Xi Calls for New Middle East Regional ‘Security Architecture’
September 3, 2026—For the first time in four years, Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the Middle East, touching down in Cairo, Egypt, for diplomatic talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Cairo welcomed Xi with streets decorated with Chinese flags, a joint military training exercise, a red-carpet welcoming ceremony, and a 21-gun salute. The two leaders signed several agreements, including five major agreements and 20 strategic cooperation documents.
Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly hailed the visit as an “historic” event that “coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.”
Xi called on countries in the region to be “masters of their own destiny” and engage in a new regional “security architecture,” according to on-the-ground reporting by Reuters’ correspondents Alexander Dziadosz and Shi Bu.
Geopolitical Context: Rebalancing
It took place as U.S. presence and hegemony in the Middle East come under increasing pressure, under the weight of a hard-to-end war with Iran that has severely damaged U.S. military bases in the region and alliances. It follows a meeting of the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where participants emphasized a multilateral global system and international law that upholds national sovereignty.
It also comes ahead of a scheduled BRICS meeting in India next week and a state visit to Washington, DC on September 23-25.
Benefits to China and Egypt of Stronger Ties
The two countries have strengthened economic ties and investments since their leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2014. Trade volume reached $20 billion, according to Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly.
For Egypt, a key U.S. ally, the diplomatic visit offered an opportunity to diversify its international ties. The two countries promoted economic and industrial relations, including in computing, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence, according to Dr. Nadia Helmy, a professor and research scholar writing for Modern Diplomacy. She writes that Egypt and China will “expand the use of their local currencies (the Egyptian pound and the Chinese yuan) in trade and investment transactions to reduce demand for the US dollar.”
For China, Egypt is an important trading partner. It’s a country 120 million people—the most populous in the Middle East. But, more than that, its location on the Suez Canal, a crucial shipping lane connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe, gives it strategic value. Egypt is a central pillar in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
