Rethinking China, the Middle East and Asia in a 'Multiplex World'

Mojtaba Mahdavi, Ph.D. (2006), Western University, is Professor of Political Science and the ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta, Canada. He is the author of numerous works on MENA and Muslim politics, and the editor of The Myth of ‘Middle East Exceptionalism’: Unfinished MENA Social Movements (Syracuse University Press, 2022).Tugrul Keskin, Ph.D. (2009), Virginia Tech, teaches at Cappadocia University in Turkey. He has held the position of Professor of Global Studies and the director of the Center for Global Governance and Political Economy at Shanghai University. He is the editor of Middle East Studies after September 11 Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia (Brill, 2018).

• Foreword: Belt and Road: China’s Opportunities and Challenges  Manochehr DorrajList of Figures and TablesNotes on ContributorsIntroductionMojtaba Mahdavi and Tugrul Keskinpart 1China–mena Relations at Large1 The Triple Pillar of Sino–mena Relations in the Age of NeoliberalismMojtaba Mahdavi2 China’s Mental Maps of the Middle East and North Africa Critical Discourse Analysis of the Contemporary prc Leadership’s Geopolitical ImageJordi Quero Ariaspart 2The Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges and Opportunities3 Is Growing the Iran–China Relationship as Easy as Building a Belt and Road?Dara Conduit4 Belt and Road Initiative Central Asia, the Middle East, and South AsiaMahesh Ranjan Debata5 The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor Building National Consensus, Curbing Terrorism, and Managing Regional Rivalries in BalochistanSaeed Shafqatpart 3China’s Soft Power and Hard Power in the mena Region6 Confucius in the uae Chinese Soft Power in the gccHabibul Haque Khondker7 China–Egypt Relations Constructing Images and Perceptions in the Belt and Road InitiativeXiaoyue Li8 Smoothing the Waters Science and Research Collaboration between China and the Arab WorldSari Hanafi and Rigas Arvanitis9 China and the mena Region in a Decentred WorldAndrea Ghisellipart 4Sino-mena Regional Dynamics: Energy and Beyond10 Sino–Turkish Relations in the New Era From Political Conflict to Economic CooperationMichael McCall and Tugrul Keskin11 Sino–Egyptian Relations and the New Regional Dynamics of the Middle EastYossra M. Taha12 China’s Policy on the Iranian Nuclear Issue Cooperation and Disagreements with Russia and the United StatesMher Sahakyan13 Chinese Engagement with the mena Region Exploring Sino–mena Event DataMichael McCallIndex