On June 30, 2021, ECFA participated in the virtual event convened by the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, in cooperation with the governor and officials of the Xinjiang region northwestern China, where an Islamic majority lives, entitled “Xinjiang, a Wonderful Land.” The event was opened by Mr. Liao Liqiang, Chinese Ambassador to Cairo, followed by an introduction by the officials of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

It should be noted that ECFA’s participation in the event was represented by its two members: Ambassadors Ezzat Saad, ECFA Director, and Ali Al Hefny, Coordinator of Asian Affairs at the Council, and took place within a special consultative session with a number of Egyptian experts and academics. The meeting also emphasized that the propaganda campaign organized by some Western countries against China, raising the issue of human rights in the Xinjiang region, is a campaign mainly linked to the rise of China to become the second largest economic power and the top commercial power in today’s world, especially since Xinjiang is one of the most important and richest regions of China, and it contributes greatly to the breakthrough achieved by China in several areas.

It is also China’s gateway to the Silk Road that extends from it to the European continent, and it is one of the main sources of income with its wealth of oil and gas, also with its major textile projects, and being one of the largest producers of solar panels; these are a few examples of the wealth inherent in this region which shares the fruits of its exploitation with other Chinese regions, and even with other regions of the world.

In this context, the meeting affirmed the need to take into account that human development, preservation of human rights and freedoms and ensuring their protection within a framework of law, is a sacred duty for every state in accordance with its internal legal system and value system, bearing in mind that all religions and faiths exalt the value of and sanctify the human being, and therefore it does not make sense that a particular civilization or a handful of nations instate themselves as the defenders of, or spokespersons for, these rights.

It was also emphasized that the Chinese vision of global governance, with its economic and political dimensions, is shared by a large majority of the world’s countries, including Egypt, especially with regard to the principles of non-interference in internal affairs, sovereign equality, and the right of each country to choose its own model of governance and development, according to the system of values ​​and culture prevailing in it.