Xi Courts Egypt as China Expands Middle East Influence — SkimNews
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- Xi Jinping arrived in Cairo on Tuesday evening for talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, his first visit to Egypt in a decade and first to the region since a 2022 stop in Saudi Arabia, marking 70 years of diplomatic ties.
- Xi and el-Sissi called for joint opposition to "unilateralism and acts of bullying" and a "more just and equitable global governance system," according to China's Xinhua news agency.
- China has invested more than $10 billion in Egypt — including a business hub east of Cairo and an electric rail line in the Nile Delta — with annual bilateral trade estimated at $20 billion, compared with $15.7 billion in US-Egypt trade in 2025.
- Egypt joined the BRICS bloc in 2023 and signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with China a year later, seeking to diversify strategic partnerships beyond Washington.
- El-Sissi publicly reiterated Cairo's support for China's claim that Taiwan is part of its territory, a notable diplomatic concession noted in the leaders' joint opinion pieces.
- China and Egypt held their first-ever joint combat air exercise in August, pairing Chinese J-16 fighter jets with Egypt's French-made Rafale fighters at multiple Egyptian bases.
- The Suez Canal, controlled by Egypt, has grown more strategically vital as oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz face disruption from the Iran war, giving Beijing strong reason to court Cairo.
Why it matters: Egypt controls the Suez Canal, which the source identifies as the key remaining energy-export route while Hormuz is disrupted — meaning China's deepening ties translate into strategic control over a chokepoint the US once dominated. Egypt also publicly backed China's Taiwan claim, signaling Cairo is willing to side with Beijing on issues far beyond the Middle East. Between $10 billion in Chinese investment and BRICS membership, Cairo is methodically diversifying away from Washington.
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