Chairman of the Investment Authority meets with the Governor of China’s Guangdong Province

Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), met with Wang Weizhong, Governor of China’s Guangdong Province. Wang Weizhong led a delegation that included representatives of various government agencies in the province, Chinese companies interested in investing in the Egyptian market, and Chinese companies operating in the Egyptian market, most notably Midea, Oppo, ZTE Communications and Information Technology, and GAC Motor. The two sides discussed the investment cooperation agenda for the second half of 2025, which includes the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade’s participation in the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, from June 24 to 26. Meetings with the Chinese business community will then be held in Beijing and Shanghai. The Egyptian-Chinese Investment Forum is planned for Cairo next July, with the attendance of Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen. Preparations are also underway for participation in the China Import and Export Fair, which Guangdong Province will host next October, with the attendance of 60,000 economic institutions, in addition to numerous other events. Hossam Heiba ​​said that the busy investment cooperation agenda between the two countries is due to several factors, most notably the political rapprochement between the two countries’ leaderships, the attractive investment environment in Egypt, and the ongoing changes taking place in the global economy, which have led to changes in investment strategies around the world and the need to form new value-added chains. As a result, the Authority is receiving increasing numbers of Chinese investment delegations to invest and explore investment opportunities in Egypt.
According to data from the General Authority for Investment, the number of Chinese companies operating in Egypt has reached approximately 2,800, with total investment costs exceeding $8 billion. These include well-known brands in the Egyptian market, such as Oppo, Haier, Jushi, Midea, Teda, Huawei, and Brilliance. The Authority’s CEO stated that the Egyptian government attaches special importance to Chinese investments, as they aim to transfer Chinese technology to Egypt and provide intensive labor employment. In addition, Chinese investments are often massive. For example, the Authority plans to establish a complete Chinese textile city in Minya Governorate, in cooperation with the China Textile Industries Federation, under the export-oriented free zone system. Three Chinese companies, Haier, Midea, and Shenfeng, have also been granted the Golden License, which includes all the necessary permits to establish and operate companies.
Hossam Heiba ​​stated that the Egyptian government aims to attract Chinese investments in the automotive, building materials, textile, electronics, renewable energy, data centers, and artificial intelligence sectors.
For his part, Wang Weizhong emphasized the depth of diplomatic and economic relations with Egypt, as the two countries have been linked by a comprehensive strategic partnership since 2014, the highest level of foreign relations. He pointed to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s directives to strengthen cooperation with Egypt. Wang Weizhong added that Guangdong Province alone controls a fifth of China’s trade with Egypt, and that the province’s residents are the most in demand for Egyptian tourism. He suggested that the province host a permanent Egyptian cultural exhibition to support tourism between the two countries.
Feng Xingya, Chairman of GAC Motor, announced the company’s intention to invest $300 million to establish a car factory in Egypt to meet the needs of the local market and export abroad. This investment is a result of the support provided by the Egyptian government, led by Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, for the automotive industry in Egypt.
Zhou Peng, CEO of ZTE Communications and Information Technology, said that the company aims to expand in the Egyptian market and localize Chinese technology there, taking advantage of the high demand from Egyptian telecommunications companies to develop the telecommunications infrastructure. Ma Zhixiong, General Manager of Oppo Egypt, said that since the company began investing in the Egyptian market in 2014, two factories have been established covering an area of ​​more than 20,000 square meters, providing 1,000 job opportunities and producing 4 to 5 million phones annually. He announced that the parent company aims to transform its factories in Egypt into the second major manufacturing center after China, with the aim of meeting local market demand and exporting to countries in the region.