logo
Li Qiang in Egypt to strengthen Global South ties

Li Qiang in Egypt to strengthen Global South ties

RTHK3 days ago
Li Qiang in Egypt to strengthen Global South ties
Li Qiang is accompanied by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during a welcoming ceremony at Cairo International Airport. Photo: AFP
Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday that China and Egypt, as important members of the Global South, should further strengthen strategic coordination to safeguard their common interests.
Li made the remarks upon arrival in the Egyptian capital for an official visit to the Middle East country, at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, Mostafa Kamal Madbouly.
Noting that China and Egypt are both ancient civilizations, Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties nearly 70 years ago, the two countries have remained close friends who support each other and strategic partners with a shared future.
In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, bilateral relations have flourished, with their traditional friendship growing stronger over time, political mutual trust deepened, fruitful results yielded through practical cooperation, and multilateral coordination becoming closer and more effective, he said.
Together, the two countries have set a model for solidarity, unity, self-reliance, mutual benefit and mutual support among major developing countries, Li said.
Last year, the two heads of state met twice and reached an important consensus on advancing the building of a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era, which ushered in new opportunities for bilateral relations, he said.
Against the backdrop of accelerated global transformation unseen in a century and the emergence of various challenges, China and Egypt, as key members of the Global South, should also jointly promote peace and prosperity, Li said.
China, he added, is willing to work with Egypt to deepen cooperation in all areas under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, continuously enrich the connotation of the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership, inject strong momentum into their respective development and national rejuvenation, and contribute actively to regional and global peace and stability.
Li was met at the airport by Madbouly and senior government officials. (Xinhua)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Economy main focus at Hong Kong leader's meetings with advisers ahead of policy address
Economy main focus at Hong Kong leader's meetings with advisers ahead of policy address

South China Morning Post

timean hour ago

  • South China Morning Post

Economy main focus at Hong Kong leader's meetings with advisers ahead of policy address

Hong Kong's leader held meetings with his advisers, including a mainland Chinese economist and two tech experts from a Hangzhou start-up known as 'Six Little Dragons', ahead of his annual policy blueprint to gauge views on how to maintain the city's status amid growing geopolitical tensions. The John Lee Ka-chiu-led lunch meetings took place between Wednesday and Friday, marking the first official gathering of the Chief Executive's Council of Advisers, following the appointments of Han Bicheng, CEO of BrainCo, which specialises in brain-machine interfaces, Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics, and Zhu Min, ex-deputy director of the International Monetary Fund. The government said on Saturday that the council conducted in-depth discussions under three major themes – economy, technology, and regional and global ties – for Lee's fourth policy address scheduled for September and the city's overall development. Regarding the economic advancement and sustainability, the council exchanged views on how to consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international financial, shipping and trade centre amid geopolitical changes and economic restructuring. They also discussed ways to speed up the development of the Northern Metropolis, and proactively attract capital and talent to drive innovation and technology growth in Hong Kong. The Northern Metropolis blueprint aims to turn 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of land into a new engine for economic growth with a population of about 2.5 million and around 650,000 jobs. The regional and global collaboration discussion focused on leveraging the national development to strengthen ties with countries along the Belt and Road, while also exploring emerging markets, such as the Middle East, Asean, South America, and Central Asia, for new business opportunities.

Thai government headed, for the moment, by former student leftist
Thai government headed, for the moment, by former student leftist

AllAfrica

time2 hours ago

  • AllAfrica

Thai government headed, for the moment, by former student leftist

BANGKOK – Thailand's struggle with democracy has resulted in three very different prime ministers in three days with Phumtham Wechayachai becoming the newest caretaker leader, after a court suspended former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for alleged 'ethical misconduct.' So, who is Acting Prime Minister Phumtham ('POOM-tom')? Phumtham, 72, is a veteran politician who was commerce minister and caretaker prime minister in 2024 and Paetongtarn's defense minister during 2025. Some generals in the US-trained military were wary of Phumtham when Paetongtarn appointed the civilian as defense minister, because in 1976 he had joined an anti-military leftist student movement and acquired the nickname 'Big Comrade' for voicing speeches against the return of military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn. When the military violently crushed the university students' protests – by official count killing 46 students although there were estimates of more than 100 dead – Phumtham fled into the countryside with hundreds of others who were welcomed by Thailand's hardened China-backed communist guerrillas. Students who survived those battles eventually surrendered and received amnesty. Some joined mainstream politics after changing their political views. 'I went to escape the violence,' Mr. Phumtham said last year, denying the military's suspicions that he believed in communism. 'It was not only me. There were other students, too.' The dizzying changes at the top of this Southeast Asian, Buddhist-majority US ally are an attempt by Paetongtarn to keep herself and her Shinawatra family's dynastic Pheu Thai (For Thais) Party in her fragile ruling coalition, after the powerful Constitutional Court suspended her from the prime ministership on July 1. In a cabinet shuffle hours before her suspension, Paetongtarn appointed herself as culture minister to remain in the government while the court deliberates her fate, which could come quickly or take weeks. Paetongtarn, 38, faces a possible ban from politics for 10 years, or worse punishment, for criticizing a Royal Thai Army commander during her leaked phone call to Cambodia's de facto leader, Senate President Hun Sen, on June 15. As a result of Paetongtarn's cabinet shakeup, the military was given only a new acting defense minister, General Nattphon Narkphanit, after Phumtham resigned as defense minister to become acting prime minister. 'Leaving such an important position vacant is unprecedented in Thai politics,' a July 3 editorial by the conservative Bangkok Post editorial said, adding that the move was especially worrying because Thailand and Cambodia are involved in a deadly border dispute. Thai troops shot dead a Cambodian soldier during a brief clash on May 28 in the jungle and scrubland of the Emerald Triangle where eastern Thailand, northern Cambodia, and southern Laos meet. During June, the feud morphed into current economic boycotts of some imports and exports by both sides and border closures. 'Why, in a situation where we are still entangled with Cambodia, do we not have a defense minister?' said popular opposition People's Party member of parliament Rangsiman Rome. 'I think this kind of signal is not good for the Thai people, and we all know that the defense minister is important, not just for signing arms procurement deals, but also for strategy and working with the National Security Council, which today plays an important role in resolving various problems that arise, including the Cambodia [border] issue,' Mr. Rangsiman told Khaosod English news. 'Evidently, the new cabinet is not based on meritocracy,' the Bangkok Post said in its July 3 editorial, describing it as 'a lame-duck government.' 'The change is to ensure the [Pheu Thai] party's short-term, if not immediate, survival by sharing the political cake among those in its circle – giving or returning favors so they do not jump ship and will still be around at the next election,' the editorial said. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham is a trusted aide of Paetongtarn's politically powerful father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire perceived as the de facto leader of Thailand who influences his politically naive daughter's decisions and policies. When a military coup toppled twice-elected Thaksin's 2001-2006 government, Phumtham and many of Thaksin's other party members were banned from politics for five years. Phumtham's rise to become acting prime minister involved a dazzling political zig-zag. On July 3, Phumtham replaced a previous caretaker prime minister, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, whom Paetongtarn had suddenly appointed on July two hours before the Constitutional Court suspended her. As a result, former Transport Minister Suriya became acting prime minister for only one day, July 2, before Phumtham took over that caretaker role on July 3. Paetongtarn in her role as the new culture minister went on July 3 with her multi-party cabinet to Dusit Palace, where they swore an oath of allegiance to King Vajiralongkorn as required when an administration shuffles its cabinet. Outgoing Acting Prime Minister Suriya that day also took the oath as acting prime minister, alongside Phumtham who was sworn in as Thailand's new interior minister and reconfirmed as a deputy prime minister. Hours later on July 3 Suriya resigned, as planned, to allow Phumtham to be appointed as the new caretaker prime minister. Phumtham had previously been lower in the order of succession than Suriya, so Mr. Phumtham was unable to become acting prime minister until the cabinet reshuffle and allegiance oath on July 3. As a newly sworn-in interior minister and deputy prime minister, Phumtham was then qualified to be promoted to acting prime minister. The confusing, hurried changes reflect Paetongtarn's rapidly weakening position and her seemingly desperate attempts to exploit legal loopholes in parliament, where her party has a razor-thin majority. The National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission and the Central Investigation Bureau are all due, separately, to hear allegations that her conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen may have violated the constitution or threatened Thailand's security. Lawmakers were scheduled for a no-confidence vote against Paetongtarn's coalition on July 3 but the five opposition parties agreed to postpone it until the Constitutional Court reviews her case. Paetongtarn said, 'I insist I had no ill intentions' in criticizing the high-ranking general. The prime minister was given 15 days to defend herself in court. The Constitution Court's nine judges voted unanimously to consider a petition by 36 appointed, pro-military senators accusing Paetongtarn of 'lacking integrity' as well as committing 'ethical misconduct' while speaking to Hun Sen during their ongoing border feud, and voted 7-2 to suspend her immediately from the prime minister's post. Audio from her phone call on June 15 to Hun Sen was leaked, exposing her criticism of Thailand's Second Army Region Commander Lt. Gen. Boonsin Padklang. General Boonsin's troops guard northeastern Thailand's border with Cambodia, including the disputed Emerald Triangle zone where the shooting occurred. In an audio clip of her leaked call – which she later confirmed – Paetongtarn told Hun Sen that she did not want him 'to listen to the opposing side, especially since the [Thai] Second Army Region commander is entirely from the opposition.' The Thai commander 'just wants to appear cool or impressive. He may say [hawkish] things that are not beneficial to the country,' Paetongtarn said to Hun Sen during her call. The Bangkok Post described her comments about the commander as 'derogatory remarks' and criticized her 'submissive tone towards Hun Sen, with her signaling a readiness to comply with the Cambodian strongman's demands.' Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondents' Award. Excerpts from his two new nonfiction books, Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex. – Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka & New York and Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers & Freaks are available here.

China's garment makers cut out of US market as tariffs bite: ‘caught off guard'
China's garment makers cut out of US market as tariffs bite: ‘caught off guard'

South China Morning Post

time2 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

China's garment makers cut out of US market as tariffs bite: ‘caught off guard'

Zhang, a yoga apparel exporter based in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan, has suffered a series of painful setbacks since the US-China trade war intensified earlier this year. 'This latest round of US tariffs hit harder than previous ones – it really caught us off guard,' said Zhang, who declined to give her full name for privacy reasons. The business managed to navigate earlier phases of the trade war by re-routing some shipments via Vietnam and pivoting to supplying China's booming e-commerce platforms, which were able to send goods to America duty-free thanks to the 'de minimis exemption' for small packages 'But just as we were gaining ground and on track to double our profits, Trump's tariffs came in and shut the door,' Zhang said. Since April, the Trump administration has not only raised tariffs on Chinese goods to about 42 per cent on average, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, but also removed the de minimis exemption and pressured Vietnam and other nations to clamp down on Chinese transshipment The moves have hit Zhang's business hard. Her regular US clients have put their orders on hold for the past two months, as they 'watch how the policy unfolds', she said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store