Africa’s most powerful military set to welcome President Xi on his first visit in 10 years after major joint military drills with advanced fighter jets
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.
Black News 
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.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Egypt from August 30 to September 3, marking his first trip to North Africa in 10 years.
- The visit comes as China and Egypt deepen ties across trade, manufacturing, renewable energy, technology and defence.
- China recently deployed J-16 fighter jets to Egypt for joint drills that also involved Egypt’s Rafale fighters.
- The trip comes as North Africa sees growing military engagement by major powers, with the US closely tied to Morocco, Russia to Algeria, and China expanding its presence in Egypt.
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.
Trade ties deepen ahead of Xi’s return
Xi’s visit comes as China and Egypt mark 70 years of diplomatic relations in 2026, with ties expanding over the years into trade, manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy and technology.
More recently, Egypt gained wider access to the Chinese market after Beijing extended zero-tariff treatment across all tariff lines to imports from 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to China.
Meanwhile, Chinese investment in Egypt has continued to grow, with the Suez Canal Economic Zone emerging as a major centre for Chinese manufacturing.
In December 2025, TEDA Egypt signed agreements with three Chinese companies for industrial projects worth about $1.15 billion, covering polyester fibre, tyres and health products.
In January, Egypt also signed renewable-energy agreements worth $1.8 billion, including a project under which China’s Sungrow will build an energy-storage battery factory in the zone.
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Military ties move into focus
Alongside trade and investment, defence cooperation has also expanded, with China deploying J-16 fighter jets to Egypt this month for the Eagles of Civilization 2026 joint air exercise.
The drills placed Chinese J-16s in the same training environment as Egypt’s French-made Rafale fighters and included medium- and close-range air combat, air-superiority operations and combat search-and-rescue training.
The exercise followed the first Eagles of Civilization drills in 2025, adding another layer to China-Egypt defence ties.
North Africa draws major-power military partnerships
At the same time, North Africa has become a region of increasingly visible military cooperation involving major global powers.
Morocco remains one of Washington’s closest military partners in Africa and co-hosts African Lion, US Africa Command’s largest annual exercise.
Further east, Algeria maintains long-standing defence ties with Russia, including joint naval exercises and military exchanges.
Egypt, meanwhile, appears to be moving closer to China, with reports of potential weapons deals between the two countries.
