Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Egypt this week may appear to be a routine opportunity for the two countries to strengthen their economic and diplomatic relations.
However, the meeting between Xi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi carries broader significance as China, the United States' main global rival, seeks to deepen ties with one of Washington's key Middle Eastern allies and expand its influence in a rapidly changing region.
Xi is seeking to portray China as a stabilizing force in the Middle East while contrasting it with the United States, which has been militarily involved in the region for decades, with its six-month war with Iran being the latest example.
"China continues to build up its soft power reserves while the United States self-sabotages its own stock," Amr Hamzawy, director of the Washington-based Carnegie Middle East Program, wrote in a paper earlier this year with Kathryn Selfe, a former fellow at the program.
Xi arrived at Cairo airport on Tuesday evening, where Chinese and Egyptian flags were displayed. El-Sissi and military guards welcomed him with a red-carpet ceremony.
The two leaders are scheduled to hold talks on Wednesday, while Xi is also expected to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum near the pyramids of Giza.
Xi's first Mideast visit in years
Xi will spend three days in Egypt, marking his first visit to the country in a decade and his first trip to the Middle East since visiting Saudi Arabia in 2022. El-Sissi, meanwhile, has made several visits to China in recent years.
The two leaders marked 70 years of diplomatic relations on Tuesday by publishing articles in Egypt's state-run newspapers.
Xi said Beijing and Cairo should "expand the scope of pragmatic collaboration" through development. El-Sissi praised Chinese investments in Egypt and reaffirmed Cairo's support for Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China's territory.
Egypt sees its expanding relationship with China as a means of diversifying its strategic partnerships.
In 2023, Egypt was invited to join the BRICS grouping of major emerging economies, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and is widely viewed as a counterweight to Western-led institutions such as the G7.
The following year, Egypt signed agreements with China to cooperate under the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi's flagship policy aimed at developing infrastructure and transportation networks around the world.
China has invested more than $10 billion in Egypt, including in a business hub east of Cairo and an electric rail line serving industrial areas in the Nile Delta. Annual trade between the two countries is estimated at $20 billion, according to government figures.
By comparison, trade between the United States and Egypt totaled $15.7 billion in 2025. Egypt remains an important partner for US national security interests in the region, with close relations between the two countries' leaders.
China seeks stronger ties across the region
China has also sought to position itself as a bridge between Middle Eastern countries.
In 2023, Beijing brokered an agreement that restored diplomatic relations between Iran, its most important regional ally and oil supplier, and Saudi Arabia, a longtime US ally. The deal demonstrated China's ambition to challenge US influence in the Middle East.
Relations between Riyadh and Tehran have since deteriorated. Iran attacked Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries as part of its retaliation against the United States and Israel, which launched the war on Feb. 28.
China has also sought to present itself as a regional mediator on other issues. Beijing has long supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which many Arab countries regard as central to regional stability.
Just before Hamas militants attacked Israel in 2023 and triggered the war in Gaza, Xi hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and announced a "strategic partnership" with the Palestinian Authority.
Suez Canal gains importance amid Hormuz disruption
The Suez Canal, controlled by Egypt, has become an increasingly important alternative route for transporting energy supplies from the region as oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have been severely disrupted by the Iran war.
"China has good reason to strengthen ties with the country that controls the route still open," said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, a Middle East expert at Jakarta's Center of Economic and Law Studies.
Xi views Egypt "as a base to reach the wider Arab and African world, at a time when the U.S. has less attention to spare there," Rakhmat said.
In August, China and Egypt conducted a multiday air exercise at several bases across Egypt. It was the first combat exercise involving China's J-16 fighter jets and Egypt's French-made Rafale aircraft.
Xi's Cairo visit follows his participation in a two-day conference of the 10-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a political and security grouping that is presented as a counterweight to US global influence.
The leaders of Russia, India, Pakistan and Iran attended the conference in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Xi's trip also comes after the Trump administration launched what it described as an "economic onslaught" targeting Iran's financial links around the world.
The sanctions seek to isolate Iran from its remaining economic partners, including China, which purchases more than 80% of Iranian oil shipments, generally through indirect channels.