China’s longstanding and complex relations with North African nations have been alternatively characterized as both ideological and pragmatic, and both mercantile and developmental, but rarely rigorously analyzed through the lens of international relations theory. Contrary to most Western academic, media, and political depictions, China is neither a newcomer nor a new colonial power. Not only had China established multifaceted relations with Egypt from 1956 onward, but China was also the first non-Arab country to have recognized the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic in 1958, four years before Algeria’s independence. The two states have maintained close and growing relations ever since; five years ago, China surpassed France to become Algeria’s leading trading partner. This paper analyzes the evolution of China’s political, economic, military, and cultural relations with the Maghreb States and Egypt. It discusses the trajectory of China’s vicissitudes in its foreign policy, namely from radical, ideological principles in the 1950s-1970s to pragmatism since 1978, but with elements of its ongoing relationship, with evolving ideological and pragmatic dimensions. Algeria and Egypt are China’s strategic partners, a status that only select states have obtained. The paper also focuses on China’s attempts to include the North African countries in the maritime route of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China’s policies regarding the so-called “Arab Spring.” China has arguably sought to use soft-power and mediation diplomacy to reconcile the parties engaged in conflicts and help them in post-conflict reconstruction. The paper examines how each North African state views China; it also highlights the incongruities between BRI’s stated objectives and the geopolitical realities of those states. The paper will also scrutinize the growth of trade and security relations between China and the region since the 2011 uprisings. One of the objectives is to determine whether China’s emergence as a global power represents a new approach to international relations (“win-win cooperation”) or, is driven by the long-standing logic of neorealist power politics (J. Mearsheimer) and capitalism (in its commercial form). This raises a related question as to whether the Maghreb and Egypt intend on playing China against Western powers or are merely interested in commercial gains with China. Contrasting neorealist and constructivist approaches will help shed light on these questions. This paper also draws from over a dozen trips to China and dozens of interviews with Chinese scholars and officials.