BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- China and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding here Monday on the acknowledgment of China's full market economy status.

    In the MOU, signed between China's Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid, the African country announced it acknowledges China's full market economy status and promised fair treatment to Chinese companies in international trade.

    The two countries also agreed to enhance all-round cooperation in trade, investment, contracted engineering projects and personnel training in an effort to elevate bilateral ties, according to a second MOU signed between the two ministers on further trade and economic cooperation.

    Egypt was the first African country to establish diplomatic ties with China on May 30, 1956.

    Today, the country is China's sixth largest trading partner in Africa with last year's bilateral trade hitting 2.145 billion U.S. dollars. The figure totaled 1.96 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months of this year, up 47.6 percent over the same period of2005. The Chinese side has said it will work to expand imports from Egypt.

    The two countries said they will also encourage their businesses to work together in tapping third country markets.

    To date, more than 60 countries have granted China the full market economy status, including 14 African countries.

    Algeria, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone signed MOUs with China on Sunday to acknowledge its full market economy status, after a landmark summit between China and 48 African countries that have diplomatic ties with it.