Show notes
The increasing engagement of Iran towards China is nothing but a major issue in the Gulf region. Yet, despite this, GCC countries have been cooperating with China when talking about trade, investments, politics, and even culture.In this podcast, We are joined by Mohammed Al-Sudairi, a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Asian Studies Program at KFCRIS. Mohammed and Jonathan talked about the political view of GCC towards China, the relationship of GCC countries with China in terms of people, culture, and businesses, and the competition narrative of the two countries, the USA and China in the region. Key TakeawaysThe political perspective of GCC countries toward ChinaThe early diplomatic ties of some GCC countries with ChinaOman and Kuwait's early relations with China suddenly become passive.Chinese investments moving to other countries due to bad politicsThe Sino-Arab citizens assimilate the culture and life of Arab peopleCompetition narrative of US and China in GCCImpression of Gulf people towards ChinaThe Saudi citizens trying to live in the Mainland China QuotesEnergy has been the main catalyst for this orientation between GCC and China - MohammedThere is solidified imagery about China as a potential alternative to the U.S.- MohammedA lot of these individuals wrote about their experiences and depicted China as this great liberatory power. - MohammedFeatured in this EpisodeJonathan FultonNonresident Senior Fellow for Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council. Assistant Professor of Political Science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi Profile: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/jonathan-fulton/Linkedin: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-fulton-2627414bTwitter: https://twitter.com/jonathandfulton Mohammed Al-SudairiSenior Research Fellow and Head of Asian Studies Program at KFCRIS.King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Asian Studies Unit HeadProfile: https://www.kfcris.com/en/researcher/10 Email: [email protected] Phone: +852-6816-4293 Chapters00:00 Intro01:38 GCC's attitude towards China06:04 Early diplomatic ties of GCC with China08:06 Early relations between China and GCC suddenly become silent10:45 Moving to other countries14:55 Regional representation of the Gulf Peninsula17:00 Sino-Arab citizens20:44 US-GCC relations22:55 Competition narrative of US and China in GCC countries32:57 Impressions of Gulf people toward China40:32 Saudi people moving to China This podcast was produced by Heartcast Media.www.heartcastmedia.com