Egypt and China are moving to deepen their strategic partnership, with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Cairo on Tuesday as regional wars and uncertainty over US security commitments accelerate efforts by Middle Eastern states to broaden their international partnerships.
Xi’s arrival, his first visit to Egypt since 2016, coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Cairo and follows a period of expanding co-operation that has taken the relationship well beyond traditional diplomatic and economic ties, The Arab Weekly reported.
The two countries have intensified co-operation in trade, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy and technology, while defence ties have also gained momentum.
The timing of the visit gives it a wider strategic significance. The Middle East is emerging from months of conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States that have unsettled energy markets and prompted regional governments to reconsider the risks of depending heavily on Washington for security.
Egypt, which maintains close relations with the United States while cultivating ties with China, Russia and European powers, has increasingly presented itself as seeking greater room for manoeuvre in a changing international system.
“Egypt and China have become partners contributing together to strengthening the role of the Global South in the international system,” Sisi wrote in an op-ed published by Al-Ahram.
China’s Foreign Ministry said last week that relations with Egypt were at their best point in history and that Xi’s visit would help set the direction for future ties.
The two countries signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2014, shortly after Sisi became president. The Egyptian leader has since travelled to China eight times, reflecting Cairo’s sustained push to strengthen relations with Beijing.
Xi’s visit also underscores the importance China attaches to Egypt’s position at the intersection of the Middle East, Africa and global trade.
Egypt controls the Suez Canal, the key maritime artery linking the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and one of the principal routes for trade between China and Europe. Chinese investment has expanded significantly around the canal, including in manufacturing, ports, renewable energy and other strategic industries.
Egyptian exports to China reached $840.8 million in the first half of 2026, up nearly 200 per cent, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics. Imports from China stood at $10.4 billion over the same period.
The China-Egypt TEDA cooperation zone in Ain Sokhna has become a major Chinese investment hub. About 200 companies operate there, with investments exceeding $3.8 billion, according to Egyptian state media.
Sisi said the economic relationship had entered a new phase since the 2014 strategic partnership.
“The comprehensive strategic partnership established by the two countries achieved a breakthrough in bilateral relations, as China became a major commercial and economic partner for Egypt, and direct Chinese investments increased, including in the Suez Canal Economic Zone,” he said.
Defence co-operation is also becoming an increasingly important component of the relationship.
Egypt hosted joint air exercises with China last month, including the first deployment of Chinese J-16 fighter jets to Africa. The drills also involved French-made Rafales operated by the Egyptian Air Force, while Chinese state media showed a Chinese tanker aircraft refuelling a Rafale.
The exercises provided a rare opportunity for Chinese and Western-designed aircraft to operate together and highlighted Beijing’s growing ability to project military capabilities beyond its immediate neighbourhood.
Egypt’s growing military engagement with China comes despite its longstanding defence relationship with Washington and annual US military assistance of about $1.3 billion.
A. Hellyer, a scholar at the Royal United Services Institute, said Cairo had been seeking stronger ties with Beijing since Sisi travelled to China in 2014 to establish the strategic partnership.
He said concerns over “American reliability and volatility” had been reinforced by the wars in Gaza and Iran.
“Egypt sees itself as moving towards greater strategic autonomy,” Hellyer said. “It wants strong relations with Washington, but also Beijing, Moscow, and Europe.”
For Beijing, Egypt’s value extends beyond bilateral economic interests. Its proximity to Israel and Gaza, its position on the Mediterranean and Red Sea, and its role in Africa and the Arab world make it an important diplomatic partner at a time of heightened regional competition.
“It touches on Israel, and the Palestinian issue. It touches on Africa. It touches on the Persian Gulf issue,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Global South Project.
The Palestinian issue is expected to feature prominently in the leaders’ discussions. Xi hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah in Beijing last week, where Palestinian rights were among the key issues discussed.
In a signed article published in Egyptian media, Xi said the two countries shared responsibility for promoting stability and cooperation among developing nations.
“For seven decades, the China-Egypt relationship has braved wind and rain, and withstood the test of the changing international landscape,” Xi wrote.
“Both sides firmly support the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, and both are committed to facilitating the political settlement of hotspot issues and realising peace and stability in the region.”
Xi also referred to the joint Egypt-China Eagles of Civilisation air exercises, which began on August 22, saying they demonstrated the Chinese Air Force’s ability to operate far from China’s borders.
The Chinese president called for closer coordination on what he described as the two countries’ core interests and major concerns, as well as expanded cooperation under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
He said China and Egypt should strengthen collaboration in development, education, tourism, science and technology, healthcare, sport and archaeology while increasing coordination through multilateral institutions.
Sisi, meanwhile, used the visit to highlight Beijing’s position on another strategic issue for Cairo: the long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
“In this regard, Egypt highly appreciates China’s position, which affirmed its recognition of the vital importance of the Nile River to Egypt as its main lifeline, and reiterates the importance of refraining from taking unilateral measures and enhancing cooperation in good faith to achieve mutual benefit and win-win co-operation for all,” Sisi wrote.
Xi arrived in Cairo with his wife, Peng Liyuan, and was received by Sisi and his wife, Entissar el-Sisi, in a ceremony featuring a long red carpet, uniformed soldiers, folk dancers and Egyptians waving Chinese flags.
The visit is the second leg of Xi’s second overseas trip of the year, following his participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, where he held talks with Putin and other leaders.
