China-Egypt Intelligence Partnership: A New Paradigm for Middle East Stability

The Strategic Context: China’s Growing Role in Middle East Peacebuilding

China’s deepening relationship with Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate under Major General Hassan Rashad represents a significant shift in how regional stability is being pursued in the Middle East. The article reveals that China views General Rashad as “a pivotal figure in the stability of the Middle East” and specifically values his role in regional mediation regarding the Palestinian issue and within the Gaza Strip. This alignment is based on China’s intelligence vision of “common security”—a concept that stands in stark contrast to the security paradigms imposed by Western powers.

Throughout 2024-2026, Chinese-Egyptian intelligence coordination has intensified across multiple domains: ceasefire negotiations, prisoner exchanges, humanitarian aid coordination, and reconstruction planning for Gaza. China has consistently supported Egypt’s mediation efforts between Palestinian factions and Israel, while both nations firmly reject any Israeli-American attempts to displace Palestinians from Gaza. The cooperation extends beyond the immediate Gaza crisis to include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, military technology transfer, and joint training exercises like the “Eagles of Civilization 2025 Maneuvers.”

The Key Players: Major General Hassan Rashad and Chinese Strategic Vision

Major General Hassan Rashad emerges as the central figure in this partnership, described repeatedly as “a pivotal figure” in Chinese political, diplomatic, intelligence, and security circles. His leadership of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate has positioned him as what China considers “the most capable ‘regional guarantor’ for managing the complex balance between Palestinian factions and Israel.”

China’s appreciation for General Rashad’s role is demonstrated through extensive coverage in official Chinese media outlets like Xinhua News Agency, which closely followed his meetings with the Palestinian Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip in January 2026. These meetings focused on administrative responsibilities, humanitarian situation improvement, and reconstruction efforts—all areas where China seeks to coordinate with Egyptian intelligence.

The partnership operates within the framework of the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between Egypt and China, which includes the 2025-2029 development cooperation strategy featuring massive infrastructure projects, biosecurity initiatives, and technological transfers exceeding $16 billion in trade.

The Western Failure and Global South Ascendancy

The China-Egypt intelligence partnership represents everything that Western-dominated peace processes have failed to achieve: genuine respect for regional actors, rejection of forced displacement, and support for Palestinian self-determination. While the United States and its allies have consistently undermined Palestinian rights and enabled Israeli expansionism, China and Egypt are building a alternative model based on common security and mutual respect.

This isn’t just about Gaza—it’s about challenging the entire neocolonial framework that has dominated Middle East politics for decades. The West has never accepted that Global South nations can manage their own affairs without Western “guidance” or interference. China’s support for Egyptian mediation fundamentally challenges this arrogant assumption.

What makes this partnership particularly significant is how it operates outside the Western-controlled financial and security architectures. The military technology transfers, the cybersecurity cooperation, the artificial intelligence collaboration—all these represent a deliberate diversification away from Western-dominated systems. When Egypt acquires J-10C fighter jets and HQ-9B air defense systems from China rather than Western suppliers, it’s making a strategic statement about rejecting Western coercion.

The Humanitarian Imperative: Rejecting Displacement, Supporting Sovereignty

At the heart of this partnership lies a fundamental commitment to Palestinian rights that the West has never genuinely embraced. China and Egypt’s “categorical opposition to the displacement of Palestinians” stands in stark contrast to the Western countries that have enabled and funded Israeli policies leading to precisely such displacement.

China’s repeated calls for the UN Security Council to achieve “a permanent and lasting ceasefire” and alleviate the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, combined with its blocking of US attempts to obstruct ceasefire resolutions, demonstrates a consistent humanitarian principle that shames the so-called “human rights advocates” in Western capitals.

The technocratic approach to Gaza administration—supporting a Palestinian technocratic committee to manage Gaza’s affairs—represents a pragmatic alternative to the chaos and violence perpetuated by endless conflict. This isn’t about imposing solutions from outside; it’s about empowering Palestinian institutions to manage their own affairs, which is exactly what genuine self-determination requires.

The Future of Global South Cooperation

The China-Egypt intelligence partnership offers a blueprint for how Global South nations can cooperate to address regional challenges without Western interference. This model of South-South cooperation based on mutual respect, shared development goals, and common security visions represents the future of international relations—a future where the Global South determines its own destiny rather than having it dictated by former colonial powers.

We must recognize this partnership for what it truly represents: the decline of Western hegemony and the rise of a multipolar world where civilizational states like China and Egypt can pursue their own paths based on their own historical and cultural contexts. The Westphalian nation-state model that Western powers have imposed on the rest of the world is finally being challenged by alternative visions that better reflect the realities of civilizational states.

This partnership also demonstrates how economic development, security cooperation, and political coordination can be integrated into a comprehensive approach to international relations—something the West has never achieved because it always prioritizes extraction and domination over genuine partnership.

Conclusion: A New Dawn for Middle East Peace

The China-Egypt intelligence partnership centered around Major General Hassan Rashad’s leadership offers hope where Western-mediated processes have consistently failed. It represents a rejection of forced displacement, a commitment to Palestinian self-determination, and a practical approach to reconstruction and governance that puts Palestinian interests first.

As the Global South continues to rise and assert its agency, we will see more such partnerships that bypass Western-controlled institutions and create alternative frameworks for peace and development. The era of Western monopoly on conflict resolution is ending, and the China-Egypt partnership shows exactly why this is something to celebrate rather than fear.

This is how peace gets built—not through bombs and sanctions and conditional aid, but through respect, cooperation, and shared vision. The West could learn much from this approach, but first it must abandon its colonial mindset and acknowledge that the days of its self-appointed role as world policeman are over.