On the back of Beijing’s role in the Saudi Arabia-Iran rapprochement last year, accession of several Middle East countries to BRICS, and growing attention to the Global South in both Beijing and Washington, China’s engagement with the Middle East is worth greater attention. How are Chinese policymakers and scholars assessing their country’s goals in the region? What challenges do they envision to greater economic and security cooperation in the years ahead? 

Please join the Interpret: China project for a panel discussion unpacking these important questions, drawing on recently translated primary source materials. The panel will feature Jon Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, Gedaliah Afterman, Head of the Asia Policy Program at The Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at Reichman University, and Yun Sun, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program, and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. The panel discussion will be moderated by Lily McElwee, Deputy Director and Fellow, Freeman Chair in China Studies.