Xinhua Headlines: 10 years on, Suez flagship project becomes model for Global South partnership

*Over the past 10 years, the cooperation zone project progressed steadily. By the end of 2025, the zone hosted nearly 200 companies, with over 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in investment and around 10,000 jobs created, according to official data.

*The cooperation zone in Egypt is also closely connected with China's Tianjin Municipality, often referred to as "TEDA," an abbreviation for "Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area."

*In terms of green and smart manufacturing, the TEDA zone is introducing green projects like Atum Solar Egypt, promoting a circular economy, and striving to build Egypt's green energy demonstration zone and a zero-carbon chemical industry benchmark.

by Xinhua Writers Li Kun, Yao Bing, Zhang Yuqi

CAIRO/TIANJIN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- For Nahla Emad, her 16-year work experience with the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone has completely changed her view of an industrial zone.

"For Egyptians like me, we had never heard before that an industrial zone could be a modern city," Emad said. The location of the zone near the Suez Canal was like a barren desert when she first saw it at the end of 2009, "but now you can find how many shops we have and how many commercial units we have here."

The 41-year-old CEO of Egypt-TEDA SEZone Development Company said she started to treat her career as "a big goal" 10 years ago.

Jan. 21 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the second phase of the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone. Ten years on, the cooperation zone has become a model for Global South partnership.

FLAGSHIP PROJECT

"In 2024, we received over 300 business delegations. In 2025, this number increased to more than 500," said Wei Na, Emad's Chinese colleague who has worked in the cooperation zone for 18 years.

Over the past 10 years, the cooperation zone project progressed steadily. By the end of 2025, the zone hosted nearly 200 companies, with over 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in investment and around 10,000 jobs created, according to official data.

Major players in the zone include Jushi Egypt, which has helped position Egypt as the world's fourth-largest fiberglass producer, and XD-EGEMAC, enabling the local manufacture of high-voltage electrical equipment.

Waleid Gamal El-Dein, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), also highlighted the importance of the cooperation zone inside the SCZone.

According to him, over the past three and a half years, the SCZone has attracted investments totaling 11.6 billion dollars, with Chinese investors accounting for around 50 percent of the total.

By the end of 2025, the cooperation zone had contributed an estimated 310 million dollars in local tax revenue and generated over 6.6 billion dollars in sales.

DRIVER FOR DEEPER TIES

At last year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tianjin Summit, China highlighted the cooperation zone as a driver for deeper ties with Egypt, as the two countries are "good brothers firmly supporting each other."

The cooperation zone in Egypt is also closely connected with China's Tianjin Municipality, often referred to as "TEDA," an abbreviation for "Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area."

In the 1990s, China drew up a plan to help Egypt build an economic zone in Suez. TEDA took up the task of assisting in developing the project. In 2008, the first-phase construction of a 1.34-square-km area kicked off. In 2016, the second-phase project was unveiled, which covers an area of 6 square km.

For many Egyptians, TEDA has been more than a source of employment; it's a gateway to modernity in their hometown.

"We now have locally made affordable dishwashers, which wasn't possible before," said Maryam Ibrahim, an Egyptian worker at Midea (Egypt) Kitchen & Water Heater Appliances Co., Ltd.

Midea Group, a leading Chinese home appliance manufacturer, established the country's first smart dishwasher factory, integrating cutting-edge technology to enhance product quality while driving down costs.

"Core components like dish racks, powder-coated parts, and injection-molded parts are now produced independently in Egypt," said Yang Yang, the company's operations and HR director. "We also have many supporting enterprises that are local Egyptian companies, and their manufacturing capabilities are gradually improving," Yang said.

Today, TEDA in Egypt hosts a diversified industrial ecosystem. It has fostered leading clusters in bonded logistics, new building materials, petroleum and electrical equipment, machinery manufacturing, textiles, chemicals, new energy and consumer appliances.

A prime example of this targeted investment is Shandong's Sailun Tire, a global leader in the tire industry, which entered the zone in 2025.

"With tens of millions of vehicles on its roads, Egypt has substantial demand for tire replacement," explained Li Daixin, chairman of China-Africa TEDA Investment Co., Ltd. "Sailun's presence here addresses a clear gap in the local market."

"By developing modern bonded logistics facilities, we provide a critical springboard for companies to expand internationally," Li said.

More breakthroughs are being made in the TEDA zone. In December 2020, the first phase of the Chinese-funded TEDA Royal Bonded Warehouse was put into use.

Almost at the same time, Egypt's Luban Workshops were also opened, giving the cooperation zone another role -- a training base. Luban Workshop is a project supported by Tianjin and concentrated on international cooperation in vocational training.

The TEDA zone has also secured its first major offshore loan in RMB or Chinese yuan and signed cooperation memoranda with systems like the Cross-border Interbank Payment System, aiming to become a regional hub for RMB settlement.

SHARED FUTURE

Seventy years ago, Egypt was the first Arab and African state to establish diplomatic relations with China. Now the two sides are working together toward the building of a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era and to further advance the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership.

As the development of the initial 7.34-square-km area neared completion, Egypt and China signed an agreement in July 2025 to expand the TEDA zone. Under the deal, Chinese developer TEDA will invest 100 million dollars in infrastructure to develop an additional 2.86-square-km area within the SCZone, bringing its total area to more than 10 square km.

Hassan El-Khatib, Egypt's minister of investment and foreign trade, said the next phase of economic cooperation with China should focus on expanding joint production and strengthening export-oriented domestic manufacturing.

He said Egypt's Vision 2030 for sustainable development aligns closely with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, particularly in regional integration, industrial connectivity, and cross-border trade, citing Egypt's strategic location linking three continents, its competitive labor costs, and its extensive trade agreements that provide access to global markets.

Yang Chuansheng, general manager of TEDA Investment Holding (Group) Co., Ltd., said their future plans will include pivoting to electric vehicles, renewable energy, digitalization and smart manufacturing.

In terms of green and smart manufacturing, the TEDA zone is introducing green projects like Atum Solar Egypt, promoting a circular economy, and striving to build Egypt's green energy demonstration zone and a zero-carbon chemical industry benchmark.

Located near the Egyptian port of Ain Sokhna -- whose name means "Hot Spring" -- the zone is now heating up with the promising potential of Global South cooperation in the decade ahead.