The Multiple Roles of Egypt in China's 'Belt and Road' Initiative

Egypt was the first country in Africa and the Arab World to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. In 2016, the official visit of President Xi Jinping to Egypt began a new chapter in the two countries' relations and will open a brand-new page in their foreign affairs. This paper, based on the changes that have taken place in Egypt's diplomacy, highlights the core concepts of Egypt's diplomatic strategy towards China and focuses on how these outlooks can be compatible with China's 'Belt and Road' Initiative (BRI). Egypt boasts many important features: a unique geographic location which makes Egypt the meeting point of the Arab World, Africa, Asia, and Europe through the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea; a unique civilisation and culture, with a longstanding history and interactions throughout millennia with the empires of Greece, Persia, Rome, Turkey, and more. Egypt is also considered a converging point of Islam and Christianity, boasting a relatively stable political and social order, and a fully-fledged economic system. All these features help Egypt to have global outreach; it contributes great value to China's BRI and enables Egypt to play a key role in the world with China as a strategic partner. This paper also analyses the characteristics of Egypt's new diplomacy and how they lay a solid foundation for the development of Sino-Egyptian relations. The strategic vision between Egypt and China is not limited to trade and investments, but there are still missing pieces to fill in which depend on the regional and global arenas, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Middle East security governance, national defense, and counterterrorism.