Egypt is exploring a strategic partnership with Chinese telecom giant Huawei in renewable energy and digitalization as Beijing and Cairo’s economic ties deepen.

What happened: Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat visited Huawei’s Global Digital Energy and Renewables Division in Shenzhen in China on Sunday. He met with Chairman Guo Jiangong and David Sun, the company’s Vice President for Energy, along with other Huawei executives.

According to the Daily News Egypt, the talks centered on strengthening cooperation in digital transformation, updating power grids, expanding battery energy storage systems and localizing manufacturing to support the North African country’s green transition plans. The officials also discussed localizing select ancillary industries and relocating parts of Huawei’s service centers to Egypt.

Esmat has been on an official visit to China over the past week. On Saturday, he visited the state-owned China Southern Power Grid International on the sidelines of the Shanghai Conference for Renewable Energy, Clean Energy Solutions, and Energy Transition in China. Since Thursday, the minister has been meeting a range of high-level officials and business leaders on his trip, including Egypt's ambassador to Beijing, Khaled Nazmy, and the director of China's National Energy Administration, Wang Honzu.