Africa’s most powerful military set to welcome President Xi on his first North African visit in 10 years after major fighter jet drills with J-16s and Rafales

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Egypt for the first time in 10 years, returning to North Africa as Beijing expands its trade, technology and defence ties with one of the continent’s most strategically important countries.

Xi will travel from August 30 to September 3 at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.

Before arriving in Egypt, Xi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek and make a state visit to Kyrgyzstan.

The Egypt stop will mark Xi’s first trip to Africa since August 2023, when he travelled to South Africa for the BRICS summit, and his first visit to Egypt since January 2016.

Since becoming Chinese president in 2013, he has visited eight African countries: Tanzania, South Africa, the Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Senegal, Rwanda and Mauritius.