China 'pained' by Gaza situation, President Xi Jinping tells Egyptian leader Sisi

China is deeply pained by the "extremely serious" humanitarian situation in Gaza, President Xi Jinping told his visiting Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, while reiterating Beijing's call to prevent a spillover of the Israel-Hamas war.

The comments from Xi came amid growing fears of wider escalation after an Egyptian soldier was killed in a clash with Israeli troops near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Meeting Sisi in Beijing on Wednesday, Xi also vowed more cooperation with Egypt on fields ranging from trade and investment to international affairs, as Beijing eyes closer Middle Eastern and African ties in the shadow of growing China-US rivalry.

Their talks came a day ahead of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. Sisi and three other Arab heads of state will attend the opening ceremony on Thursday, with Xi to deliver the keynote address.

Describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "extremely serious", Xi told Sisi that "an immediate ceasefire" was "imperative" as he called for prevention of a spillover of the conflict.

China would like to cooperate with Egypt in the regional mediation process, Xi added, reiterating Beijing's long-held support for the "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Palestine's full membership at the United Nations.

"China is ready to work with Egypt ... to promote an early, comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the Palestine issue," Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Sisi, who earlier this year declared Egypt's "full support" for the Palestinian cause, said his country "highly appreciated" China's "just approach and stance" towards Palestinian issues, and would "maintain close communication" with Beijing on the matter.

According to an Egyptian foreign ministry readout, Sisi underscored "the gravity of the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah and their severe humanitarian, security and political consequences".

During their talks, Xi also vowed closer cooperation with Egypt in fields including medicine, communication and information, and new energy sectors, while maintaining investment links in traditional areas such as infrastructure and industry.

Sisi echoed Xi's call, adding that Egypt hoped to strengthen exchanges on artificial intelligence, food security and finance.

The official readout from Cairo also said that Sisi "was keen on affirming that the utmost priority is placed on safeguarding Egypt's water security".

Egypt faces acute water scarcity and lawmakers in the country have called for cooperation with China on projects aimed to develop and conserve water resources due to its experience in the field.

Xi also said he supported Cairo to play a more important role in "international and regional affairs" through multilateral international platforms and frameworks, citing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Brics, two regional blocs largely led by Beijing.

Egypt became a dialogue partner of the SCO in 2022 and joined the Brics grouping of emerging economies earlier this year.

Sisi's visit comes with the Gaza war in its seventh month, and with Israeli troops conducting deadly air and ground attacks this week on Rafah, a Palestinian city bordering Egypt.

Israeli tanks mounted a ground offensive into Rafah, in southern Gaza, for a second day on Wednesday, defying an order from the International Court of Justice to end its attacks on Palestinians sheltering there from widespread bombardment.

Israel's offensive has also triggered clashes with the Egyptian military, with at least one Egyptian border guard shot dead on Monday, sending already tense bilateral relations to a new low.

The coffin of the Egyptian soldier killed in Rafah is brought back to his hometown, in Fayoum, Egypt, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters alt=The coffin of the Egyptian soldier killed in Rafah is brought back to his hometown, in Fayoum, Egypt, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters>

Yet Egypt - the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty and establish diplomatic relations with Israel 45 years ago - remains one of the most experienced mediators in the Middle East. Cairo has been pushing for a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose deadly cross-border raid on October 7 sparked the Israeli offensive.

Egypt, along with the United States, also mediated the Oslo Accords of 1993. Recognised by Israel, the accords allowed the Palestinian Authority - an interim governing body for a future Palestinian state - to control less than 20 per cent of the West Bank region and most of the Gaza Strip. But both Israel and Egypt have upheld a blockade on Gaza since 2007 after Hamas gained control of the strip.

Beijing is a firm supporter of Cairo's role as a mediator in the conflict and has maintained close communication with it. Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his counterpart Sameh Shoukry a week after the Gaza war erupted in October, and also visited Cairo in January to call for a peaceful solution.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at China's Northwest University, said the war in Gaza will certainly be high on the agenda for Xi and Sisi, and they might even "take a new stance".

"The meetings will certainly be related to the Palestinian-Israeli issue, and also, because the bilateral relations are also very important, so ... there might be some new stances on both issues," he said.

"Egypt is an important partner of China among the Middle Eastern countries and a traditional regional power in the Middle East; therefore, the relationship between China and Egypt is important for stabilising the situation with the whole of the Middle East."

Egypt is also a key player in the Belt and Road Initiative, a Beijing-led global infrastructure programme.

Several multibillion-dollar deals from Chinese logistics, transport, and energy firms have flowed into Egypt in recent years, especially the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Between 2017 and 2022, Chinese investment in Egypt increased by 317 per cent, while US investment in Egypt fell by 31 per cent during the same period.

Major agreements signed last year include a US$6.75 billion deal between Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone and state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation to develop green ammonia and green hydrogen projects, and a US$8 billion agreement with Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group to establish a potassium chloride production site.

Egypt has also joined the electric-vehicle (EV) push by China, the world's largest new-energy manufacturer, amid accusations of overcapacity from the US and Europe. Egypt's GV Investments will begin local production of state-owned China FAW Group's cheapest EV model in the first quarter of 2025.

China ranked as the second-largest trading partner of Egypt in 2022, after the United Arab Emirates and followed by the United States.

Egypt's imports from China nearly doubled from around US$8 billion in 2017 to US$14.4 billion in 2022. Exports to China went up from about US$693 million in 2017 to $1.8 billion.

Xi is also expected to meet Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Tunisian President Kais Saied and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan this week.

The leaders, who will pay state visits to China, will all attend the opening ceremony China-Arab States Cooperation Forum on Thursday.

Established 20 years ago during a visit to Cairo by then Chinese president Hu Jintao, the forum is a mechanism between China and the 22 Arab League States, which also includes Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Palestine, Kuwait and Qatar.

This will be the first meeting of the forum since the Gaza war began.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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