How China-Egypt cooperation can promote peace in the Middle East

Editor's note: Fan Hongda, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is director of the China-Middle East Center at Shaoxing University, China, and a professor at the university. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to pay a state visit to Egypt in the coming days. This comes at a critical moment for the Middle East, where conflicts continue to exact a heavy toll while hopes for peace remain strong. As a major Arab country and a key regional player, Egypt has long sought to mediate conflicts and promote political solutions, while China has consistently called for an end to fighting, humanitarian assistance and greater development. The two countries therefore share not only close economic and diplomatic ties, but also a common vision of peace and development for the region.

That shared aspiration has recently found an unexpected reflection in a Chinese film set amid the turmoil of the Middle East, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, which focuses on the suffering of the people in the region caught up in war, their desire for a peaceful life and the kindness of ordinary people. It highlights the true needs of people in the conflict-stricken area: survival, security and development.

The film has moved Chinese audiences and deepened their wish for peace in the region. The ongoing conflicts have shown that military means alone cannot resolve the political differences prevailing in the region. The longer the war lasts, the deeper the rifts become and the greater the difficulty in achieving reconciliation.

What the region needs is not more countries joining the fray but more actors promoting political settlements to the conflicts. This has also been the consistent position of the Chinese government and an objective it has consistently pursued.

With Egypt, a crucial hub in the Middle East and the Arab world, working to de-escalate the tensions, China-Egypt cooperation has acquired greater significance in promoting peace in the region. Egypt has consistently pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza, facilitated humanitarian aid, opposed the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and sought a political resolution to the Palestinian issue. The Egyptian position is closely aligned with China's stance on the Gaza crisis and the Palestinian issue.

Egypt's mediation efforts are not confined to Gaza. Cairo has also recently stepped up diplomatic contacts with both Tehran and Washington in an effort to revive US-Iran negotiations and prevent another round of regional escalation. Its diplomatic efforts are very much in line with Beijing's stance on the US-Iran conflict.

China and Egypt can complement each other and play different roles in advancing peace in the Middle East. China does not aim to replace regional players but supports ceasefire, political negotiations and common development through multilateral channels such as the United Nations. 

This is a way of promoting peace that better aligns with the realities of today's Middle East. The challenges the region faces are unique to it. External forces can play a positive role by not deciding the future on behalf of regional countries or imposing their own will on them, but by creating conditions for the countries to solve their own problems themselves.

Furthermore, Beijing believes that the Middle East needs to address not just security issues, but also development issues. Without development, even if peace is achieved, it will be difficult to sustain. Therefore, China emphasizes three priorities for the Middle East: ending wars, providing humanitarian assistance and promoting economic and social development.

In recent years, when external parties discuss China's role in the Middle East, they tend to stress China's political influence while overlooking the positive impact of China's emphasis on development. In fact, China's consistent policy in the Middle East has been to seek common development through friendly exchanges.

In the case of China-Egypt cooperation, China's contribution to Egypt's development in multiple fields, from the construction of Egypt's New Administrative Capital and satellite launches to expanding trade and investment, has gained broad recognition from Egypt. This has laid a solid foundation for future cooperation between the two countries, including working together to promote peace in the Middle East.

Of course, given that the ongoing conflicts involve many countries and have complex historical, ethnic, religious and geopolitical roots, the efforts of China and Egypt are only one part of a potential solution. The Middle East urgently needs actors capable of encouraging the relevant parties to end the fighting, resume negotiations and begin rebuilding.

In recent years, political, economic and military interactions between China and Egypt have increased significantly. President Xi's upcoming state visit to Egypt is expected to provide a new opportunity for the two countries to deepen cooperation on a wide range of issues, including the promotion of peace in the Middle East. 

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