“Wherever I go on my overseas visits, what fascinates me the most are the civilizations created by people of different countries and ethnic groups,” Chinese President Xi Jinping once said.
Egypt, cradle of one of the world’s most ancient civilizations, has held a special appeal for Xi. “I marveled at the Nile, mother of the Egyptian civilization, and was amazed by the wisdom and strength of the Egyptian people,” Xi wrote in a signed article published in an Egyptian newspaper prior to his first state visit to Egypt in 2016.
A decade later, as Xi is set to embark on his second state visit to Egypt, the Nile will continue witnessing more remarkable stories of exchanges and mutual learning between the two ancient civilizations.
A JOURNEY OF CIVILIZATION
During the 2016 visit to Egypt, Xi traveled to Luxor, an ancient city nestled on the banks of the Nile widely described as one of the world’s largest open-air museums.
With a keen interest in different cultures and histories, Xi has made a point of visiting historical sites during overseas trips, from the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico to the Acropolis Museum in Athens and the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram in India.
Under a clear night sky in Luxor, Xi and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi toured an ancient temple along its main avenue. As they walked, Xi and Sisi exchanged views on the distinctive features of their two ancient civilizations, recalling their long history of exchanges and mutual learning.
More than 2,000 years ago, China and Egypt were connected by the ancient Silk Road, along which not only porcelain and glassware, but also knowledge and ideas, flowed between the two civilizations.
These archaeological sites in Luxor, Xi said, are a concentrated reflection of ancient Egyptian civilization and provide a wealth of material for studying its history, culture, society and technological development.
Mamdouh Eldamaty, then Egyptian minister of antiquities who accompanied Xi on his tours of Luxor, said Xi showed a keen interest in ancient Egyptian civilization, with his remarks reflecting profound historical insight and strategic vision.
The archaeologist said he was deeply impressed by Xi’s broad knowledge, open-mindedness, strong appreciation for culture, and humble attitude toward learning.
At the iconic Luxor Temple, Xi and Sisi jointly witnessed the launch of the 2016 China-Egypt Culture Year, a landmark moment in bilateral cultural exchanges.
The event marked the first time that China had jointly held a Culture Year with an Arab country, opening a new chapter of cultural interactions between China, Egypt and the wider Arab world in the years that followed.
CULTURAL ENGINE FOR TIES
Over the years, Xi has repeatedly called for stronger cultural exchanges between China and Egypt to deepen mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.
On Nov. 1, 2025, the Grand Egyptian Museum opened its doors as one of the world’s largest displays of ancient relics, marking a major milestone in Egypt’s efforts to preserve and showcase its ancient heritage.
Xi sent a special envoy for the opening ceremony. He also extended a congratulatory message to Sisi, in which he expressed the belief that the museum would leave a significant mark on Egypt’s cultural history and play an important role in safeguarding the heritage of ancient Egyptian civilization.
“President Xi’s congratulatory message conveyed sincere friendship and reflected the close ties between the two great ancient civilizations of Egypt and China,” said Muhsin Farjani, a renowned Egyptian scholar of Chinese studies.
In the message, Xi also highlighted the vibrant and diverse cultural exchanges between the two countries in recent years, including a major exhibition on ancient Egyptian civilization at the Shanghai Museum.
The 13-month exhibition, which ran from July 2024 to August 2025, was the largest and most comprehensive overseas display of ancient Egyptian artifacts ever held in Asia. It drew 2.77 million visitors, setting a global attendance record for a paid special exhibition at a museum, with tickets often hard to come by.
While the exhibition’s popularity reflects growing Chinese interest in ancient Egyptian civilization, Chinese culture has also drawn growing attention in Egypt. Egypt was among the first Arab and African countries to introduce Chinese-language education in 1958. Chinese-language education has been integrated into Egypt’s education system, with a comprehensive pathway established from primary and secondary schools to doctoral programs.
Xi has long championed the preservation of cultural heritage, and has also followed the progress of joint archaeological projects between China and Egypt, including the one exploring the mysteries of the pyramids at Saqqara, located south of Cairo.
The two countries initiated their first joint archaeological mission in 2018 at the 3,000-year-old Montu Temple complex in the Karnak Temple area of Luxor.
In January, the mission announced the discovery of a previously unknown sacred lake, along with other artifacts, offering new insights into ancient Egyptian ritual life.
Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the findings demonstrated a modern model of international cooperation that offers a vivid testament to how “culture and history can speak a common language.”
Thanks to the efforts of both sides, many of the discovered artifacts were put on display at the Shanghai Museum exhibition. Yan Haiying, a professor at Peking University and one of the curators of the exhibition, said the exhibition demonstrates how archaeology can promote exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.
MODEL OF CIVILIZATIONAL DIALOGUE
Xi’s upcoming Egypt visit arrives at a time when geopolitical conflicts are raging in different parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East. Few questions seem more pressing today than how different civilizations can live together in peace rather than descend into confrontation.
To engage with different civilizations, Xi believes, requires a mind broader than the sky.
“We should encourage different civilizations to respect each other and live in harmony, to turn exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations into a bridge promoting friendship between peoples around the world, an engine driving human society, and a bond cementing world peace,” Xi said in 2014 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Xi’s insights were also reflected in the 2016 signed article, in which he noted that the Chinese civilization and the Arab Islamic civilization are major civilizations of the world each with its unique features.
“We value and learn from each other,” Xi wrote. “Such mutual learning, based on mutual respect and humility, sets a great example for exchange among different civilizations.”
In 2023, Xi proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, which aims to bring peoples of different countries closer and promote inclusiveness and mutual learning among civilizations. The initiative has won broad recognition in the Arab world and beyond.
China and Egypt, both ancient civilizations of the world, are also major countries in the Global South that are striving to build a better and more just world for all. Their flourishing relations in recent years are a concrete example of how different civilizations can coexist and cooperate while preserving their distinct identities.
Ahmed Kandil, head of the International Relations Unit at Egypt’s Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the two countries today enjoy broad strategic convergence on major international issues, including reform of global governance, support for a multipolar world order, respect for diverse development paths, and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
This May, Xi and Sisi exchanged congratulations to mark the 70th anniversary of bilateral ties. In his message, Xi said China and Egypt should draw wisdom and strength from history, embrace the shared mission of pursuing peace, promoting development, advancing cooperation and upholding justice, and inject strong momentum into building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said the Global Civilization Initiative, along with a series of other global public goods proposed by China, responds to the challenges of the times. It highlights Xi’s profound insight into the global landscape and the future of humanity as “a true thinker,” he said.
As Xi revisits Egypt to give fresh impetus to bilateral ties, the friendship between the two ancient civilizations will, as he once put it, surge forward like the Nile.
