 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 6,000–10,000 (2007)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Cairo · Alexandria[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Overseas Chinese |
Chinese people in Egypt form one of the smaller groups of overseas Chinese; however, they are a very diverse community with a history reaching back for over a century.[3]
Fatimid CaliphAl-Hakim bi-Amr Allah sent a delegation toSong dynasty China led byDomiyat.
TheMamluk Sultan of Egypt orderedJidda to treat Chinese traders honorably upon their arrival in the early 15th century.[4]
Egypt, and specifically Cairo'sAl-Azhar University, has long been an important destination forChinese Muslims seeking Islamic learning. The earliest Chinese government-sponsored students to attend Al-Azhar were a group of four sent in 1931.[5] However, individual Chinese scholars, such asYusuf Ma Dexin, the firsttranslator of the meanings of theQur'an intoChinese, had been going to Al-Azhar on their own as early as the 19th century.[6] TheRepublic of China (1912–49) sent Hui Muslims likeMuhammad Ma Jian and other Hui Muslim students to study atAl-Azhar in Egypt.[7] The Fuad Muslim Library in China was named afterFuad I of Egypt by theChinese MuslimMa Songting.[8]
ImamWang Jingzhai studied at Al-Azhar University in Egypt along with several other Chinese Muslim students, the first Chinese students in modern times to study in the Middle East.[9] Wang recalled his experience teaching at madrassas in the provinces of Henan (Yu), Hebei (Ji), and Shandong (Lu) which were outside of the traditional stronghold of Muslim education in northwest China, and where the living conditions were poorer and the students had a much tougher time than the northwestern students.[10] In 1931 China sent five students to study at Al-Azhar in Egypt, among them wasMuhammad Ma Jian and they were the first Chinese to study at Al-Azhar.[11][12][13][14] Na Zhong, a descendant ofNasr al-Din (Yunnan) was another one of the students sent to Al-Azhar in 1931, along with Zhang Ziren, Ma Jian, and Lin Zhongming.[15]
AHadith(圣训), (it is not a real Hadith but was a popular slogan among Arabic speakers in Middle East in the 19th-20th centuries. It spread to China via Hui Muslim students likeMuhammad Ma Jian who studied at Al-Azhar in Egypt) a saying ofMuhammad, spread to China, which says "Loving the Motherland is equivalent to loving the Faith" (traditional Chinese:愛護祖國是屬於信仰的一部份;simplified Chinese:爱护祖国是属于信仰的一部份;pinyin:àihù zǔguó shì shǔyú xìnyǎng de yī bùfèn) (Arabic:حب الوطن من الایمانḥubb al-waṭan min al-imān).[16][17]
Hui Muslim GeneralMa Bufang and his retinue includingMa Chengxiang moved to Egypt before being appointed as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Exchanges were interrupted during theCultural Revolution, but resumed in 1981; the group of ten sent from China to Al-Azhar that year included threeUyghurs, sixHui, and oneKazakh. By 1992, that number had reached thirty-four students, of whom twenty-eight were Uyghurs.[18] As of 2006[update], there were about 300international students from China in Egypt, of who the major portion were studying at Al-Azhar.[19] China also provides scholarships to students at other universities, such asCairo University; some students privately complain that the Chinese government prefers to sponsor those studying science and place various obstacles in the way of those studying religion.[20]
Chinese construction companies began making inroads in Egypt in the early 1980s, soon after thereform and opening up ofChina's economy; they were able to underbid local construction companies by importing labourers from China, despite high unemployment in Egypt. Chinese workers have a reputation for being skillful, diligent, and efficient.Dru C. Gladney states that the number of Chinese construction workers in Egypt peaked between 1985 and 1987, at about 10,000 people, but declined again to around 5,000 by 1992.[21] The number of Chinese workers in Egypt fluctuated significantly from in the 21st century. In 2021, the number is 5,020.[22]
Individual Chinese traders and entrepreneurs began arriving in Egypt in the late 1990s and early 2000s; they came largely fromZhejiang,Fujian, andthe Northeast. They commonly open businesses in the restaurant, garment, and telecommunications sectors. Many of their restaurants serveCantonese cuisine due to its popularity among Egyptians, though there are few migrants actually fromGuangdong.[23]
As of June 2008, the more than 500 Chinese companies in Egypt had invested a total ofUS$450 million of capital. Manufacturing products in Egypt allows them to take advantage of cheap local electricity and water, as well as local labour which may actually be cheaper than that of China in some sectors, such as garments.[24]
| From Africa |  | |
|---|---|---|
| From Asia | ||
| From Europe | ||
