Egypt's Amb.: China Won't Precede US in World Dominance

By: Nour El Houda Fouad, Taarek Refaat

CAIRO, Feb. 6 (SEE)- "China and the World" is a book written by Former Egyptian ambassador to China El-Sayed Amin Shalaby. The book speaks about the Chinese state and its transformation into a global power that threatens the dominance and the hegemony of the United States.

"The Chinese state re-emerged into one of the two poles of power throughout the modern age," Shalaby said during the book review at the Cairo International Book Fair, adding that amidst the changing face of the US, this book examines the relationship between economic strength and the emergence of political and strategic dominance of the world.

Shalaby relied in his book on Chinese references and documented data, and two international publications, in addition to political studies and different insights of experts in international affairs.

The first section of the book addresses the Chinese worldview, including the most critical areas of conflict and its relations with countries, particularly the United States. The second part, however, addresses the world view on China.

On his part, former Egyptian ambassador to China Ambassador Noman Jalal disagreed with Shalaby's view of China, noting that Beijing has not so far preceded the United States neither geographically nor economically despite its contribution to the global economy and its invasion of markets, its military budget does not exceed a quarter of that of the US.

Jalal added that the real motivations that led China to develop after the opium war and the financial crisis of 2008, is its revival of the Silk Road or the Chinese belt that passes through the Asian and African seaports starting with Sri Lanka.

"China has also provided a lot of assistance and aid to developing countries, particularly in Africa," he noted.

On the Egyptian-Chinese relations, he said that the country is developing a strategic relationship with Beijing on the economic level, particularly as China is a key partner with Russia, which Egypt is keen on deepening its partnership with.

Egypt's foreign policy is balanced by the reinforcing of a central political authority, which works on boosting relations with both east and west," he concluded.