The Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the region starting from Sunday, with a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt, and at the same time participate in a regional summit in Bishkek. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China said the visit will continue until September 3, and will be the second time that President Xi has traveled abroad this year after a high-profile trip to North Korea in June.
President Xi will also attend a highly anticipated visit to Cairo, where he will have discussions with Egyptian leaders to make a positive contribution to ensure peace and stability in the region. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and President Xi will officially discuss how to further catalyse the strategic partnership between the two countries in various areas of mutual benefit, the Egyptian Presidency said. The chiefs will also have a detailed exchange on a range of pressing regional and international issues.
The visit is Xi’s first in 10 years to Egypt, and is timely. The U.S. and Iran are in a serious conflict which has now become a spreading war in the Middle East. The ongoing conflict has been significantly constricting commercial shipping in the important Strait of Hormuz, massively disrupting world oil markets. The instability will directly affect Beijing, because before the escalation of the conflict, the Middle East was China’s largest supplier of crude oil imports. Ministry spokesman Lin Jian emphasized that the state visit is specially meaningful for the ongoing progress of bilateral relations in the face of such economic pressures.
President Xi will make a visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, after the diplomatic activities in the North African region. There, he will be attending a high-level meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, with other major members – Russia and Iran – and be discussing regional security and economic cooperation.
The Chinese leader will also have direct bilateral talks with President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov in Bishkek. The main point of these discussions will be to further encourage mutually beneficial economic cooperation, as well as high-quality development programs between the two neighbouring countries. The meetings will further cement China’s strategic presence and economic ties across Central Asia.
