Egyptians hope for more trade, cooperation with China

As their president is visiting China, residents of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, shared their views about China and expressed their high expectations for closer ties and further cooperation between the two countries.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is on a state visit to China on May 28-31. Meanwhile, the China Global Television Network (CGTN) reporter hit the streets of the Arab country's largest city to find out how residents view bilateral relations.

The people interviewed think that China occupies a significant position in the global economy, has a time-honored history, and has a beautiful natural environment.

"My impression of China [is] that it's a huge market and it's the world's factory. I think it's an essential country for economy, like the world's economy," said Ahmed.

"China is an economic country. [It] provides a set of products to the whole world. I like it in general and of course there is another aspect of China - the mountains and the greenery, and a great history. Every citizen likes to work hard and do a lot of production," said another Cairo resident, Ayman.

Egypt was the first Arab and African state to establish diplomatic ties with China 68 years ago. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of establishing the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership. In recent years, exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have progressed significantly.

China has been Egypt's largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years and is one of the most active and fastest-growing countries in terms of investment in Egypt in recent years. Chinese enterprises have contracted to construct multiple infrastructure projects in the Arab country.

The two countries also enjoy frequent exchanges in the fields of culture, art and education. More and more Chinese tourists are making Egypt their destination, while Chinese language learning is booming among Egyptian youngsters.

"I don't know that much about the cooperation, but I know that there was a huge collaboration between Egypt and China in terms of the companies that are working in the infrastructure [development] of Egypt. I think one of the leading companies was in charge of building some parts or infrastructure of the new capital. I know that there is a lot of cultural collaboration. A lot of students come to learn Arabic," said Ahmed.

"I know that economically there are a lot of companies that (are) doing deals together, a lot of commercial companies that bring products from China and re-offer them here in Egypt," Ayman added.

When talking about the future cooperation between China and Egypt, these young people expressed hope for more open trade and more Chinese-invested companies in Egypt.

"I heard of lots of manufacturers that will be open soon. Almost everything is made in China. I think they have lots of trade between us and them," said Mariam, a student.

Egyptians hope for more trade, cooperation with China

Life science experiments conducted onboard China's Tiangong space station will not only help experts to better protect the health of astronauts, but also provide vital new ideas for human disease treatment back on Earth, a Chinese researcher said in Beijing on Wednesday.

Pei Weiwei, an associate researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection of Soochow University, was speaking after a special handover ceremony was held where scientists received the samples brought back by the Shenzhou-19 space mission, which landed earlier that day.

The mission's three crew members touched down safely at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region around Wednesday lunchtime, after their return had been postponed by a day due to unfavorable weather conditions on the ground.

During their six-month stay in space, Shenzhou-19 mission commander Cai Xuzhe, alongside young astronauts Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, who is also China's first female space engineer, carried out an extensive series of scientific experiments and medical tests to assess the impact of space travel on human health and on other living organisms.

The returned samples include bone cells, human induced pluripotent stem cells and human bronchial epithelial cells. Scientists will conduct molecular biology research on these key samples, assessing the effects of the zero-gravity environment on human tissues and the impact of space radiation, according to Pei.

"The carcinogenicity of space radiation has always been a focus of our research, and the epithelial cells of the lungs are the most susceptible to tumors. So we are studying the evolution of lung epithelial cells into tumor cells in space radiation and some of its mechanisms. Based on this data, we aim to establish a space radiation risk assessment system suitable for Chinese astronauts. At the same time, we hope to provide some theoretical support for radiation monitoring and a complete radiation protection system," he said.

Pei said that such experiments and related research will not only help protect the health of astronauts, but can also offer new ideas to human health problems back on Earth, such as the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. It will also provide a new theoretical basis and experimental support for exploring health problems such as osteoporosis, muscle atrophy and decreased cardiovascular function, he added.

Space life science mainly studies the responses and changes of life activities at all levels from biomolecules to organisms under conditions such as microgravity, space radiation, and sub-magnetism, as well as their combined conditions, and explores the deep mechanisms of life phenomena.

Space experiments can offer new approaches to tackling human health issues: expert