Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has called for countries across the Global South to engage more deeply with China’s governance experience, describing its development trajectory as a source of practical insight for nations pursuing modernization, economic resilience, and long-term growth.
Speaking in an interview, Sharaf said China’s rise over recent decades has drawn increasing international attention not simply because of economic scale, but because of how governance, planning, and implementation have been aligned to deliver development outcomes. He argued that many developing countries are now studying models that prioritize national realities over imported formulas.
Sharaf stressed that China’s experience should not be viewed as a template to copy but as a reference point for adaptation.
“Every country should develop according to its own conditions and priorities,” he said, while emphasizing that China’s experience demonstrates the importance of strategic planning, institutional continuity, and maintaining focus on long-term national goals.
His remarks reflect a wider debate taking shape across Africa, the Middle East, and other developing regions over how governance can better support industrialization, infrastructure delivery, social stability, and inclusive growth.
For Egypt, those conversations increasingly intersect with real-world policy cooperation.
Over the past decade, China and Egypt have expanded ties far beyond traditional diplomacy. Since elevating relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2014, the two countries have deepened engagement across infrastructure, manufacturing, transport, renewable energy, education, technology, and industrial development.
One of the most visible symbols of that cooperation has been the growing Chinese presence in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone, where industrial projects are supporting Cairo’s ambition to position itself as a regional logistics and manufacturing hub connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Chinese participation has also featured prominently in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital and broader infrastructure modernization agenda, reinforcing economic links between both countries.
Sharaf suggested that development partnerships should evolve beyond investment and financing to include institutional exchange, governance dialogue, knowledge transfer, and people-to-people cooperation.
His comments align with broader discussions emerging across Global South policy circles, where questions of representation, development strategy, and governance reform have become increasingly prominent. Chinese officials have in recent weeks also called for stronger Global South participation and greater voice in international governance institutions.
Observers note that interest in China’s governance experience has expanded in parts of the Arab world, where policymakers, academics, and media leaders have pointed to China’s emphasis on long-term planning and development-led modernization as areas of growing study and debate.
As Egypt continues balancing domestic reform priorities with regional ambitions, the China-Egypt relationship is increasingly becoming part of a larger conversation unfolding across the Global South: how countries can pursue modernization while shaping development paths rooted in their own contexts and national aspirations.
