CAIRO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Cultural Day held here on Tuesday in Cairo reflects more bilateral cultural interaction and stronger ties, a Chinese official said.
Organized by the Egyptian Syndicate of Journalists in cooperation with the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo, the event featured a number of Chinese cultural activities including the "Beautiful China" photo gallery, stage performances of martial arts as well as a documentary film on China's eastern city of Hangzhou that hosted the G20 Summit earlier in September.
"Many cultural activities have been held to mark the Chinese-Egyptian cultural year," said Chen Dongyun, cultural counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, stressing the momentum will continue even after the cultural year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi agreed during the latter's visit to Beijing in late 2014 to mark 2016 as the Chinese-Egyptian cultural year and they both witnessed its launching ceremony in Luxor during Xi's visit to Egypt in January.
A symposium has also been held during the Chinese Cultural Day to discuss the results of the G20 summit with Egypt's participation as a guest of honor at the invitation of the Chinese president.
"President Sisi's participation in the summit will have a great positive effect on the Chinese-Egyptian relations in political, economic, cultural and technological fields," Chen said.
Adel Sabry, chief of an Egyptian news website, highlighted the "historical cultural interaction" between China and the Arab world in general and Egypt in particular.
"This cultural interaction greatly enhances economic and political cooperation in favor of the peoples of both countries," said Sabry.
He also stressed Egypt's strategic location as a key African and Arab portal for China's Belt and Road Initiative.
Launched by President Xi in 2013, the main idea of the initiative is to revive ancient land and maritime trade routes to link China with over 60 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe through the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.
