Egypt’s President Morsi agrees on development projects with China’s Hu

A number of joint development projects were discussed, and both sides stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral relations.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Tuesday in Beijing to discuss bilateral relations, with Morsi stressing that China is important for Egypt's economic prosperity.

Morsi's spokesman Yasser Ali highlighted some of the elements of the discussion. Morsi had pushed for stronger ties between both countries, suggesting increasing Egypt-China flights from two per week to ten. He also requested that China build a high speed train route between Cairo and Alexandria.

Meanwhile, China seems poised to embark on several projects in Egypt. According to Ali, it is to consider establishing a new deep water fishing fleet in Egypt.

Politically, Hu said that China respects the will of Egyptians and supports their right to choose their own political system and path to development.

Hu also highlighted the importance of Egypt as a regional power and a developing country, saying China has always perceived Egypt to be a strategic ally.

He suggested that both countries strengthen political relations by conducting closer exchanges between leaders, governments, parliaments and political parties, according to Xinhua News Agency.