Today is a public holiday in South Africa – Human Rights Day. There’s a certain irony in spending the day focusing on China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vladimir Putin, knee-deep in a human rights disaster.
What one makes of the Ukraine crisis increasingly maps on where one lives. This is made clear by a remarkable new set of polling data recently published by the European Council on Foreign Relations ...
Category: Persian Gulf
What Lessons Should the U.S. Take From China’s Mideast Diplomatic Breakthrough?
This month's surprise announcement that China brokered the restoration of diplomatic relations between longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia prompted widespread excitement in Beijing and considerable consternation among U.S. conservatives. The implication for both is that China's role in the process ...
Chinese Weapons Manufacturers Take Part in UAE Arms Show
Nine Chinese arms manufacturers are taking part in the 16th International Defense Exhibition and Conference, a military technology expo in the United Arab Emirates, the first time since China’s COVID-related shutdowns. Chinese companies are showing 500 different products. They range from ...
Iran to Become Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member by 2023
Iran will become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in April 2023, according to the Chinese state newspaper Global Times. Iran has lobbied to join the Eurasia-spanning group for more than a decade, ...
U.S. Tries to Stem the Flow of Iranian Oil to China
The United States government on Wednesday imposed new sanctions against Iranian oil companies and the network of firms that help facilitate the flow of Iranian crude to markets in East Asia, specifically China. Every year, millions of barrels ...
Professor Ding Long on Why the Gulf Foreign Ministers Visit is So Important
Professor Ding Long, a well-known Mideast scholar at Shanghai International Studies University, reflected on the significance of this week's landmark visit to China by four foreign ministers from Persian Gulf countries. Writing for a domestic audience in the Chinese edition of ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Xi Bets on Global South in Moscow
China and the Rapidly Changing Security Dynamics in the Mideast & North Africa
A pair of recent Congressional hearings revealed the heightened anxiety in Washington about China's expanding presence in the Middle East and North Africa. Both lawmakers and Pentagon officials appear increasingly concerned that China's rapidly expanding economic, security, and diplomatic presence in ...
Why African Energy Exporters Should Be Concerned About CNOOC’s Interest in a Massive Qatari Gas Deal
One of China's three major oil and gas companies, CNOOC, is reportedly interested in joining the world's largest natural gas project in Qatar. The company's CFO Xie Weizhi said CNOOC is exploring the option to invest in the $29 ...
The China-Mediterranean Observer: Everyone’s Calculating the Impact of the China-Iran Deal
Unsurprisingly, among the noteworthy events that took place this month, the media of the wider Mediterranean region focused on the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the Middle East in late March. Although there are concerns over the impact on the region from the rising ...
China Wants to Be a Big Player in the Middle East
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's latest six-nation tour of the Middle East and Turkey revealed that Beijing now aims to play a much larger role in the region. During his trip, Wang signed a high-profile ...
China’s New Agreement With Iran is Important, Just Not That Important Say Experts
This weekend's signing of a highly-anticipated 25-year security and economic cooperation agreement between China and Iran was met with predictable anxiety in Washington and European capitals. The pact, signed by the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, calls for cooperation ...