China and Egypt’s comprehensive strategic partnership in the Xi-sisi era: a ‘role theory’ prism

ABSTRACT Despite the limitations of its bilateral trade volume and security cooperation with China, Egypt was the first Middle Eastern and Arab country that established a strategic partnership with China in 1999 and the second to build a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014. This article employs role theory to unpack this seeming paradox, and argues that it is largely because of the compatibility of their national role conceptions that China and Egypt have managed to broaden and deepen their cooperation in the Xi-Sisi era. A thorough examination of the two countries’ official documents and a variety of other related literature reveals that China and Egypt are determined to build a comprehensive and complementary partnership with the strategic docking of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Egypt’s ‘Vision 2030’ plan. As pivotal states in Asia and the Middle East respectively, China and Egypt aim to reshape the global power structure through the pursuit of multipolarity and solidarity of rising powers.