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Cairo: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to hold talks Wednesday 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n Xi arrived in Cairo Tuesday evening with First Lady Peng Liyuan.<\/p>\n They were received by Egypt\u2019s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and First Lady Entissar Amer.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n According to analysts, Cairo will use the summit to underscore its strategic autonomy, showing it can leverage its close ties with both Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n Sisi, in an op-ed published in Egyptian media on Tuesday, highlighted Cairo\u2019s \u201cindependent foreign policy\u201d, days after a branch of Egypt\u2019s second-largest bank was targeted by US sanctions.<\/p>\n Washington vowed last month to isolate Iran economically, threatening expanded sanctions that could also hit Chinese banks, among others.<\/p>\n China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has vowed to safeguard its interests.<\/p>\n In the lead-up to an expected meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump this month, it has also sought to shore up ties with US-friendly regional nations.<\/p>\n Egypt is one of the largest recipients of US military aid, and historically a key Middle East mediator.<\/p>\n Last week, the US Treasury announced sanctions on the Emirati branch of Egypt\u2019s Banque Misr for alleged support to Iran.<\/p>\n In his editorial, Sisi wrote that Egypt and China were partners in \u201cstrengthening the role of the global south\u201d in an increasingly polarised world.<\/p>\n Egypt \u2014 which under Sisi\u2019s administration became one of the world\u2019s top weapons buyers \u2014 hosted major joint air combat exercises with the Chinese military in August, featuring Beijing\u2019s powerful J-16 fighter jet.<\/p>\n Across Cairo, a megalopolis home to over 26 million people, major streets have been lined with Chinese and Egyptian flags, as well as billboards showing Sisi and Xi.<\/p>\n Street signs boast of \u201cgenerations of Egyptian-Chinese friendship flowing like the Nile River\u201d, while residents have been warned to plan for substantial traffic delays on their commutes.<\/p>\n Xi is expected to traverse the entire capital during his visit Wednesday, including a stop at the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking the Giza Pyramids.<\/p>\n In the morning summit, the two BRICS members are expected to sign a series of agreements expanding economic trade, including in artificial intelligence, transport and energy.<\/p>\n\u2013 Boosting investment \u2013<\/h2>\n