China expands currency swap with Egypt as trade ties reach new heights

3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 2:00pm, 5 Sep 2026Updated: 2:43pm, 5 Sep 2026Egypt’s expanded currency swap with China may help bring the Yuan into wider use in trade and investment, but experts say any reduced reliance on the US dollar will not happen in a hurry.Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi this week backed greater use of their currencies, while linking closer financial ties to plans for new factories, energy projects and digital infrastructure.A joint statement released on Wednesday during Xi’s state visit to Cairo also envisions building Egypt up as a regional industrial and logistics hub, leveraging Chinese technology transfers and investment to anchor Cairo’s role within the expanded Brics emerging economies bloc as a gateway for regional and global markets. However, analysts said whether genuine domestic capacity would increase depended on Egypt’s negotiation of the terms.WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping at Shanghai Cooperation OrganisationCairo already has a 30 billion Yuan (US$4.47 billion) swap arrangement with Beijing and has borrowed through a panda bond issued in China’s domestic market. Whether Egyptian and Chinese companies use the Yuan regularly will be the main test of the currency push.