Water Issues

China's President Xi Jinping (center L) walks along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi followed by their wives Peng Liyuan and Entissar Amer (R) upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport on September 1, 2026. President Xi Jinping arrived in Egypt on September 1, making a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of US sanctions over financial links to Iran. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why renewed Egypt-Ethiopia tensions are a problem for China

For Beijing, the renewed Egypt-Ethiopia standoff is a zero-sum bind that threatens vital strategic interests on both sides of the Nile.

Joyce Karam

A quadrilateral summit was held on Oct. 4, 2026, attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi, Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan Gen. Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, in New El Alamein City, Egypt.

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan hold summit amid Ethiopia tensions

All four countries have increasingly tense relations with Ethiopia, driven by disputes over the Nile, Red Sea access and security.

This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022. - Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project on a tributary of the Nile has raised regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the huge river for 97 percent of its water supply. Government officials said the dam would begin producing electricity on Sunday, more than a decade since work first started. (Photo by Amanuel SILESHI / AFP) (Photo by AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Ima

Explainer

Why are Egypt and Ethiopia clashing over Tigray, Somalia and the Nile?

Egypt expelled an official at the Ethiopian Embassy in Cairo on Thursday following a similar move by Ethiopia that same day, in the latest sign of tensions between the neighboring African countries.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Analysis

How Ethiopia’s new dams test Egypt’s ability to defend its Nile red lines

Ethiopia’s water minister has emphasized the country’s plans to move forward with new Blue Nile dam construction, leaving Egypt to contend with the potential fallout.

Eli Siegel-Bernstein

By Eli Siegel-Bernstein

Latest News

Tunisia’s water, power crisis fuels growing protests against Saied: What to know

Members and supporters of the Nafas movement take part in an anti-government protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied, chanting "Degage" and calling for political change, in Tunis,Tunisia on August 20,2026. (Photo by Imen Ben Youssef / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)

Iran strike damages Kuwait power, desalination plant: What to know

The sun sets behind overhead power lines in Kuwait City, June 19, 2024.

Rubio hosts Ethiopia’s FM amid push to boost security ties: What to know

Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos Hessebon meets with Marco Rubio in Washington on May 11, 2026.

Interview

UAE official says opening Hormuz integral to any Iran deal, describes infrastructure damage 'manageable'

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

Abdulla Balalaa

Abdulla Balalaa

UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs for energy and sustainability

Will Iranian sea corridor compete with Suez Canal?

Iran has announced a sea corridor for commercial exchange with Russia and India as an alternative to the Egyptian Suez Canal, which raises questions about the impact this corridor will have on one of the main national economic resources in Cairo that has been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Egypt offers partnership with Ethiopia on electricity projects to break stalemate in Nile dam talks

Egypt is about to start studies on an electricity linkage project with Ethiopia, against the background of faltering negotiations over Addis Ababa’s construction of a dam on the Nile River.

Tensions escalate between Egypt, Ethiopia with no end in sight of Nile dam dispute

Ethiopia has recently accused Egypt of unilaterally using Nile River waters via a project approved in 1995; Cairo says upstream countries are not affected and that it has all the rights to use the Nile waters.

Nile River dam talks resume, but still no agreement

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan resumed negotiations on filling Ethiopia's mega dam on Friday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) receives an Ethiopian man who Sisi said was "rescued" from war-torn Libya alongside 26 of his compatriots by Egypts security services upon their arrival at Cairo airport on May 7, 2015. It was not immediately clear how the Ethiopians were rescued, but Sisi's office said the group flown in on an Egyptian plane was "liberated by Egyptian and Libyan security services". AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Ethiopian refugees caught in middle of Nile dam row between Cairo, Addis Ababa

Ethiopian refugees in Egypt worry that their situation will decline further due to the Nile dam row between their host and home country.

Tug of war continues in Nile dam dispute

The crisis of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia is building along the Blue Nile, has sparked the concern of Egypt and Sudan, as mediation efforts led by the African Union to reach an agreement are on the brink of faltering, just like previous efforts.

A worker walks with a piece of wood on his shoulder at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a 145-metre-high, 1.8-kilometre-long concrete colossus is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa.
Across Ethiopia, poor farmers and rich businessmen alike eagerly await the more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity officials say it will ultimately provide.
Yet as thousands of workers toil day and night to finish

Can Arab League push Ethiopia to delay filling of Nile dam?

Arab foreign ministers called on Ethiopia to refrain from filling the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam next month without prior agreement with Egypt and Sudan, but Arab experts and observers believe this position must be translated into action to support Egypt and Sudan in their dispute with Ethiopia.

Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan discuss Nile River dam at UN Security Council

Ethiopia said the Security Council is not an appropriate place to discuss the dispute, while Egypt said filling the dam threatens its "survival."

A worker goes down a construction ladder at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a 145-metre-high, 1.8-kilometre-long concrete colossus is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa.
Across Ethiopia, poor farmers and rich businessmen alike eagerly await the more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity officials say it will ultimately provide.
Yet as thousands of workers toil day and night to finish the projec

UN Security Council to meet on Egypt-Ethiopia dam dispute

The meeting will discuss Egypt's and Sudan's objections to the Ethiopian dam.

Egypt says dam negotiations with Ethiopia make 'little progress'

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have been discussing Ethiopia's planned filling of its dam on the Blue Nile River all month, but an agreement has yet to be reached.

Iran’s wildfires leave trail of destruction, lingering questions

Wildfires that raged for two weeks turned significant swaths of Iran’s western forests into ash as state bureaucracy dramatically slowed down an efficient response.

A view from an airplane window shows buildings around the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC25HF9RMT2R

Will Cairo succeed in stopping Ethiopian control over Nile waters?

Egypt accuses Ethiopia of procrastinating in the renewed negotiation sessions on the Nile Dam in order to begin filling the controversial dam.