Reflections on the legacy of Jiang Zemin, China’s president from 1993 to 2003, who passed away on Wednesday, emphasized how he presided over a decade of explosive economic growth. Fewer have pointed out that he was also a key architect of China’s current relationship with Africa.
After the Mao era, emblematized by Chinese involvement in African anti-colonial struggles, the relationship went dormant as China focused on building economic ties ...
Category: Mideast
Arab Media’s Cautious Coverage of the China COVID Protests
A number of news outlets across the Arab world acknowledged the ongoing protests in major Chinese cities, a somewhat surprising development given the sensitivities in these countries about large-scale anti-government demonstrations. Most of the coverage was restrained, simply stating the basic ...
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Said He’s “Not Aware” of Reports Xi Will Travel to Saudi Arabia Next Month
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian tried to tamp down mounting speculation that President Xi Jinping will travel to Saudi Arabia next month to attend a pair of summits. Zhao brushed aside a question on the issue from Reuters at the regular press briefing ...
Reports: Xi Expected to Travel to Saudi Arabia for December Summits
Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly travel to Saudi Arabia in December to attend a trio of Sino-Arab summits taking place in the Kingdom. The latest rumors about President Xi's purported trip surfaced late last week following the fourth round of talks ...
Why the U.S. And Israel Are Not Aligned on China
Israel and China are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement that both sides say will be done before the end of the year. This may come as a surprise to some given how relations between the ...
What Did Speculation About Xi’s Fictitious Trip to Saudi Arabia Tell Us About China’s Broader Mideast Strategy
By Leonardo Bruni Earlier this month, the internet was rife with speculation that Xi Jinping would soon break his more than two-year-long hiatus from overseas travel to visit Saudi Arabia. Although the visit did not take place, the media buzz surrounding ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Jiang Zemin Created the Africa-China Relationship As We Know It Today
Saudi Arabia is Preparing For President Xi’s Arrival This Week, According to Reports
There are new indications that Chinese President Xi Jinping will, in fact, be heading to Saudi Arabia this week for his first overseas visit in nearly three years since the beginning of the pandemic. Although there is still no ...
Where in the World is Xi Jinping Going?
The British newspaper The Guardian sparked excitement late last week with an exclusive report that Chinese President Xi Jinping would break his nearly 900-day absence from international travel with a visit to Saudi Arabia. Middle East correspondent Martin ...
China More Popular than the United States Across MENA: Poll
The United States is markedly less popular than China in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to a new poll by Arab Barometer. The Princeton University-based public opinion tracker found that perceptions of China ...
China Should Leverage Its Strengths in Development to Compete With the U.S. in the Middle East, Says Leading Expert
U.S. President Joe Biden's recent visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia put Great Power competition with China in the Middle East into sharp focus. But one of China's leading Mideast scholars, Fan Hongda, a professor at ...
Reports: Saudi Arabia Eyeing Chinese Stealth Fighter Jets
It appears that sources within the Saudi Arabian Royal Air Force are leaking information about their apparent interest in acquiring and possibly even manufacturing FC-31s, China's most advanced stealth fighter jet. Saudi news reports also indicate that ...