The Asian dimension remains dominant in Egyptian foreign policy throughout history. For centuries, Egypt’s orientation, as explained by scholar Gamal Hamdan, has been as much Asian as African, due to its position as a bridge between the two continents and its cultural, religious, and strategic ties with the Middle East.
In modern times, Egypt’s association with the Afro-Asian solidarity movement, which gave rise to the Non-Aligned Movement, has been a cornerstone of its foreign policy during the period of national liberation. Egyptian relations with Asian countries, which have seen unprecedented growth in the past decade, illustrate strategic flexibility and the application of the principle of strategic balance.
Undoubtedly, economic considerations and strategic imperatives are driving the strengthening of relations between the new Egyptian Republic and Asian countries. Since President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi came to power, expanding Egypt’s strategic options, opening up to all countries, and quickly adapting to shifts in the balance of power within the international system have been at the core of Egyptian foreign policy. This has led to visits to various Asian countries such as China, Japan, India, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, elevating Egyptian relations with some of these countries to strategic partnerships and attracting new investments to the Egyptian market across various sectors.
The intensive opening of Egyptian foreign policy to Asian countries has also provided new funding programs for Egyptian development projects, while reducing pressure on the national currency through agreements allowing trade transactions in local currency, issuing Egyptian bonds in some Asian countries’ currencies, and exploring debt exchange mechanisms for development.
This chapter briefly reviews the main features of Egypt’s evolving relations with some of its most important Asian partners.
Egypt-China Relations
Egypt has historically enjoyed privileged relations with China, being the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations in May 1956. China is currently one of Egypt’s most important strategic partners. The Global Strategic Partnership Agreement between Egypt and China, signed during President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s first visit to China in December 2014, less than six months after he came to power.
Regular visits by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to China in the past decade demonstrate the close and growing relations between the two countries. The most recent of these visits was in China in May 2024, where President Al-Sisi participated as an honorary guest in the opening session of the tenth ministerial meeting of the Sino-Arab Cooperation Forum, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership agreement and announcing the launch of the “Year of the Egypt-China Partnership.”
Amid this significant momentum at the top level, several institutional cooperation frameworks between Egypt and China have been established in the past decade, including:
- Strategic Dialogue at the Foreign Ministers level, launched in August 2014.
- Joint Governmental Cooperation Committee, created during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Egypt in July 2021, overseeing various aspects of bilateral cooperation.
Additionally, there are several specialized diplomatic mechanisms for political consultation and coordination of foreign policies and positions in international forums. These mechanisms include consultations between deputy foreign ministers, consultations on UN-related issues, consultations on African affairs, consultations on counter-terrorism, and more.
The past decade has seen a significant advancement in economic cooperation between Egypt and China, both bilaterally and within the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Chinese side has praised Egypt’s decision to help China combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020, leading to an agreement on a joint vaccine manufacturing project, one of the significant industrial cooperation projects between the two countries.
Under the financial cooperation, a currency exchange agreement worth 18 billion Chinese yuan was concluded in 2016 and renewed in February 2023. Egyptian diplomatic efforts towards China have also enabled Egypt to become a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank launched by China in 2016.
Economically, 2025 marked a qualitative turning point in Sino-Egyptian relations with the visit of Mr. Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the State Council of China, to the Arab Republic of Egypt. During this visit, the Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al Mashat, and the President of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), Chen Xiaodong, signed five new cooperation agreements that enhance strategic Sino-Egyptian relations.
Among the agreements signed were the framework agreement for the first phase of debt exchange between the two countries, a grant for a feasibility study on establishing a center of excellence for physically handicapped individuals in Egypt, and another grant for the implementation of a Biosafety Level 3 (BLS3) laboratory project for the Ministry of Health to support the Egyptian government’s public health efforts and epidemic control. Several memoranda of understanding were also concluded covering various development areas, including strengthening cooperation in human resource development. Under this agreement, China will offer 2,000 training slots to Egypt in bilateral and multilateral training programs between 2025 and 2027.
In the same vein, 2025 witnessed the signing of an agreement for the third phase of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project worth a total of 332 million dollars, furthering cooperation with China to launch the first two phases of the project and aiming to develop and enhance mobility, manufacture assistive technological products, and provide services through establishing a center of excellence for people with reduced mobility in Egypt.
