During a visit to Egypt, Xi Jinping called for resisting “external interference” in the Middle East. This is his first visit to Egypt in ten years, taking place amid a new escalation of conflict in the region. The conflict was at the center of discussions at the Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo, where Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for “diplomatic solutions” to achieve a lasting ceasefire.
“We must uphold the principle that the peoples of the Middle East are the masters of their own affairs, we must oppose external interference…”, Xi Jinping said, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency. He also expressed readiness to cooperate with countries in the region to ensure the security of maritime navigation, which has been undermined by repeated attacks on ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, vital for global trade.
Financial and strategic agreements
Egypt gave Xi Jinping a ceremonial welcome, anticipating financial prospects. The countries signed an agreement to launch the third phase of the Egypt-China industrial zone, where 200 companies already operate, with a total investment volume of about $4 billion, according to authorities. While financial details of the deal were not disclosed, it will allow Beijing to strengthen its presence in the Suez Canal zone amid threats to global maritime trade due to tensions between the United States and Iran. A number of additional agreements were signed, the contents of which Egyptian authorities did not specify.
Xi’s visit comes as Washington increases pressure on Iran’s trade partners. Beijing, a major partner of Tehran, has found itself among the main targets of this pressure and is seeking Cairo’s support, whose banks have also been targeted. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against a branch of Bank Misr in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt’s second-largest bank, accusing it of involvement in financial transactions with Tehran.
Policy of strategic autonomy
As part of the campaign against Iran, launched jointly with Israel at the end of February, Washington last month vowed to strangle Iran’s economy, threatening to expand sanctions that could also affect Chinese banks. China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has in turn pledged to defend its interests. Ahead of a planned meeting between Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump later in September, Beijing is also seeking to strengthen ties with countries in the region close to Washington.
Egypt is one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid and a key historical mediator in the Middle East. According to analysts, Cairo intends to use this visit to emphasize its strategic autonomy, demonstrating that it can leverage close relations with both Washington and Beijing. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in a text published Tuesday in Egyptian media, praised his “independent foreign policy”. He also stated that the two BRICS member states are “partners” in “strengthening the role of the Global South” in an increasingly polarized world.
Xi Jinping is set to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza pyramids later on Wednesday. In the megacity of more than 26 million residents, main avenues were adorned with Chinese and Egyptian flags, as well as banners featuring images of the two presidents or slogans such as “a generation of Egyptian-Chinese friendship flowing like the Nile”. Chinese investments already play a key role in major projects under President Sisi: they financed a financial and business district dotted with skyscrapers in the new administrative capital, located 50 km east of Cairo.
Beijing is a major exporter to Egypt, with a trade surplus of $12 billion in the first seven months of 2026, according to Chinese customs. The two countries are also linked by military cooperation: Egypt, which under Sisi has become one of the world’s largest arms importers, in August conducted large-scale joint air combat exercises with the Chinese military involving the J-16 fighter jet.
Source: Le Figaro
