- 27 Jan 2022
[Book Discussion] Routledge Handbook on China-Middle East Relations
(This event is organised by MEI Political Economy research cluster.)
Abstract
The handbook brings together a mix of established and emerging international scholars to provide valuable analytical insights into how China’s growing Middle East presence affects intra-regional development, trade, security and diplomacy.
As the largest extra-regional economic actor in the Middle East, China is the biggest source of foreign direct investment into the region and the largest trading partner for most Middle Eastern states. This portends a larger role in political and security-related affairs as the value of Chinese assets, combined with a growing expatriate population in the region, demands a more proactive role in contributing to regional order. Exploring the effect of these developments, the expert contributors also consider the reverberations in great power politics as the US, Russia, India, Japan and the European Union also have considerable interests in the region.
This public talk will be conducted online via Zoom on Thursday, 27 January 2022, from 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm (SGT). All are welcome to participate. This event is free, however, registration is compulsory. Successful registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom details closer to the date of the event.
Listen to the full event here:
Watch the full event here:
About the Speakers
Non-resident Senior Fellow
Middle East programmes at the Atlantic Council
[Moderator] Dr Alessandro Arduino
Principal Research Fellow
Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Dr Jonathan Fulton is a Non-resident Senior Fellow for Middle East programmes at the Atlantic Council. He also serves as Assistant Professor of political science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. An expert on Chinese policy towards the Middle East, Dr Fulton has written widely on the topic for both academic and popular publications. He is the author of China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies and co-editor of External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies. Dr Fulton received his PhD from the University of Leicester, where his dissertation focused on Chinese relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council member states. He also holds degrees from Staffordshire University, the University of Southern Queensland and Dalhousie University.
[Moderator] Dr Alessandro Arduino is the Principal Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore (MEI-NUS). He is the Co-director of the Security & Crisis Management International Centre at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science and an Associate at Lau China Institute, King’s College London.
His 20 years of experience in China encompasses security analysis and crisis management. His main research interests include China, Central Asia and Middle East and North Africa relations, sovereign wealth funds, private military/security companies and China’s security and foreign policy.
Dr Arduino is the author of several books and he has published papers and commentaries in various journals in Italian, English and Chinese. His most recent book is China’s Private Army: Protecting the New Silk Road (Palgrave, 2018) and has been appointed Knight of Order of the Star of Italy by the president of the Italian Republic.
