China’s Strategic Partnerships as Economic Statecraft: The Case of China-Egypt Partnership

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of West Asia and Africa Studies, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jices.2025.401265.1100

Abstract

Despite its frequent use, the term 'partnership,' as recently employed by China to describe its strategic partnerships and relations with friendly states, has received little scholarly attention, and its dimensions remain underexplored. This article argues that China’s partnerships can be better understood through the lens of economic statecraft—a foreign policy approach wherein states actively deploy economic tools to achieve political objectives. It explores the relationship between China’s strategic partnerships and economic statecraft, as traditionally referenced in the field of international political economy, analysing China–Egypt partnership as a case study. The paper contends that China’s partnerships have not only, as suggested by the notion of economic statecraft, led to deeper economic interdependence, but have also enabled China to consolidate its strategic influence in the regions spanning along the so-called Belt and Road project. Accordingly, China’s strategic partnerships can be viewed as manifestations of the traditional economic statecraft strategy; however, given the diversity and the formation of expansive, multi-layered networks of partnerships, the application of this framework is not limited to the mere use of economic tools for exerting influence over a single country or group of countries. Rather, such partnerships—through a complex integration of geopolitical, institutional, and diplomatic elements—transcend traditional understandings of economic statecraft, evolving into a more comprehensive and multi-layered form of strategic agency in international politics.

Keywords

Journal of Iran and Central Eurasia Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 26 January 2026

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