Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will start an official visit to Egypt on Friday. The following is some basic facts about the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Egypt occupies the north-eastern corner of Africa, with an extension across the Gulf of Suez into the Sinai Peninsula, which sits southwest of Asia.
It is bounded to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the north-east by Israel, to the east by the Red Sea, to the south by Sudan, and to the west by Libya.
Egypt covers an area of over one million square km, more than 90 percent of which is desert.
The Suez Canal, linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, is a major transport link for shipping between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
The Nile River, the longest river in the world, winds through Egypt for about 1,350 km.
Egypt has a population of about 79.5 million, of which some 90 percent live in the valley and delta of the Nile River.
Most of the country's religious population is Muslim, mainly Sunnia and Arabic is the official language, with English and French also widely used.
Cairo, its capital, has a population of about 7.9 million, making it the most populous city in the Arab world as well as in Africa.
A unified kingdom arose in around 3,200 B.C.. In 341 B.C., the last native dynasty fell to the Persians, who in turn were replaced by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and the British.
The republic of Egypt was founded in 1953.
Egypt is an agricultural state with its agricultural population accounting for 55 percent of the total. However, it is also one of the biggest importers of food grains in the world.
Egypt, which abounds in petroleum, natural gas, phosphates and iron ore, has an open market-oriented economy. Tourism also plays an important part in the country's economy.
As a cradle for one of the world's four most ancient human civilizations, Egypt boasts huge numbers of splendid historic relics and antiques, such as pyramids, the Sphinx, obelisks and mummies.
Other historic sites and attractions include Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Egypt established diplomatic ties with China on May 30, 1956, being the first African and Arab country to recognize the People's Republic of China.
Cooperation between the two countries in politics, economy, science and technology and culture has become increasingly closer in recent years.
Bilateral trade volume stood at 5.309 billion U.S. dollars between January and October in 2008, up 44 percent from the same period of the previous year. |
