1st Edition

China’s Changing Role in the Middle East Filling a Power Vacuum?

By Chuchu Zhang Copyright 2025
222 Pages
by Routledge

222 Pages
by Routledge

222 Pages
by Routledge

This book considers China’s recent engagement in the Middle East, to what extent its approach has fundamentally changed, and how this role change has been received by regional and other actors. Based on content analysis, qualitative interviews, and archival records analysis, the author examines the evolution of Beijing’s involvement in the region. Analysis of first-hand and full-sample data... Read more

1 Introduction

2 Theorizing China’s Role Change in the Middle East

3 Concepts under the New Role Framework: Ideas and Persuasion

4 Actions under the New Role Framework: Practice and Approaches

5 China’s New Role in the GCC and Iran

6 China’s New Role in Palestine and Israel

7 China’s New Role in Syria, Yemen and Libya

8 Belt and Road initiative: new Opportunities for China’s New role Performance

9 Concluding Remarks

Biography

Chuchu Zhang is an associate professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs and deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, at Fudan University, China. She was a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies. Dr. Zhang receives her PhD in Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge, UK. Her research focuses on China-Middle Eastern relations, China’s foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative, and international political economy.