Tomorrow, Chinese President Xi Jinping is embarking on a five-day trip to the Middle East. His trip to the region is going begin in Egypt, where he will meet his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Xi is expected to discuss with Sisi bilateral and other regional issues such as Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Xi is also expected to discuss terrorism and the ways and means to counter this menace.

The Chinese present's visit to Egypt is on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relationship between the countries. It is also expected that Xi will sign almost 51 bilateral agreements with the government of Egypt. Diplomatic relationship between the two countries is important as China has launched one of the most important and ambitious project of the 21stcentury known as 'One Belt, One Road', in which Egypt has a very important role.

On the second leg of his is visit, Xi will be in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the important regional countries on which China is largely dependent on for imports of crude oil. During his visit to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese president is expected to further strengthen bilateral trade and commercial relationship between China and Saudi Arabia.

Xi is also expected to visit Iran on the final leg of his visit to the region, where he is expected to discuss the 'One Belt, One Road' with the Iranian government. Iran is an important country that plays an important part in this ambitious plan. China recently opened the Asian Infrastructure investment Bank (AIIB) in which Iran's membership has been approved. China is not only importing crude oil from Iran, but is looking forward to further strengthen trade, commercial and diplomatic relationships with Iran. The lifting of sanctions on Iran may likely provide an opportunity for China to invest in Iran, and Beijing is likely to be interested to benefit from this opportunity.

Xi's visit to the region is occurring at the time when the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia is tense. But the Chinese president's visit to the region was planned last year, and diplomatic sources are very optimistic about his visit. China may play an important role towards reducing the tension in the region and may help warring countries open diplomatic windows towards regional peace and stability. China considers Middle East's political stability is not only important for the region, but also very important for the interests of China.

Last month, the Syrian foreign minister and a Syrian opposition group were invited to visit China. Since the Syrian war started, it is expected that China has lost almost $5 billion in investments in the oil sector. Last month, Iraq's prime minister visited China, where their bilateral relationship was upgraded. Iraq has been considered as a 'strategic partner' of China and in the near future, China is also looking to invest in Iraq and China has signed several agreements with the Iraqi government.

The fact of the matter is that China is slowly and gradually increasing its economic and political role in the region, and it seems likely in the near future that China could be play an important and leading political role along with other regional players such as the US, Russia, France and Britain. China can be counted as an important, emerging and trusted player in the region.

By Javaid Ahmad