Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Egypt

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Egypt for a state visit. It forms the second leg of a three-nation Middle East tour.

It is the first time in 12 years that a Chinese president is visiting Egypt, a leading country in the Arab world, Africa and the Islamic world.

The visit comes at the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Egypt.

Jinping is scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and meet with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and other leaders during the visit.

Egypt was the first Arab and African state to recognize the People’s Republic of China and establish diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1956.

Bilateral trade between China and Egypt reached a record high of 11.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2014.

Xi will also visit Egypt’s ancient city of Luxor to attend celebrations marking 60 years of China-Egypt relations.