Mohamed Morsi, newly elected Egyptian President, launched an extensive diplomatic campaign shortly after taking office in June. Following trips to Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia, he visited China in late August before flying to Iran and the United States. These overseas trips reflect the Morsi administration's diplomatic strategy, which is to realize Egypt's maximized interests by implementing a balanced diplomatic policy.

Morsi kicked off his trip to China on August 28, in the president's first venture outside Africa and the Middle East. Observers noted that Morsi's choice underscored the value Egypt places on its relationship with China, especially as it looks to promote an economic recovery. At the same time, building a strong relationship with Egypt will put China in a better position to get involved in the peace process in the Middle East.

Morsi came to China with a host of political, economic and diplomatic tasks.

Politically, he hoped to follow Egypt's tradition of friendship with China, which dates back to 1956. Another important reason Morsi came to China was his country's current economic troubles.

"Everything is undone now in Egypt. But Morsi's top challenge is still the country's economic recovery," said He Wenping, a senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). She pointed out that Egypt's economy has slowed due to social instability in the past year. The country's tourism sector is far from reviving, and the unemployment rate is more than 20 percent, according to He.

According to He Wenping, the latest statistics showed about 40 percent of Egyptians are living below the poverty line set by the UN. To keep prices under control, the Egyptian Government has adopted a subsidy policy, causing a huge budget deficit.

"Egypt now needs international development assistance and foreign investment," she said. "Trade between China and Egypt hasn't been influenced very much by the turmoil in the Middle East, so Egypt hopes to enlarge its exports to China while attracting investment from China." Bilateral trade rose to $8.8 billion last year, up nearly 30 percent year on year and Egypt expects China to increase its total investment in the country from the current $500 million to $2 billion in three years.

Along with investment expectations Morsi's trip set out to strengthen communication with China in terms of Egypt's regional influence. Qu Xing, President of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), said the turmoil in the past year has weakened Egypt's reigning influence in the Arab world. To inspire Egypt's all-around revival, Morsi must regain the country's decisive position on regional hotspot issues, such as the conflict in Syria. "Egypt can further communicate with China on the Middle East developments, and it can also form a solid basis for expanded cooperation with China," said Qu, stressing China's opportunity to play a constructive role in the region.

Morsi told Chinese President Hu Jintao that Egypt will play a positive role in the development of Sino-Arab relations and Sino-African relations.

This new diplomatic strategy of conducting a balanced diplomacy had Chinese observers saying that the Morsi administration intends to keep a distance from the United States in order to relieve domestic pressure.

He Wenping from the CASS said it is not rational to judge Morsi's diplomatic policy from only one trip, but she stressed that Egypt is certain to maintain a pluralistic diplomatic strategy rather than simply following U.S. commands.

Egypt doesn't want to be tied up with the West, particularly the Middle East wars launched by the United States as was the case in the Hosni Mubarak era.

Wang Suolao, a professor with Peking University, said that the core of Morsi's diplomatic policy is that Egypt must make decisions based on its own interests instead of playing up to the U.S. interests. Wang noted that Morsi must find a way to keep a distance between Egypt's diplomatic independence and the U.S. aid. The United States provides at least $2 billion in assistance to Egypt, with about $1.4 billion for military aid and the rest for economic help.

Wang said Morsi will not give up such a huge amount of assistance, because the country is facing economic difficulties. Moreover, if the country's military relationship with the United States doesn't go over well, Morsi will face pressure from his military.

Dong Manyuan, Vice President of the CIIS, said that with or without the diplomatic policy adjustment, Egypt still has a strategic partnership with the United States, and the Egypt-U.S. relationship will continue to be important to Morsi.

Considering its strategic alliance with Washington, Egypt will not go very far down the path of ameliorating its relationship with Tehran.

Dong believed that the new president of Egypt will stick to the principle of balance when developing relations with influential powers, the Islamic world and major economies. Dong stressed that for China, the approach offers a precious opportunity to deepen its friendly cooperation with Arab countries.

President Hu Jintao's Proposals on Sino-Egyptian Ties (abbreviated)

> Political relations: conducting closer exchanges between leaders, governments, parliaments and political parties

> Economic and trade cooperation: proceeding with construction on big projects such as a Suez trade cooperation area

> Cultural and people-to-people exchanges: promoting dialogues and exchanges between different civilizations

> Multilateral cooperation: supporting Egypt in playing a bigger role in international and regional affairs

(Source: Xinhua News Agency)