Register Now – Limited Capacity
DECEMBER 2, 2016 • WASHINGTON, DC
When: 8:30am – 1:00pm
Where: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Kenney Auditorium; 1740 Massachusetts Avenue NW; Washington, DC
China’s Role in the Middle East
In Partnership with Johns Hopkins SAIS – China Studies Department
At the beginning of 2016, President Xi Jinping visited Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt signaling Beijing’s new level of engagement with the Middle East. Chinese state media labeled China’s approach “bright, clear dawn.” But what are Beijing’s goals and how does it aim to achieve them? Focusing on both the security and soft-power dimension as well as energy and infrastructure, the Institute of Current World Affairs and the Johns Hopkins-SAIS China Studies Program will bring together leading experts to illuminate China’s evolving relationship with the Middle East.
SPEAKERS
Kent Calder (Keynote) – Edwin O. Reischauer Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Director of the Asia Studies Program
Naser al-Tamimi (from Doha) – Independent UK-based Middle East Researcher, Political Analyst, and Commentator
I-wei Jennifer Chang – Program Specialist in the China Program at the U.S. Institute of Peace
Joshua Eisenman – Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs and Senior Fellow for China Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC
Chaoling Feng – Senior Research Associate, KNG Health
Sarah Kaiser-Cross (from Dubai) – Works for a private financial institution based in Dubai, focusing on the nexus of contemporary security threats and finance in the Middle East.
Fadi Mansour (Moderator) – Correspondent with Aljazeera Media Network based in Washington, DC covering domestic issues, American foreign policy, and world affairs. Mr. Mansour holds an MIPP degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Camille Pecastaing – Senior Associate Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Robert Sutter – Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the Elliott School of George Washington University