Egypt was looking forward to economic and trade cooperation with China, Prime Minister Atef Obeid said Tuesday.

"Egypt hopes to engage in cooperation with China in the fields of food processing, pharmacy, production of auto accessory and parts as well as petrochemicals, in addition to the management of infrastructure," Obeid said during a Sino-Egyptian trade forum held here.

Obeid said Egypt enjoyed a geographic edge and a huge market of nearly 70 million people, and it regarded China as its partner in the course of economic growth.

He said China's economy was developing rapidly, thanks to its opening-up and reform policy, and Egypt would like to learn from China in terms of economic development.

Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Wu Sike said on the occasion that Chinese entrepreneurs were getting a better understanding of Egypt's investment environment, expressing his belief that Sino- Egyptian economic and trade cooperation would witness expansion in the years to come.

The one-day event was organized by the Investment Promotion Agency of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones.

Two-way trade between China and Egypt stood at 1.09 billion US dollars last year, an increase of 15.4 percent over the previous year.

Chinese Ambassador Wu Sike delivering a speech