China and the GCC: A Discussion of the “Routledge Handbook on China–Middle East Relations”

As the largest extra-regional economic actor in the Middle East, China is the biggest source of foreign direct investment into the region and the largest trading partner for most Middle Eastern countries. Deepening economic ties seem to herald closer relations on the political and security fronts, as demonstrated by a recent Gulf Cooperation Council visit to China that included foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman aimed at deepening relations between Beijing and the Gulf region.

Will the volume of Chinese investments in the Middle East, specifically the Gulf, lead to a more proactive role in contributing to regional order? What are the implications for great power politics, given the United States’, Russia’s, and the European Union’s considerable interests in the region?

As part of the China-Gulf Initiative, AGSIW hosted a discussion around this essential publication that brings together a mix of established and emerging international scholars to provide valuable analytical insights into how China’s growing Middle East, and specifically Gulf, presence affects regional development, trade, security, and diplomacy.

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The views represented herein are the author's or speaker's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSI, its staff, or its board of directors.