Xi Courts Egypt as China Muscles Into Mideast

In his op-ed, Xi wrote that Beijing and Cairo should "expand the scope of pragmatic collaboration" through development, and said that "for seven decades, the China-Egypt relationship has braved wind and rain, and withstood the test of the changing international landscape."

El-Sissi praised China's investments and restated Cairo's support for China's claim that Taiwan is part of its territory. He also thanked Beijing for backing Egypt's position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, writing that China "affirmed its recognition of the vital importance of the Nile River to Egypt as its main lifeline."

Egyptian presidential spokesman Mohamed el-Shennawy said the visit is meant to strengthen bilateral relations and follow up on the 2014 partnership agreement, with "consultations on a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest."

China's Foreign Ministry said last week that relations with Egypt are at their best state in history.

"China continues to build up its soft power reserves while the United States self-sabotages its own stock," Amr Hamzawy, director of the Washington-based Carnegie Middle East Program, wrote earlier this year with former program fellow Kathryn Selfe.

Analyst Seth J. Frantzman argued in the Jerusalem Post that Beijing is still cautious in the region — its 25-year deal with Iran did not pan out, and it is wary of the instability the Iran war has unleashed.

Why It Matters to Washington

Egypt is a crucial partner in US national security priorities in the Middle East, and American and Egyptian leaders have long enjoyed close ties. Cairo is now openly diversifying its partnerships.

Xi is selling China as a stabilizer, a contrast with a United States that has been militarily entangled in the region for decades. Beijing has also long backed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and announced a "strategic partnership" with the Palestinian Authority shortly before the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.

There is a hard logistical stake, too: with oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz heavily disrupted by the Iran war, the Suez Canal — controlled by Egypt — takes on added weight for global trade.