"President Xi Jinping is a leader in the dialogue among civilizations." Ala Mansawi, director of the Luxor Museum in Egypt, said in an interview with this reporter a few days ago that "under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has played a pivotal role on the world stage and become an important force in maintaining global stability."
In January 2016, President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Seyce attended the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt and the opening ceremony of the 2016 China-Egypt Cultural Year in the ancient Luxor Temple Square. As a cultural relic inspector in Luxor, Manshavi participated in the design and planning of the tour route. "It took us quite a long time to carefully design this route, giant statues, obelisks ... every detail was carefully scrutinized, and every cultural relic was properly arranged." Manshavi said.
"In my impression, President Xi Jinping is calm and heavy, and has a deep and transparent insight into history and civilization." Manshavi recalled that during the visit, President Xi Jinping's high concentration on cultural relics and deep interest in archaeology all showed respect for civilization. "I felt at that time that President Xi Jinping regarded these cultural relics as the common heritage of mankind that passed on ancient civilizations."
"This experience is one of the most precious memories in my career, and it is also the starting point for me to understand the relationship between Egypt and China, which has opened my indissoluble bond with China." Manshavi said that he has visited China many times in the past 10 years, covering more than a dozen provinces. "China, an ancient eastern power, is full of vigor and vitality." In his view, the development of China combines tradition and modernity. "I learned that some young people who are engaged in programming insist on reading classical poems or practicing calligraphy, and keep emotional contact with cultural roots, which makes me admire and move."
In August 2025, the "Top of the Pyramid: Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization" of Shanghai Museum ended. The exhibition lasted for 13 months and attracted more than 2.77 million Chinese and foreign visitors. Luxor Museum contributed four treasures to the exhibition, including a statue of King Melumpta selected by Manshavi and the only existing statue of Goddess Knight. "We need to create artistic content that can touch the audience in China and is easy to understand, and better show the Egyptian civilization to the audience in China, making it not only a cultural relic, but also a human story that connects two ancient civilizations." Manshavi said.
Manshavi said that the exhibition attracted so many visitors not only because of the curiosity of the audience, but also because of the resonance and closeness between the two ancient civilizations of Egypt and China. "I am very proud to see the long queue in front of the Shanghai Museum and the China audience stop to appreciate the concentration of Egyptian cultural relics." He said, "Nowadays, Chinese is enthusiastic about Egyptology, and Chinese fever is heating up in Egypt. This deepening mutual understanding is building a bridge to promote the communication between the people."
On November 1, 2025, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to Egyptian President Seyce to congratulate the opening of the Great Egypt Museum. In his congratulatory letter, President Xi Jinping emphasized that China and Egypt, two ancient civilizations, should continue to deepen mutual understanding of civilizations, continuously inject new kinetic energy into the development of China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership, and gather civilized forces for building a community of human destiny. Manshavi said that the congratulatory letter reflects a consensus that Egypt-China relations are not only modern diplomatic relations, but also the resonance of two ancient civilizations in the depths of history. The mutual learning between Egyptian and Chinese civilizations not only provides the modern world with a balanced development paradigm of persistence and innovation, but also proves that cultural diversity is not the root of conflict, but the source of peace and stability of human society.
Manshavi believes that China is not only an advocate of civilized dialogue, but also a pragmatic actor, and the joint archaeology between Egypt and China is a vivid practice of civilized exchange and mutual learning. "The cooperation between Egypt and China in the field of archaeology has gone beyond simple exchanges and has formed a close civilized connection." He said that the joint archaeology between Egypt and China has transformed the cultural heritage from a "silent stone" to a "civilized message". Nowadays, more and more Egyptian archaeological teams have come to Egypt to work side by side with the Egyptian team, which reflects the mutual learning between the two sides in the technical and academic fields. "China supports the protection of world heritage and attaches importance to the development of archaeology, and is becoming an important partner for Egypt to protect human memory."
"China not only pursues its own development and prosperity, but also strives to build a bridge of civilized exchanges and mutual learning with other countries in the world." Manshavi said, "President Xi Jinping is a visionary leader of a big country. Under his leadership, China painted a blueprint for the common development of mankind with a broad vision, pointing out the direction for all countries to work together in mutual respect and build a community of human destiny. " (Outlook New Era)