CAIRO, Apr 5, 2004 (Xinhua) -- Chinese ambassador to Egypt on Monday highlighted bilateral ties, marking the fifth anniversary of the establishment of strategic Sino-Egyptian cooperative relations oriented to the 21st century.

"It was a big event and even a milestone in Sino-Egyptian relations," said Wu Sike in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"The decision is right and far-sighted, and the Sino-Egyptian relations have entered a new phase since then," Wu said.

In the past five years, China and Egypt have maintained a stable and constant developing relationship and have fostered cooperations in political, economic, cultural and technological fields, he said.

The ambassador reviewed the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries, in particular Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Egypt in January this year.

"Hu's visit enriched the connotation of the Sino-Egyptian strategic cooperative relations, during which both Hu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stated that cooperation conforms to the interests of the two peoples and will benefit international and regional peace, stability and development," he noted.

In addition, the ties between the ruling parties and consultative bodies of both countries were intensified, Wu added.

China and Egypt has a very special relationship since Egypt is the first Arab and African country with which China established diplomatic relations, Wu said.

"It is also the first developing country with which China established strategic cooperative relations," he emphasized.

"It shows that China attaches great importance to developing ties with Egypt as well as other Arab and African nations," he said.

The decision of establishing Sino-Egyptian strategic cooperative relations was made during Mubarak's visit to China in 1999.

China and Egypt established diplomatic relations on May 30, 1956, and the bilateral ties have witnessed smooth development.

According to statistics from the Chinese customs, two-way trade exceeded 1 billion US dollars in 2003, an increase of more than 15 percent over the previous year, while Egyptian exports to China rose 75 percent.

Copyright 2004 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.