Overview
- Xi arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for his first visit to Egypt in a decade and met President Abdel‑Fattah el‑Sisi to advance a slate of agreements on artificial intelligence, transport, energy and investment in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
- The two countries have staged the joint 'Eagles of Civilisation 2026' air exercises, and Egyptian military images showing a Chinese YU‑20 tanker refuelling an Egyptian Rafale highlighted growing operational cooperation.
- Washington's recent actions that cut off the UAE arm of Egypt's Banque Misr from parts of the US financial system have increased Cairo's urgency to secure Chinese investment and new financing terms.
- Xi's Cairo stop is part of an unusually busy September tour that began at the SCO summit and is expected to culminate in a late‑September meeting in Washington with President Donald Trump.
- The visit builds on seven decades of ties and deep economic links such as the TEDA Suez zone, which hosts about 200 Chinese firms and has drawn roughly $3.8 billion in investment as bilateral trade neared $21 billion in 2025.