Xi Jinping visits Egypt after nine years, deepening China-Arab ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cairo this week for his first visit to Egypt in nine years, as Beijing's foreign ministry declared bilateral relations "at their best in history". The trip, timed to mark 70 years of diplomatic ties, underscores Egypt's strategy of cultivating alternatives to Western partnerships while deepening economic and security cooperation with the world's second-largest economy.

First visit since 2016 Arab League address

Xi last travelled to Egypt in January 2016, when he delivered a speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo and oversaw the signing of agreements spanning infrastructure, energy, finance and industrial development. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, by comparison, has made eight trips to China since assuming office in 2014, including a visit as recently as May 2024.

Strategic messaging for both capitals

According to John Calabrese, a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, the visit carries political significance beyond ceremony. "The visit provides Beijing with an opportunity to showcase a durable, non-Western partnership with a major Arab, African and Global South state," Calabrese said. For Cairo, hosting Xi signals that Egypt is "not a tool of the US or the West more broadly", offering diplomatic room to manoeuvre as it navigates competing regional and global pressures.

Suez and military cooperation in focus

The trip unfolds against a backdrop of expanding Chinese investment around the Suez Canal and joint air force exercises between the two nations. China's foreign ministry said last week that Xi's visit would build on past cooperation while charting the course for future collaboration.

Source: South China Morning Post