China’s Xi to hold talks with Sisi in rare visit to Egypt

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to hold talks Wednesday with his Egyptian counterpart on his first visit to Cairo in a decade, under the shadow of looming US sanctions over financial links to Iran.

Xi arrived in Cairo Tuesday evening with First Lady Peng Liyuan.

They were received by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and First Lady Entissar Amer.

On their way off the tarmac, they were greeted by a troupe of folk dance performers and flanked by two rows of teenagers wearing T-shirts bearing photos of Xi.

The two-day visit is expected to see the presidents sign a slate of economic agreements and discuss the fallout from the US-Iran war.

According to analysts, Cairo will use the summit to underscore its strategic autonomy, showing it can leverage its close ties with both Washington and Beijing.

Sisi, in an op-ed published in Egyptian media on Tuesday, highlighted Cairo’s “independent foreign policy”, days after a branch of Egypt’s second-largest bank was targeted by US sanctions.

Washington vowed last month to isolate Iran economically, threatening expanded sanctions that could also hit Chinese banks, among others.

China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has vowed to safeguard its interests.

In the lead-up to an expected meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump this month, it has also sought to shore up ties with US-friendly regional nations.

Egypt is one of the largest recipients of US military aid, and historically a key Middle East mediator.

Last week, the US Treasury announced sanctions on the Emirati branch of Egypt’s Banque Misr for alleged support to Iran.

– Boosting investment –

In his editorial, Sisi wrote that Egypt and China were partners in “strengthening the role of the global south” in an increasingly polarised world.

Egypt — which under Sisi’s administration became one of the world’s top weapons buyers — hosted major joint air combat exercises with the Chinese military in August, featuring Beijing’s powerful J-16 fighter jet.

Across Cairo, a megalopolis home to over 26 million people, major streets have been lined with Chinese and Egyptian flags, as well as billboards showing Sisi and Xi.

Street signs boast of “generations of Egyptian-Chinese friendship flowing like the Nile River”, while residents have been warned to plan for substantial traffic delays on their commutes.

Xi is expected to traverse the entire capital during his visit Wednesday, including a stop at the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking the Giza Pyramids.

In the morning summit, the two BRICS members are expected to sign a series of agreements expanding economic trade, including in artificial intelligence, transport and energy.

Chinese investment has already played a key role in the 12-year-old Sisi administration’s massive megaprojects agenda.

It has funded the skyscraper-filled Finance and Business District in the New Administrative Capital, the crowning jewel of Sisi’s projects, 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Cairo.

Beijing also has a major foothold in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, in which Xi and Sisi will discuss expanding investments as the US-Iran war continues to threaten global maritime trade.

China is a major exporter to Egypt, with its trade surplus reaching $12 billion in the first seven months of 2026, according to Chinese customs data.

AFP