BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping told Egypt’s prime minister on Thursday that Beijing hoped to work with his country to bring “more stability” to the Middle East, state media reported, as the Israel-Hamas conflict cast a shadow over the region.
“China is willing to enhance cooperation with Egypt... and inject more certainty and stability into the region and the world,” Xi told Mostafa Madbouli at a meeting in Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“China and Egypt are good friends who share the same goals and trust each other, and good partners who work hand-in-hand for development and common prosperity,” CCTV reported Xi as saying.
“At present, the international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the world is experiencing rapid changes not seen for a century,” Xi added.
Beijing was also willing to work with Cairo to “jointly safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries,” he said.
Since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas this month, Egypt has mostly kept closed its border with the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation has become increasingly desperate.
But Cairo said Thursday it would allow the “sustainable” passage of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing.
Relations between China and Egypt have strengthened in recent months, with Cairo set to become an official member of the BRICS group of emerging economies from next year.
“China congratulates Egypt on joining the BRICS cooperation mechanism and believes that this will inject new impetus into BRICS cooperation,” Xi told Madbouli, according to CCTV.
Xi says will work with Egypt to help stabilize Middle East
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Xi says will work with Egypt to help stabilize Middle East
- China willing to strengthen coordination with Egypt, Arab countries on Gaza war
Trump administration labels 3 Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations
- The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization
- “These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence,” Rubio said
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for US relationships with allies Qatar and Turkiye.
The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests.
The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which US officials say engage in or support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm the United States and other regions.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.
Trump’s executive order had singled out the chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, noting that a wing of the Lebanese chapter had launched rockets on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that set off the war in Gaza. Leaders of the group in Jordan have provided support to Hamas, the order said.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 but was banned in that country in 2013. Jordan announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in April.
Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said some allies of the US, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would likely be pleased with the designation.
“For other governments where the brotherhood is tolerated, it would be a thorn in bilateral relations,” including in Qatar and Turkiye, he said.
Brown also said a designation on the chapters may have effects on visa and asylum claims for people entering not just the US but also Western European countries and Canada.
“I think this would give immigration officials a stronger basis for suspicion, and it might make courts less likely to question any kind of official action against Brotherhood members who are seeking to stay in this country, seeking political asylum,” he said.
Trump, a Republican, weighed whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2019 during his first term in office. Some prominent Trump supporters, including right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, have pushed his administration to take aggressive action against the group.
Two Republican-led state governments — Florida and Texas — designated the group as a terrorist organization this year.
