Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcomed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his wife Entissar Amer upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport for an official visit to Egypt, which is his first state visit to the country in 10 years, in Cairo, Egypt, on Sep 1, 2026. (Photo: Pool via Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

CAIRO: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to hold talks on Wednesday (Sep 2) with his Egyptian counterpart on his first visit to Cairo in a decade, under the shadow of looming US sanctions over financial links to Iran.

Xi arrived in Cairo on Tuesday evening with First Lady Peng Liyuan.

They were received by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and First Lady Entissar Amer.

On their way off the tarmac, they were greeted by a troupe of folk dance performers and flanked by two rows of teenagers wearing T-shirts bearing photos of Xi.

The two-day visit is expected to see the presidents sign a slate of economic agreements and discuss the fallout from the US-Iran war.