China and Egypt Outline New Blueprint for Regional Stability Following Cairo Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a four-point regional security framework during talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday, September 2. In his talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Xi said China supports countries in the region in developing good-neighborly and friendly relations. To promote common security in the region, Xi calls for unleashing internal drivers, advancing an integrated approach, cementing development foundation, and enhancing international coordination. For his part, Sisi welcomed Xi’s historic state visit to Egypt on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Sisi said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations, bilateral ties have developed in a sound and steady manner, and cooperation across various fields has yielded fruitful results.

Egypt firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is committed to further advancing the Egypt-China comprehensive strategic partnership, Sisi added. ’ Chinese analysts said that Xi’s four-point proposal sends a clear message that Middle Eastern countries should pursue greater strategic autonomy in security affairs rather than rely excessively on external powers, and the people of the Middle East should be the masters of their own affairs. Stronger China-Egypt coordination could help explore a path for the Middle East to move from turbulence toward stability, they noted. For decades, many regional countries depended heavily on outside powers for security protection and spent heavily on Western weapons, yet such dependence did not always translate into effective protection when their own security came under threat, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan…