Category: Mideast
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 ...
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 official confirmation of the ...
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 Chulov also divulged that ...
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 the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International ...
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 the Chinese are also ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: Assessing the Impact of the Chinese Defense Minister’s Recent Visit to Iran
We start this issue of the ChinaMed Observer reporting on the visit to Iran made by the Chinese Minister of Defence, Wei Fenghe. During the visit on April 27th Wei met with several high-ranking Iranian officials, including President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, Minister of Defense General Mohammad-Reza Gharayi ...
Understanding the Middle East’s Unique Opportunities and Challenges for China
China is rapidly escalating its relationships with countries in the Middle East. However, the region still represents a tricky set of challenges for Beijing. So argues Andrea Ghiselli, a prominent watcher of China-Middle East relations at Fudan University in Shanghai. Ghiselli writes that China’s ...
Russian, Iranian Foreign Ministers in China For Afghan Conference
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov landed in the eastern Chinese city of Tunxi in Anhui province on Tuesday to take part in a foreign ministers' meeting for the seven countries that border Afghanistan. This is the first time ...
China’s Mideast Special Envoy Visits Morocco in the Latest Stop of His Low-Key Regional Tour
China's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun (left), traveled from Khartoum to Rabat late last week where he held talks with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourtia (right) in what appears to be a low-key meet 'n greet regional tour.
China’s Special Mideast Envoy Meets With Sudan Leader
Zhai Jun, China’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, met on Tuesday with the head of Sudan’s army and the leader of the October 25 military coup that plunged the country into crisis, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Zhai’s trip is part ...