The Future of China-MENA Cooperation:

China-MENA relations are evolving against the backdrop of major regional and global challenges. Great power dynamics are unfolding across the Middle East, shaping regional players’ alignments and strategic considerations. Escalating geopolitical risks and growing trade wars are also exacerbating the global economic outlook, posing challenges to the MENA’s development and stability.

Since 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has served as a cornerstone of China-MENA relations. In the decade since its establishment, China’s regional and global engagement has been supplemented by the launch of three major initiatives, the Global Development Initiative (2021), the Global Security Initiative (2022), and the Global Civilization Initiative (2023). As they develop, these initiatives have the potential to strengthen and consolidate China’s ties with the Middle East.

The region currently stands at a critical juncture with ongoing transitions in Syria, Libya and Yemen and an uncertain future for Gaza and the West Bank. The GSI, GDI, and GCI can provide China with an opportunity to play a bigger role in advancing a balanced and effective regional security framework, and overall, a fairer international system.

Economic security will be a central priority across the region’s foreign policy agendas and the BRI will continue to be important to the region’s development. Amidst ongoing reconstruction efforts in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, the GDI could also serve as a robust foundation for China’s role in driving regional economic prosperity. Growing technology cooperation will also remain a defining feature of the region and China’s economic ties; however, it will be complicated by U.S.-led efforts to limit strategic cooperation between Beijing and the Middle East.

The GDI, GSI, and GCI are slowly expanding China’s political, economic, and cultural footprint, capitalizing on the robust foundation set by the BRI. As the world experiences major geopolitical shifts, how are China’s grand visions shaping Beijing’s engagement with the region? Since the launch of the Global Security Initiative, how has China supported the region’s strategic autonomy? As the region reels from devastating wars and conflict, how can the Global Development Initiative support sustainable economic recovery efforts? What role is the Global Civilization Initiative playing in facilitating cultural exchanges between China and the Middle East? To answer these questions and more, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) and the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) held the fourth iteration of the “China-Middle East Cooperation” workshop, which examines the BRI, Sino-Middle East relations, and the path forward.