Xi urges against Mideast interference in Egypt visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Wednesday that Middle Eastern countries should oppose “external interference” and said China was ready to work with regional states to protect international shipping lanes, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Xi, on his first visit to Egypt in a decade, was welcomed by Sisi with a 21-gun salute at the Ittihadiya presidential palace before talks that focused on the six-month US-Iran war. Sisi's office said both leaders called for diplomatic solutions and a comprehensive agreement to end the war.

Sisi's office said the two BRICS members signed an agreement to launch the third phase of an Egyptian-Chinese industrial zone at the Suez Canal. Egyptian officials say the zone already hosts 200 companies and investments worth about $4 billion. Egypt has not announced a value for the new investments.

Other agreements covered China's Belt and Road Initiative, information technology, transport, industry and supply chains. A joint statement said the two sides also agreed to expand cooperation on data centres, cloud computing, semiconductors and critical metals supply chains, and to expand the use of their national currencies in trade.

Xi later visited the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids. Chinese and Egyptian flags lined major roads in Cairo, alongside billboards showing Sisi and Xi.

The visit comes as Beijing seeks a greater role in the Middle East while managing fallout from the US-Iran war. China is a major exporter to Egypt and a major buyer of Iranian oil. Washington vowed last month to isolate Iran economically and threatened expanded sanctions that could affect Chinese banks. China has said it will safeguard its interests.