Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil on Friday said a successful visit paid by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the country stresses the strategic partnership between the two sides.

In a statement, the minister added that agreements signed during the visit also reflect a firm desire by officials here and in Beijing to achieve a quantum leap in economic and political relations to serve common interests of the two peoples.

Kabil hailed an MoU on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that was signed by the Egyptian trade and industry minister and Chinese national development and reform minister.

The agreement represents a general framework for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various areas, the minister said.

The Silk Road is an ancient network of trade routes that were central to cultural interaction connecting the West and East from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt backs the Chinese initiative to revive the historical Silk Road, the minister noted.