Egypt pushes for China factories Over the last few months, Egyptian authorities and the private sector have been giving the hard sell to China, and the Chinese have been listening. By eyeing Beijing’s increasing push into the African and Middle Eastern marketplace, Egypt sees the opportunity for the expansion of already close ties.Cairo considers strengthening trade ties to China as so important that President Hosni Mubarak will be heading up Egypt’s delegation to the first ever China-Africa summit, to be held in early November.Egypt’s Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid is a strong supporter of boosting business links with Beijing, having visited China in September to attend the World Economic China Business Summit and to promote Egypt as an investment destination.“We want to be China’s gateway to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, through our basket of preferential trade agreements with these markets,” Rachid said.Currently, the bulk of Chinese
