CAIRO, Jan. 20 -- A Chinese trade delegation led by the Ministry of Commerce signed 12 agreements on Tuesday with Egyptian companies in Cairo, with the total contract value reaching 60.4 million U.S. dollars.

Ranging from olive oil, fruits, medical equipments, metal products, chemical materials, to textile raw materials, the involving Egyptian companies are those with comparative advantages.

"I wish companies from both sides can make full use of this platform to deepen mutual understanding and to expand cooperation potentials," said Wang Dongtang, a senior official from the Ministry of Commerce, noting that Egypt and China have complementary advantages in trade and economy.

For his part, Ali Ellaithy, the First Undersecretary of Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, said that sending a trade delegation to Egypt was a practical measure to strengthen the trade and economic connections between Egypt and China, hailing it as "a lively overture for President Xi Jinping's state visit to Egypt."

During the visit, the delegation also held meetings with representatives from the Horticultural Export Improvement Association (HEIA) and visited Egyptian companies in the fields of textile production, technology and commercial consultancy.