The international media’s coverage of Egypt’s presidential election continues with Reuters reporting that the Egyptian government is concerned with clamping down on fake news. In the US, Rep. Jim McGovern (Democrat of Massachusetts) says that there is bipartisan concern in Congress over events leading up to the election, Mohamed Elshinnawi reports for VOA. McGovern, who is the co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said the concern is there despite Egypt being a close US strategic partner. Elshinnawi also spoke with a number of Egyptians residing in the US, some of whom said they are boycotting the elections.

Despite the international concern, Egyptians hope President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s “inevitable victory will at least benefit the country’s ailing economy,” Heba Saleh writes for the Financial Times. “Despite a series of harsh reforms pushed through by the government, there have so far been no tangible improvements for the mns of families struggling to survive on low or modest incomes.” Businesses have also struggled but are optimistic that the reforms will eventually pay off and that “the worst is behind us,” Edita Chairman Hani Berzi tells Saleh. Also name-checked: Pharos Holding COO Angus Blair.

Growing ties with China: A newly-established animal feed factory of Chinese agribusiness player New Hope Group in Beheira “tells a good story” about the growing ties between Egypt and China, Mahmoud Fouly writes for Xinhua. The factory is New Hope’s third in Egypt and General Manager Wu Qianfeng says the company invested the equivalent of USD 15.8 mn in the project.

Also worth a skim this morning:

• Egyptian censors prohibited the premiere of a revolution-centric play without the removal of several scenes, according to the AP’s Brian Rohan, who notes this is the second play to be targeted in the run-up to the elections.
• The Religious Endowments Authority is sponsoring Sufi celebrations and seminars in hopes of countering Salafism and extremism, Al Monitor says.