China’s Xi makes first visit to Egypt in a decade, amid regional turmoil

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Cairo for his first visit in a decade, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations and aiming to bolster economic cooperation amid regional crises.China President Xi Jinping has made his first visit to Egypt since 2016, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi received Xi in Cairo on Tuesday, having made eight visits to China since taking office in 2014.Presidential spokesman Ambassador Mohamed el-Shennawy said Xi’s visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and to follow up on the implementation of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries in 2014.“The visit will also include consultations on a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest,” he said.China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week described relations with Egypt as being at their best state in history, and that Xi’s visit would set the direction of future ties.Economic trade boomTrade relations between the two countries also appear strong. China is Egypt’s largest trading partner in non-petroleum goods, with bilateral trade reaching nearly $20.7bn by the end of 2025, according to the State Information Service (SIS).Data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) shows a nearly 200 percent increase in Egyptian exports to China, at $840.8m in the first half of 2026, while imports stood at $10.4bn.Chinese investments in Egypt are focused mainly in the Suez Canal area, a key passageway for trade between China and Europe. The China-Egypt TEDA cooperation zone in Ain Sokhna, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, hosts about 200 companies with investments exceeding $3.8bn, according to state media.