Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to visit China next week

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi will pay a state visit to China from Dec. 22 to 25 as guest of President Xi Jinping, official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday. "China attaches great importance to its relations with Egypt and hopes the important upcoming visit will promote bilateral ties to a new level," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news briefing in Beijing in announcing his visit. "China and Egypt have maintained a healthy friendly relationship since forging diplomatic ties 58 years ago, witnessing productive cooperation in politics, economy and culture," Qin said. "As a major country with great influence in the Middle East, Egypt's situation will have an impact on the stability in the region." Hailing the progress in Egypt's domestic political transition, Qin expressed respect for Egyptian people's choice for their political system and wished for the country much stability and development so as to contribute to regional peace and progress.