CAIRO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China and Egypt discussed various African affairs of common concern during the first joint consultation meeting held in Cairo on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Dai Bing, director of the African Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khaled Ibrahim Saaed Omara, assistant minister of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Liao Liqiang, the Chinese Ambassador to Egypt.

Topics discussed during the meeting included cooperation with African countries, Chinese relations with the African Union, hotspot issues in the Africa and trilateral cooperation in Africa.

"Egypt, as the largest African country and the current rotating presidency of the African Union, has an important influence on African affairs," said Dai during the meeting.

He hailed the close relations between China and Egypt, which shared similar positions on African issues, saying that the bilateral exchange and cooperation on African affairs are conducive to promoting peace and development in Africa.

Omara highlighted China's role as a good friend and partner of the African countries and their fruitful cooperation, adding that Egypt fully supports the friendly cooperation between China and African countries.

"Egypt is ready to consult regularly with China on African affairs to promote trilateral cooperation so as to jointly help achieve stability and development on the African continent," said Omara.