Liu Jia is Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, NUS. Jia earned her PhD in Government and International Affairs from Durham University, where she was honoured to be the H.H. Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Doctoral Fellow. Prior to her doctoral studies, Jia completed a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University and a Master’s in Research Methods (International Relations). Jia has also studied in China, Iran, Jordan, worked in the UAE, and well-travelled across the West Asia/Middle East. She speaks Chinese, English, Farsi, and is learning Arabic. Jia’s research focuses on two major areas: the politics of Persian speaking world and China-West Asia/Middle East relations.