Xi Jinping on Visit to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt: Bringing Peace Through the New Silk Road

Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun a five-day swing through Saudi Arabi, Iran, and Egypt whose intention is to fully turn the tables on London’s policy of bloody sectarian warfare and terrorism in the region. His main instrument is China’s “win-win” policy of bringing the One Belt One Road program to the remotest corners of the planet. Xi stated the policy in his own words in an article published in Alriyadh on the eve of his Jan. 19 arrival there.

The Egypt leg of the trip will be particularly important, with a major policy speech to be delivered by Xi before the Arab League, headquartered in Cairo. Multi-billion-dollar deals and investment agreements are scheduled to be signed between China and Egypt, including a memorandum of understanding for Egypt to participate in China’s One Belt One Road economic cooperation policy. Other areas will include cooperation in infrastructure, nuclear power, so-called “new energy,” aviation, finance, and other sectors, according to the BRICS Post. Egypt’s ambassador to Russia, Magdy Amer, told Egypt’s MENA news service that during Xi’s visit deals will also be signed for $1.8 billion in loans: $1 billion to strengthen Egypt’s foreign reserves; $700 million to the National Bank of Egypt to finance projects; and $100 million to Banque Misr for small and medium-sized business projects.

A senior intelligence source in Washington, D.C., reported that China is in a unique position to defuse the British sectarian warfare plan in the area, having not “taken sides” between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the recent period. Egypt can also play a key role, the source said, since it has not sunk into the sectarian conflict affecting much of the region.