Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Cairo Wednesday, underscoring Egypt’s deepening ties with Beijing as regional turmoil pushes U.S. allies to reassess long-standing security ties.
Xi, making his first visit to Egypt in a decade, was received at a military ceremony at Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace, Egyptian state television showed.
The trip comes after months of upheaval in the Middle East amid the U.S. war against Iran, which has shaken regional economies and raised questions among some U.S. partners about their security arrangements.
Egypt, a major U.S. defense partner that receives around $1.3 billion annually in military aid from Washington, has simultaneously deepened economic and military cooperation with China.
Ties between Cairo and Beijing have expanded steadily since 2014, when el-Sissi visited China and signed a strategic partnership agreement.
