{"text":[[{"start":8.88,"text":"Xi Jinping is visiting Egypt for the first time in a decade, part of a rare flurry of foreign travel as the Chinese president tries to present Beijing as a more reliable partner than Washington ahead of a planned summit with US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":22.08,"text":"Xi held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday in Cairo, emphasising the two countries’ “ancient civilisations” amid plans to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum near the pyramids of Giza. The trip is Xi’s first to Egypt since 2016."}],[{"start":38,"text":"China “is ready to work with the Egyptian side to . . . leverage Egypt’s unique location in linking the Arab world and reaching across the African continent”, Xi said in a letter published in Egyptian media."}],[{"start":49.62,"text":"He added that with the rapid unfolding of “profound changes unseen in a century” — Beijing’s euphemism for what it sees as waning American power — “China and Egypt should vigorously uphold world peace and stability, and international fairness and justice by practising true multilateralism”."}],[{"start":66.8,"text":"China is helping Egypt build part of its new administrative capital, while Chinese tech group Huawei in 2024 launched a cloud service promising to “bring artificial intelligence, Arabic large language models and databases to Egypt”."}],[{"start":81.1,"text":"The visit to Cairo is part of Xi’s most extensive overseas travel itinerary since before the Covid-19 pandemic."}],[{"start":88.6,"text":"The Chinese leader this week attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The security forum, led by China, Russia and Central Asian countries, also includes India, Pakistan, Belarus and Iran."}],[{"start":102.98,"text":"He is set to continue on to India next week for the Brics summit in New Delhi, where he will join the leaders of countries including Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."}],[{"start":117,"text":"Xi’s September travel tour comes ahead of a planned state visit to Washington, reciprocating Trump’s May visit to Beijing."}],[{"start":124.24,"text":"Since the pandemic, Xi has travelled far less, preferring instead to host foreign leaders in Beijing."}],[{"start":129.72,"text":"Analysts said Xi’s spate of overseas travel was aimed at demonstrating Beijing’s growing diplomatic influence among the developing world and the Middle East, especially to US allies such as Egypt, and its potential role as a reliable trade and investment partner."}],[{"start":146.52,"text":"The campaign comes as the Trump administration’s tariffs, its war against Iran and recent mixed signals to traditional security partners have strained support for the US."}],[{"start":156.46,"text":"“The decline in overall US strength and its strategic contraction, Russia’s limited capacity, and the waning influence of European nations have prompted Middle Eastern countries to look further east towards China,” said Ma Xiaolin, a professor at Zhejiang International Studies University."}],[{"start":173.4,"text":"At the SCO meeting, Xi underlined this message, saying that member states “must prevent external forces from interfering in our internal affairs, endangering our political security, and undermining regional stability”."}],[{"start":186.08,"text":"He has also seized on China’s advances in AI as part of his pitch to partner nations."}],[{"start":191.6,"text":"At the SCO, Xi announced that China would set up an “international AI application co-operation centre” and implement “100 technological co-operation projects” with member countries over the next three years."}],[{"start":203.96,"text":"Despite the diplomatic charm offensive, many countries remain cautious about pursuing deeper relations with China, particularly given the threat posed to their domestic industries by Chinese trade surpluses."}],[{"start":215.44,"text":"At a meeting of G20 finance ministers this week, members were unable to reach a consensus on eliminating “non-market policies” to curb global trade imbalances because of opposition from China."}],[{"start":231,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788420648_7464.mp3"}