CAIRO, EGYPT / RankWire.AI / – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cairo for an official visit as Egypt and China marked 70 years of diplomatic relations. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Xi at Cairo International Airport on Tuesday. First Lady Entissar El-Sisi and Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, also attended the airport reception. The trip is Xi’s first visit to Egypt in a decade. It places bilateral political, economic and development ties at the center of high-level meetings in Cairo.
Egypt and China highlight trade and development ties during Xi Jinping’s Cairo visit. (Credit – WAM)
The Egyptian Presidency said El-Sisi and Xi would discuss ways to strengthen relations between the two countries. Their agenda includes economic cooperation, development projects and political coordination. The leaders will also review implementation of the Egypt-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, established in 2014. Regional and international matters of mutual interest are also on the agenda. Egypt and China have maintained regular presidential contacts since expanding their relationship under the strategic partnership framework.
The visit comes during the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and China. The two countries established formal ties in 1956. Egypt became the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Both governments have highlighted the anniversary during preparations for Xi’s visit. El-Sisi and Xi have also cited the expansion of bilateral cooperation during the past decade, including growing links in trade, infrastructure and technology.
Seventy years of expanding bilateral ties
Economic relations have become a major part of the Egypt-China partnership. Bilateral trade reached about $20.78 billion in 2025, according to Egyptian government figures. That compared with approximately $17.37 billion in 2024. China remains Egypt’s largest trading partner for non-oil goods. Egyptian exports to China totaled about $840.8 million during the first half of 2026. Imports from China reached roughly $10.4 billion during the same period.
Total trade between Egypt and China reached about $11.3 billion in the first half of 2026. The comparable figure for the previous year was around $9.3 billion. Egyptian shipments to China include fuels, mineral oils, vegetables, fruit, cotton and phosphates. Chinese companies also operate across several Egyptian development projects. Their work includes projects in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the New Administrative Capital and transport infrastructure serving areas east of Cairo.
Trade, industry and technology cooperation grow
Investment cooperation now covers manufacturing, renewable energy, telecommunications and transport. Chinese companies have participated in industrial development within the Suez Canal Economic Zone and other major Egyptian projects. Egypt and China have also identified electric vehicles, energy storage batteries and electronic equipment as areas for industrial cooperation. Desalination components form another part of the manufacturing agenda. Technology cooperation includes artificial intelligence and space sciences, adding new sectors to a relationship once centered more heavily on trade and construction.
El-Sisi and Xi are expected to use their Cairo meetings to review existing cooperation under the comprehensive strategic partnership. The Egyptian Presidency has placed political, economic and development relations among the main subjects of the visit. Xi last traveled to Egypt in 2016, when the two governments were expanding cooperation across several sectors. His latest visit returns the focus to a 70-year diplomatic relationship that now includes trade, major infrastructure projects, manufacturing, technology and sustained presidential engagement.