China and Egypt have announced that the two countries have upgraded bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with his visiting Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Beijing.
In a joint statement, the two presidents pledged to boost political, economic, military, cultural and technological cooperation, along with cooperation on regional and international affairs.
Following the talks, the two presidents officiated at the signing of agreements in areas including economic cooperation, trade, aerospace and energy.
The two leaders also pledged to cooperate on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiatives.
Sisi said his country hopes to work with China in the Suez Canal Corridor projects, and to attract more Chinese investment, students and tourists.
Trade between Egypt and China reached 10 billion US dollars in 2013, while the figure is expected to exceed 11 billion US dollars in 2014.
China's investments in Egypt amount to 8.4 billion US dollars.
