CAIRO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Egypt on Tuesday, his first visit to the Arab world's most populous nation in a decade, as countries across the Middle East reassess security and economic ties amid the fallout of the Iran war.
The conflict has disrupted global energy markets and raised questions about whether regional countries can count on the United States as a long-term security partner.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed Xi at Cairo International Airport, where they walked a long red carpet flanked by uniformed soldiers, folk dancers and young Egyptians waving Chinese flags, Egyptian state TV footage showed.
Over the past week, Egyptian state media has trumpeted Cairo's growing economic and military ties with Beijing and Egypt's role as the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic ties with China 70 years ago.
"Egypt and China have become partners contributing together to strengthening the role of the Global South in the international system," Sisi wrote in an op-ed in state newspaper Al-Ahram.
Xi's visit is the second leg of his second overseas trip this year, following his participation in a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan where he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and others.
In commentary published by Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi said the two countries were "close brothers standing by each other" in the face of imperialism and colonialism and that he looked forward to exploring a deeper partnership.
GROWING MILITARY TIES
Last month Egypt – which receives about $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid – hosted its second annual military exercises with China, launched last year as Beijing sought to chip away at U.S. influence in the region.
The drills marked the first deployment of China's J-16 jets to Africa and a rare air combat drill involving the Chinese-made fighters and French-made Rafales, according to Chinese state media.
A Chinese air force tanker was also pictured refuelling a Rafale, offering Beijing a closer look at Western-made equipment.
Egypt has been seeking deeper ties with Beijing since at least 2014, when recently elected Sisi travelled to China to sign a strategic partnership deal, said H. A. Hellyer, a scholar at the Royal United Services Institute think tank.
Cairo's messaging toward Washington has softened since then, but "questions of American reliability and volatility" raised by the wars in Gaza and Iran have reinforced its desire to diversify partnerships, he said.
"Egypt sees itself as moving toward greater strategic autonomy," Hellyer said. "It wants strong relations with Washington, but also Beijing, Moscow, and Europe."
Bordering Israel, Sudan and Libya, and home to the vital trade artery of the Suez Canal, Egypt is often seen by foreign powers as a strategic linchpin in a volatile region riven by multiple conflicts.
Chinese investment in Egypt has surged in recent years, with billions flowing into sectors such as manufacturing, ports, solar energy, green hydrogen and satellite technology.
Egypt was an "obvious choice" for Xi to visit because it is at the heart of a variety of regional issues, said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Global South Project.
"It touches on Israel, and the Palestinian issue. It touches on Africa. It touches on the Persian Gulf issue," he said.
Last week, Xi hosted Jordan's King Abdullah in Beijing, where the issue of Palestinian rights featured prominently. Xi is expected to visit India and the U.S. later this month.
(Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, Mohamed Ezz and Menna Alaa El Din in Cairo, Xiuhao Chen and Joe Cash in Beijing, and Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Joyjeet Das, Ros Russell and Gareth Jones)
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