Al Jazeera Centre for Studies hosted a round-table discussion with an academic delegation from the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) led by Professor Chunming Wang on 9 April 2019 in Doha. Among the topics discussed were the popular movements in Algeria and Sudan and the current showdown between retired General Khalifa Haftar’s militias and the National Reconciliation Government forces in western Libya.
The Chinese participants expressed interest in the dynamics and trajectory of the Gulf crisis and its political and geopolitical effects on the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as the rest of the Arab region. AJCS scholars raised questions about the status of the Muslim Uyghur minority and their demands for political and civil rights, and other issues of identity and freedom of religion. The round-table discussed also covered the prospects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the potential increase of Chinese political and commercial presence in the Middle East.