- 27 Jan 2026
China’s Digital Silk Road in the Middle East
This webinar examines the evolving footprint of China’s Digital Silk Road in the Middle East. Drawing on recent research, the talk explores how Chinese technology firms, such as Huawei and Alibaba, have expanded their presence in the Middle East’s digital ecosystems through cloud infrastructure, AI applications, data-centre investments, and partnerships with local governments and firms.
The lecture highlights how China’s digital expansion across Middle Eastern states, especially in the Gulf, has been shaped not only by commercial opportunities and local digital transformation agendas, but also by broader strategic considerations, including Beijing’s interest in securing long-term connectivity and anchoring its digital standards in the region.
Join us to explore how China has built its digital footprint in the Middle East and why the Gulf has emerged as a key arena in the region’s digital transformation.
This event will be conducted online via Zoom on Tuesday, 27 January from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM (SGT) | 8:00AM – 9:00AM Oxford time. Registration is free but compulsory, and the Zoom link will be sent to registered participants closer to the event day.
Photo credit: A man captures images of the modular Aridge X3-F (Air Module of the Land Aircraft Carrier) by China’s flying car maker Aridge, Asia’s largest, during its presentation and flight demonstration in Dubai on October 12, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
About the Speakers
Political Economy Researcher
Technology and Industrialisation for Development (TIDE) Centre University of Oxford
Tinhinan El Kadi is a political economy researcher whose research focuses on digital technologies, innovation policies, and the rise of China.
Her PhD at the London School of Economics examines the developmental implications of China’s Digital Silk Road in North Africa, focusing on how Chinese digital capital influences technological upgrading. It also explores the role of Chinese digital firms in shaping ICT ecosystems and technological standard diffusion in host countries.
Before her PhD, Tinhinan worked on North-South knowledge production and data-driven innovations at the LSE and consulted for organisations like the World Bank, Chatham House, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Carnegie Endowment. A Chevening Scholar, she holds an MSc in Development Studies from the LSE and a BA in Politics and Chinese from SOAS. She has authored several book chapters, journal articles, and opinion pieces.
Research Fellow
Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
Dr. Lin Jing is a Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute. She specialises in Jewish philosophy, Hebrew literature, and Israel Studies. Previously, Dr. Lin was a Senior Lecturer at the School of Asian & African Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), where she also served as the Director of the Department of Hebrew Studies from 2010 to 2019.
From 2020 to 2021, Dr. Lin was a Visiting Associate at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore. She earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Peking University, focusing on Medieval Jewish philosophy, an M.A. in Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a B.A. in Arabic Language & Literature from BFSU.
Dr. Lin’s research interests include China-Middle Eastern relations, Jewish studies and inter-religious relations. She has published extensively in these areas and has translated several Hebrew literary works into Chinese.
