Egyptian students visit the factory of China’s fiberglass manufacturer Jushi Egypt, located in China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, Egypt, December 2021. Wang Dongzhen/Xinhua via Getty Images MER Article The Networks, Strategies and Implications of Chinese Industrial Cooperation in the Middle East Special economic zones are fast becoming the instrument of choice for African countries looking to attract mobile capital and increase their integration into global markets. Among the many initiatives planned or in operation on the continent are a series of economic cooperation zones in six African Safa Joudeh • 19 min read
Latin America-Middle East Ties in the New Global South Over the past several years, posters of a gray Chinese terracotta warrior have caught the eyes of travelers in international airports. Hung on walls alongside moving walkways, the posters advertise the London-based bank HSBC and feature photographs ironically labeled with a sentence starting, “In the future.” The campaign was designed Alejandro Velasco, Omar S. Dahi • 14 min read
Current Analysis China's Stance on East Jerusalem For those accustomed to the themes of Sino-Arab diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on January 21 was predictable enough. It might not have attracted much attention at all if not for Xi’s statement [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2016xivisitm Mohammed al-Sudairi • 6 min read
Current Analysis Seven Places You Didn't Know Were Part of the Middle East 1) Guantánamo George R. Trumbull • 4 min read
Current Analysis China's New Silk Road Strategy In the current issue [http://www.merip.org/mer/latest] of Middle East Report, we write about the strategic logic of China’s increasing investment in teaching Middle Eastern languages [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer270/chinas-strategic-middle-eastern-languages], particularly Arabic, Persian and Turkish I-wei Jennifer Chang, Haiyun Ma • 3 min read
Current Analysis MER 270: China in the Middle East For immediate release May 8, 2014 Middle East Report 270 Spring 2014 CHINA IN THE MIDDLE EAST • 2 min read
Current Analysis Region, Race and Some Ironies of History In the forthcoming issue [http://www.merip.org/mer/latest] of Middle East Report, “China in the Middle East,” I write about the often forgotten history [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer270/changing-modes-political-dialogue-across-middle-east-east-asia-1880-2010] of political, intellectual and cultural t Cemil Aydin • 3 min read
MER Article China and the Sudans It wasn’t supposed to be like this. South Sudan and Sudan had agreed to share oil revenue, oil was flowing again and, despite considerable problems, relations appeared headed in a slightly better direction. Both governments were drawn to China as a key provider and practical enabler of economic assi Daniel Large • 13 min read
MER Article The Moral Panic Over Chinese in Egypt On a brisk autumn evening in 2010, male coffee shop patrons in the upscale Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek were treated to the sight of young Chinese women in miniskirts circulating to hand out brochures for a new massage parlor. It was an unusual sight indeed for Egyptian public space -- both the wom Jessica Winegar • 8 min read
MER Article Arabs in Yiwu, Confucius in East Beirut The September 11, 2001 attacks marked the beginning of large-scale trade between the Middle East and mainland China in the modern era. New visa restrictions in the United States -- until then the number-one trading partner of Arab countries -- forced Arab merchants to find business destinations in v Roschanack Shaery • 6 min read
MER Article DragonMart, the Mega-Souk of Today's Silk Road In 1998, a shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Indonesia. It turned out to be the remains of an early ninth-century dhow from the Gulf that had been headed back from China with a cargo of over 70,000 items, primarily ceramics, produced in different Chinese regions. The goods varied in style an JACQUELINE ARMIJO • 9 min read
MER Article China's Strategic Middle Eastern Languages Though the People’s Republic of China has extensive commercial ties in the Middle East, its three strategic partners in the region are Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. It is not surprising, therefore, that the major Middle Eastern language programs in China today are Arabic, Persian and Turkish. The g Haiyun Ma, I-wei Jennifer Chang • 5 min read
