Xi reaffirms ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ in meeting with Sisi

CAIRO — Throughout a gathering with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Beijing on the sidelines of the Olympic Winter Video games, Chinese language President Xi Jinping mentioned that China and Egypt will proceed to assist one another.

“China and Egypt share related visions and methods in defending their very own pursuits, pursuing widespread improvement, enhancing their folks’s well-being and selling equity and justice on this planet, because the world is present process adjustments unseen in a century,” Xi mentioned Feb. 5, in keeping with an announcement by the Egyptian presidency.

The Chinese language president additionally confused the “complete strategic partnership” between Beijing and Cairo that has develop into “a mannequin of solidarity between China and Arab, African and growing international locations.” 

In keeping with the Egyptian presidency’s assertion, the assembly between the 2 heads of state additionally touched on problems with widespread curiosity for each international locations, primarily the developments within the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which have been at a stalemate because the final spherical of negotiations amongst Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Tripartite talks had been final held in early April 2021 however failed to achieve an settlement.

The water concern, basically, and the GERD disaster specifically, are at present of main concern for the Egyptian authorities. Subsequently, Xi’s assertion raised questions on a shift within the Chinese language place, particularly after the speech final July of the everlasting consultant of China to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, throughout the UN Safety Council extraordinary session on the GERD.

The Chinese language delegate referred to as for the resumption of negotiations underneath African Union auspices to finish the dam. Jun’s place dismayed Egypt, which maintains shut ties with China, in keeping with an article by Mustafa al-Sayed, a professor of politics at Cairo College, revealed on July 18, 2021, in al-Shorouk newspaper.

“Beijing is making an attempt to emphasize that it isn’t a celebration to the disaster, maybe as a result of the Chinese language really feel that Cairo had reservations in regards to the Chinese language place after the UN session,” mentioned Tarek Fahmy, one other professor of politics at Cairo College, “However after all, China’s place is in step with the worldwide method to the GERD disaster concerning the necessity to return to the negotiating desk as soon as extra.”

Since it’s unattainable to withdraw Chinese language investments from Ethiopia, Fahmy instructed Al-Monitor, it was unlikely for Beijing to alter its place on the dam concern. “The Chinese language president’s remarks may be interpreted throughout the framework of Beijing’s keenness to keep up good relations with Cairo,” he added.

China views Ethiopia as an vital political and financial ally. China is Ethiopia’s first commerce associate, with a complete commerce change amounting to about $4.5 billion in 2018, and direct investments in Ethiopia reaching greater than $2.5 billion in 2018, in keeping with the unbiased Egyptian Middle for Strategic Research.

In the meantime, Egyptian items and providers commerce with China totaled $12.9 billion in 2020. China’s exports to Egypt amounted to over $12 billion, whereas its imports from Egypt for a similar interval stood at over $835 million, in keeping with Han Ping, the financial advisor to the Chinese language embassy in Cairo.

China can be implementing a number of tasks in Egypt, together with the primary clear coal energy station on the Pink Beach, along with the tallest skyscraper in Africa as a part of the great strategic partnership settlement signed by Egypt and China in 2014.

Nadia Helmy, an assistant professor of political science at Beni-Suef College, instructed Al-Monitor, “The political decision-makers in China have a tendency to not totally have interaction within the GERD disaster between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.” Egypt, which suffers from water shortage, views the GERD as an existential risk, because it fears that the dam would cut back its share from the Nile waters. “Whereas Sudan shares the identical considerations with Egypt, Ethiopia considers the dam as a way to reaching improvement by energy technology,” she mentioned.

Helmy added, “China can be an upstream nation for a number of worldwide rivers, which share borders with different international locations. Therefore, the Chinese language concern that any mediation within the GERD disaster in favor of Egypt would weaken its stance as an upstream nation,” particularly on the Mekong River.

“Furthermore, China can be embarking on the development of the most important power manufacturing dam on this planet,” Helmy added, within the Tibet Autonomous Area in China, alongside the Brahmaputra River, which is anticipated to lift issues with India and Bangladesh.