China's Xi visits Egypt as US sanctions threat looms over Iran links

China's President Xi Jinping. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov / POOL / AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Egypt on Tuesday, making a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of United States sanctions over financial links to Iran.

The months-long Middle East war, which began when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, has thrown the crucial trade region into crisis.

Washington vowed last month to destabilise Iran economically, warning of expanded sanctions against Tehran’s backers and partners that could hit Egyptian and Chinese banks, among others.

Xi’s visit “comes at a time when China’s economic interests are directly exposed to the US-Iran war,” said a political science professor at Egypt’s Suez University, Gamal Salama.