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Chinese AI Firms Turn to the Middle East Amid Domestic Funding Crunch

A recent feature in Economic Observer, a business news outlet, shows how Chinese AI companies, squeezed by fierce competition and a shrinking capital pool at home, are pivoting toward the Middle East, where deep-pocketed sovereign funds and ambitious digital transformation agendas are opening new doors.

Chinese Car Exports to Mexico and UAE Surge

China’s three top markets for automotive exports saw different outcomes in the first half of the year. New data released by the Chinese auto tracker Yiche showed that exports to Mexico surged by 31%, largely due to the popularity of affordable BYD models like the Seagull.

China’s Middle East Math

There was widespread disappointment in Iran that China didn't do more to help Tehran during the recent 12-day war with Israel and the United States. Beijing, for its part, offered robust rhetorical and moral support, but little else. ...

ASEAN, Gulf, and China Signal New Phase in Global South Climate Leadership

For decades, global climate action has been largely shaped by the Global North—through frameworks like the Paris Agreement and funding mechanisms such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P). These initiatives have set the tone, the goals, and the financial flows, often leaving countries in the Global ...

Why the China–ASEAN–GCC Summit Matters and What Comes Next

The recent China–ASEAN–GCC summit, held for the first time this May, was more than a symbolic gathering. It marked a formalization of growing and increasingly institutionalized cooperation among the three regions. Bringing together China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...

SE Asian Leaders Meet China’s Li and Gulf States to Bolster Ties

By Rebecca Bailey and Isabelle Leong Southeast Asian leaders are looking to insulate their trade-dependent economies from geopolitical uncertainty, in particular US tariffs, as they hold talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Gulf state dignitaries in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

The Inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit: Economic Aspirations Amid Strategic Ambiguity

BY Sufian Jusoh and Joanne Lin The ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Summit, set to take place in Kuala Lumpur on 27 May, under the Malaysian Chairmanship of ASEAN, marks a significant diplomatic first. It will bring together leaders from ASEAN, ...

U.S. “Chip Dumping” in Middle East Is Paying China’s Way, Chinese Analysts Say

Recent U.S. decisions to authorize large-scale exports of advanced AI chips—such as over one million Nvidia units to the UAE and 18,000 high-end chips to Saudi Arabia—have drawn sharp criticism from Chinese analysts.  Rather than focusing on the impact on China, ...

UAE Denies Supplying Chinese Weapons to Sudan Paramilitaries

The United Arab Emirates on Friday denied an Amnesty International report accusing it of providing Chinese-made weapons to Sudanese paramilitary forces at war with the regular army. "The UAE strongly rejects the suggestion that it is supplying weaponry to any party ...

UAE-Supplied Chinese Weapons Used by Sudan’s RSF: Amnesty

Chinese weapons provided by the United Arab Emirates have been found in the possession of Sudan's paramilitaries, in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, Amnesty International reported Thursday. "Sophisticated Chinese weaponry, re-exported by the United Arab Emirates, has been captured ...

Behind the Abaya: Chinese E-Commerce Eyes Persian Gulf’s Hidden ‘Her’ Economy

Narratives surrounding “veiled luxury” beneath the black abayas are electrifying Chinese e-commerce players. Frustrated by the U.S. markets due to the tariff, Chinese e-commerce players are turning to the Middle East's untapped “Her” economy.  Viral ...

China-UAE Liquid Natural Gas Deals Signed Amid Trade Upheaval

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) signed a purchase agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Corp (ADNOC) for liquid natural gas (LNG). The 5-year deal will see 500,000 tons of LNG shipped to China annually from 2026. It is the third ...
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