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On the evening of September 1, 2026, local time, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, for a state visit at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It marked Xi's first visit to Egypt in a decade — his previous trip dated back to January 2016 — and coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt, a coincidence both countries' official media and international observers have described as giving the visit particular historical significance. On the morning of September 2, Sisi received Xi with full ceremonial honors at the presidential palace in Cairo, after which the two leaders held talks covering the deepening of their comprehensive strategic partnership as well as regional hotspot issues.

Diplomatic relations between China and Egypt date back to May 30, 1956, when Egypt became the first country in the Arab world and on the African continent to formally establish ties with the People's Republic of China, a milestone often cited as an early landmark of South-South cooperation during the Cold War era. Over the following seventy years, the relationship weathered shifting global politics while remaining broadly stable. In 2014, Sisi paid a state visit to China, during which the two countries elevated their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, laying the institutional groundwork for more than a decade of practical cooperation that followed. On May 30 this year, Xi and Sisi had already exchanged congratulatory messages marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties, with Xi noting that China-Egypt relations were advancing steadily toward building a community with a shared future for the new era.

According to China's foreign ministry and multiple official Chinese media outlets, Xi was accompanied on this trip by his wife, Peng Liyuan. Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, Sisi and his wife personally greeted the couple, with an honor guard lining the red carpet and Egyptian children waving the flags of both countries. In a written statement, Xi said China and Egypt are both ancient civilizations whose traditional friendship has spanned thousands of years and withstood the test of time, adding that the visit would further consolidate political mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two countries. The talks on September 2 were held at the presidential palace in Cairo, where Sisi welcomed Xi with a 21-gun salute and an honor guard, a level of protocol that underscored the importance Egypt attached to the visit.

Following the talks, the two leaders issued a joint statement titled "Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Arab Republic of Egypt on Further Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership." The statement reaffirmed that both sides would deepen political mutual trust on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and agreed to further align the Belt and Road Initiative with Egypt's Vision 2030 development strategy. It also explicitly voiced support for the development of the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, aimed at helping Egypt build itself into a regional hub for industry, logistics, clean energy and the digital economy connecting Asia, Africa and Europe.

Witnessed by the two heads of state, relevant departments from both countries signed more than 20 cooperation documents covering the digital economy, artificial intelligence, trade and economic affairs, industrial and supply chain cooperation, science and technology, education and transportation — one of the largest single batches of agreements signed since the establishment of China-Egypt diplomatic relations. The documents ranged from broad strategic-alignment arrangements to specific industrial projects and technical cooperation clauses, and were described by Egyptian official media as "charting a new blueprint for the next decade of China-Egypt relations."

The China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone stands as the flagship project of bilateral economic cooperation. According to figures released by the Chinese side, the zone has attracted nearly 200 enterprises, with actual investment exceeding $3.8 billion and more than 10,000 local jobs created. Analysts note that Egypt controls the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important maritime shipping routes, and that China hopes to use the cooperation zone along the canal to establish a manufacturing and logistics base serving markets across Asia, Africa and Europe, while Egypt, for its part, hopes Chinese investment will drive the construction of factories, boost export capacity and technological upgrading, and advance its goal of economic diversification.

On trade and investment, publicly available figures show that annual bilateral trade between China and Egypt had reached nearly $20.7 billion by the end of 2025, with China having been Egypt's largest trading partner outside petroleum products for several consecutive years. More than 3,000 Chinese enterprises of various kinds currently operate in Egypt, with cumulative investment exceeding $9 billion; some Western media outlets, citing Egyptian officials, put total Chinese investment in Egypt at more than $10 billion. The discrepancy reflects differing accounting methods and time frames, but both sets of figures point to a steadily strengthening economic relationship.

Beyond bilateral matters, the situation in the Middle East also featured prominently in the talks. Xi put forward a four-point initiative on regional security: first, unlocking the internal drivers of common regional security by upholding the principle that the people of the Middle East should be masters of their own affairs and opposing outside interference in regional matters; second, advancing comprehensive governance of common regional security, stressing that the Palestinian question remains the core of the Middle East issue and must never be ignored or marginalized; third, reinforcing the developmental foundations of common regional security, arguing that lasting peace and stability in the Middle East ultimately depend on development; and fourth, strengthening international coordination on common regional security, calling on the international community — major powers from outside the region in particular — to abandon double standards and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional states.

Sisi voiced strong appreciation for China's long-standing objective and impartial position on Middle East issues, saying Egypt is committed to de-escalating regional tensions and resolving conflicts through political means. During the talks, Xi stressed that "the people of the Middle East should be masters of their own affairs" — a remark several international media outlets characterized as an implicit criticism of outside powers' involvement in regional affairs, and one widely read as a signal of China seeking to expand its influence and voice in a region long considered within the traditional sphere of U.S. influence.

In responding to Xi's written statement, Sisi also specifically noted that Egypt highly appreciates China's consistent understanding of and respect for the Nile River as Egypt's core "lifeline" interest, a remark seen as an affirmation of China's neutral stance on sensitive regional issues such as water resources. Analysts suggest this also reflects Egypt's hope that deepening ties with China will help it secure additional diplomatic support on regional affairs, including disputes over the allocation of Nile River water resources.

For its part, Egypt reaffirmed during the talks its adherence to the one-China principle and said it would continue to advance the deepening of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership. Western outlets including Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and NPR framed the visit as a significant step in China's expansion of influence among traditional U.S. allies, noting that as Egypt is a key U.S. partner in the Middle East, its deepening ties with China could carry far-reaching implications for the region's geopolitical landscape.

Analysts generally view the visit as both a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of China-Egypt diplomatic relations and an opportunity for the two sides to recalibrate their bilateral relationship amid a shifting international landscape. As the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance and Egypt pursues its own goals of economic diversification and industrial upgrading, cooperation between China and Egypt in trade, infrastructure, technology and regional security is expected to deepen further in the coming years, with the economic cooperation zones along the Suez Canal likely to see a new wave of expansion and investment.