• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

China, Egypt sign MoU to boost financial ties, promote local currency settlement

Global Times

By Tu Lei and Zhang Weilan Published: Jul 11, 2025 02:17 PM

China and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to enhance bilateral financial collaboration, promoting local currency settlement, central bank digital currency, and digital innovation, China's central bank said on Friday.

The signing of the financial collaboration agreement was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly during Premier Li's visit to Egypt.

Li said on Thursday that China is willing to work with Egypt to optimize the development of bilateral trade and create more highlights of cooperation as well as new drivers of economic growth, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Friday.

The two countries can expand cooperation in emerging fields such as new energy, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and digital economy, Li said during his meeting with the Egyptian prime minister.

The MoU aims to strengthen bilateral financial cooperation, including business exchanges and information sharing in areas such as monetary policy frameworks, financial markets, and payment systems, according to the official website of People's Bank of China, China's central bank, on Friday.

It will also enhance local currency settlement cooperation to promote the use of local currencies in current account transactions and direct investment between the two countries; and deepen central bank digital currency and digital innovation cooperation, including information exchange and project cooperation, the central bank said.

This arrangement will help strengthen exchanges, cooperation, and policy coordination in the areas of competence of both sides, and create a better environment for further unleashing the potential of financial cooperation between the two countries, the central bank said.

Strengthened cooperation in local currency settlement is expected to boost the use of local currencies in current account transactions and direct investments, offering more efficient and convenient services for enterprises in both countries, said a Chinese expert.

The MoU marks a new milestone in financial cooperation between the two countries. It reflects the positive momentum of China-Egypt financial and economic cooperation, which has seen steady growth in bilateral trade in recent years. The agreement is expected to further consolidate and deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt, Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for the Information and Communication Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Global Times on Friday.

As Egypt is diversifying its foreign exchange sources to reduce reliance on the dollar while the Renminbi becomes increasingly prominent in international payments, the MoU is expected to promote the use of local currencies in trade and investment, reducing exchange rate risks and transaction costs, Pan said.

During a meeting in Egypt with Hassan Abdullah, governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, China's central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said China and Egypt have maintained strong cooperation momentum in financial, economic, and trade fields, with steady growth in bilateral trade.

Given external uncertainties, Pan emphasized the need to deepen practical cooperation in areas such as bilateral local currency swaps and settlements, payment and settlement system interoperability, financial market investment and financing, and the mutual establishment of financial institutions.