International Conference: The Arab World and China - Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies - Doha, QATAR - May 21 - 22, 2016

The Arab World and China
Future Prospects of Relations with a Rising Power
May 21 - 22, 2016 

Day One May 21, 2016

9:00-9:15	Opening Remarks
9:15-11:00	Session One: Chinese Strategy in the Arab Region Chair: Marwan Kabalan Wu Bingbing : China’s Policy towards the Arab World: Foundations and Elements Kadhim Niama: The Arab World within China's Global Strategy Degang Sun: China’s Soft Military Footprints in the Middle East Rabeh Zaghouni: China's Transformed View of the Arab World: from Global Economics to Geopolitics
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break
11:30-13:00	Session Two: Historical and Cultural Aspects of the Sino-Arab Relationship Chair: Faleh Al-Hajri Moain Sadeq: Sino-Arab Relations and Maritime Trade: from the Seventh to the Tenth Centuries Gao Youzhen: Sino-Arab Relations: Partnership Throughout History Zakaria Sadek El-Refaiey: The Islamic Revival Movement in China (1912-1949) Chamseddin Alkilani: Medieval Arab Appreciation for Chinese Wisdom and Organization
13:00-14:30	Lunch Break

14:30-16:00 Session Three: The "Belt and Road" and Sino-Arab Economic Interaction Chair: Hassan Aly Laurence J. Brahm: One Belt One Road and the New Consensus Jonathan Fulton: China’s One Belt One Road and the GCC Ayman Al Hammad: The New Silk Road and Prospects for Cultural Exchange: Obstacles and Challenges Samir Seifan: Economic Development: Comparative Approaches of China and the Arab States 16:00-16:30 Coffee Break 16:30-18:00 Session Four: A Reading of Sino-Gulf Relations Chair: Khalid Al-Jaber Timothy Niblock: Situating the GCC in China’s Transforming Role in Asia Mohammed Al-Sudairi: Sino-Saudi Relations: in Need of a Different Narrative? Hassan Aly: Unlimited Supplies of Labor: a Comparison of the Gulf and Chinese Experiences Hamed Al Abdullah and Hasan Johar: The Role of the Media and Public Diplomacy in Bolstering China-Kuwait Relations

Day Two May 22, 2016 9:00-10:30 Session One: China's Position on the Arab-Israeli Conflict Chair: Mohammed Al Misfer Ezzat Shahrour: Transformations in Chinese Public Attitudes towards the Arabs and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Mahmoud Muhareb: China-Israel Relations since the End of the Cold War Mansur Hou Yuxiang: The Belt and Road: Deepening China's Role in the Middle East Abdulhamid Shalabi: China and the 1956 "Suez Crisis": Reading into the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Archives Peace Process 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-12:30 Session Two: Chinese Policy towards the Arab Spring Chair: Burhan Ghalioun Jin Liangxiang: China's Policy Toward the Arab World in the Changing Regional Context I-wei Jennifer Chang: Evolution of Chinese Policies on the Syrian Conflict Ho Wai-Yip: How China thinks about Yemen: Towards a Responsible Policy in the Middle East Jie Wang: Sino-Libyan Relations in the post-Jamahiriya Era: the Logic of Exploring Overseas Market(s) 12:30-13:00 Coffee Break

13:00-14:30	Session Three: China's Relations with Non-Arab Regional Powers Chair: Ayman Al Hammad Manochehr Dorraj: China's Relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia: a Delicate Balancing Act Tugrul Keskin: Turkish-Chinese Relations in the Crucible of Modern Uyghur Nationalism Saeed Shafqat: China’s Rise: How is it Impacting the Gulf, Iran and Pakistan? George Jiuzhou Duan: The Implication of US Global Strategy Shift on Sino-Gulf Relations
14:30-16:00	Lunch Break
16:00-17:30	Session Four: China's Relations with Arab States Chair: Abdelwahab El-Affendi Ali Yousef Ahmad Alsharif: China-Sudan Relations: Partnership or Dependency? Ibtisam Mohammed Abed Yass: China's Policy towards Iraq Since 2003 Mahmoud Zakaria Ibrahim: China-Egypt Relations Since the End of the Cold War Asmaa Ben Musheirah: Chinese Soft Power in Algeria: Mechanisms and Future Prospects
17:30-18:00	Coffee Break
18:00-19:30	Roundtable Discussion Chairs: Imad Mansour and Mohammed Al-Sudairi