Profile

Egypt Profile of Chinese Development Finance, 2000-2023

Date Published

May 28, 2026

Authors

JulieAnn Sickell, Brooke Escobar, and Oshin Pandey

Publisher

Citation

Sickell, J. and Escobar, B. (2026). Egypt: Chinese Development Finance, 2000-2023. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary.

Abstract

This country profile provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing in Egypt from 2000 to 2023. It includes granular information on key trends in China’s loan and grant-financed commitments, its lending portfolio, ESG risks in its infrastructure projects, and contractual safeguards adoption and implementation. From 2000 to 2023, China provided 66 grant-related official commitments and directed $16.4 billion via 66 loans issued in Egypt. Cairo has consistently used currency swap drawdowns to maintain the country’s foreign exchange reserves during times of financial distress. At time of writing, Egypt ranks as the seventh-largest recipient of Chinese emergency rescue lending, drawing down up to $4.1 billion a year under its swap line with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

The insights in this profile are derived from China's Global Loans and Grants Dataset, Version 1.0 and the sources referenced therein.

Featured Authors

Julie Sickell
China Development Finance

Julie Sickell

Program Manager

Brooke Escobar
China Development Finance

Brooke Escobar

Associate Director of Tracking Underreported Financial Flows (TUFF)

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