New factory and energy projects in Suez zone back gradual shift away from US dollar in bilateral investment
3-MIN READ3-MINJevans NyabiagePublished: 2:00pm, 5 Sep 2026Egypt’s expanded currency swap with China may help bring the yuan into wider use in trade and investment, but experts say any reduced reliance on the US dollar will not happen in a hurry.
WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping at Shanghai Cooperation OrganisationCairo already has a 30 billion yuan (US$4.47 billion) swap arrangement with Beijing and has borrowed through a panda bond issued in China’s domestic market. Whether Egyptian and Chinese companies use the yuan regularly will be the main test of the currency push.The People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of Egypt renewed the swap in June, extending it for three years and increasing its value from 18 billion yuan, also known as the renminbi.
In their statement, Xi and el-Sisi “welcomed the renewal of the local currency swap agreement and the expansion of its scale”, and encouraged Chinese and Egyptian financial institutions to support industrial and development investment, infrastructure and green and digital projects.
John Calabrese, a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said “the reference to yuan use is probably significant”.
