The modern experience of China is often viewed through a western lens, but its complex history and relationship with the Arab world reveal a much deeper story. Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi challenges the dominant narrative of a growing security footprint and intense US-China competition over the Middle East. Instead, the conversation explores the evolving diplomatic recognition, transactional dynamics, and economic connections that define Sino-Middle Eastern relations. This discussion unpacks why the Chinese experience is often neglected in the Arab intellectual tradition and how the modalities of empire are shifting in the 21st century.
00:00 Introduction
04:33 Escaping the Post 9/11 Paradigm Shift
07:23 Alternative Journeys & Transformative Intellectual Paths
14:22 Dismantling Dominant Narratives on Regional Footprints
17:13 Contextualizing China's Strategic Priorities
26:41 Historical Dimensions & Evolving Diplomatic Ties
34:34 Financial Synergy, Alternatives & Global concessions
37:48 Deconstructing Frameworks & the Myth of the Silk Road
44:40 Projecting Arab Anxieties onto a Cultural Other
52:52 Technological Realities & the Changing Modalities of Power
Mohammed Alsudairi is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations of the Arabic Speaking World at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University.
Senior Nonresident Fellow, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies
He holds a PhD in Comparative Politics from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), an MA in International Relations and International History from the London School of Economics and Peking University, and a BSc in International Politics from Georgetown University. Prior to his appointment at CAIS, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at HKU, working on a project examining the intersections between religion and infrastructure in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Since 2015, he oversaw the development of the Asian Studies Program at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2022, he was awarded a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to work on his upcoming book manuscript. He is also a Senior Nonresident Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
Connect with Mohammed Alsudairi 👉 https://cais.cass.anu.edu.au/people/dr-mohammed-alsudairi
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