egypt and China exceeded 13.8 billion dollars, with 12-billion-dollar Chinese exports to Egypt and 1.83-billion-dollar Egyptian exports to China.

"The Egyptian participation is insufficient to highlight Egypt's export capabilities," he said, noting the Egyptian participation "does not suit the historical relations between the two countries."

He revealed that the chamber will exert "unremitting" efforts starting from next January to mobilize various Egyptian companies to participate in the third session of the CIIE, stressing that more than 100 Egyptian companies will be participating in the 2020 Chinese expo.

"The CIIE is the most important international trade and economic fair in the world. Therefore, it attracts the attention of all countries, institutions and companies," al-Fiqqy said.

He urged Egyptian companies and exporters to study the Chinese market and to monitor the needs and tastes of the Chinese consumers.

Al-Fiqqy also called for an integrated Egyptian strategy in which the government, civil society and the private sector will cooperate to develop the Egyptian industries and improve the quality of products to reach the "huge Chinese market."

"There is a Chinese political will to help Egypt develop and achieve mutual win," he said. "We should take this opportunity to strengthen the Egyptian-Chinese relations in the field of trade and investment."

Al-Fiqqy said the exhibition is a wonderful, creative and developmental idea, adding the expo is a new form of international relations.

"China is showing a new policy that opens new horizons for foreign imports through the annual CIIE. China opens its doors wide for producers and importers from different countries to find a foothold in a huge market of 1.4 billion consumers," al-Fiqqy said.

He said the U.S. protectionist measures are against the principles of cooperation and development and good intentions.

According China's Ministry of Commerce, guests and representatives from more than 170 countries and regions have been invited to attend the expo so far, with more than 500,000 buyers and visitors from home and abroad expected at the expo. Enditem

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