As traditional centres of power face growing challenges, new forms of international cooperation are taking shape. China and Middle Eastern countries are forging closer ties through trade, investment, diplomacy, and institutions such as BRICS, raising important questions about the future of global governance. This panel brings together experts from across the field to examine how China and the Middle East are navigating a changing international order and what these developments reveal about the prospects for a more multipolar world.

With Drs Jonathan Fulton (Zayed University), Mohammed Al-Sudairi (Australian National University), Émilie Tran (Hong Kong Metropolitan University), Reyhaneh Fallah-Noshiravani (Freeman Air and Space Institute, Kings) and Andrea Ghiselli (Chair), University of Exeter.

Speakers

Andrea Ghiselli is a Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Exeter and Head of Research for the ChinaMed Project at the TOChina Hub. He previously spent nine years at Fudan University in China. His research focuses on Chinese foreign policy, particularly China’s relations with the Middle East and wider Mediterranean region, as well as foreign policy analysis and international political economy. He is the author of Protecting China’s Interests Overseas: Securitization and Foreign Policy (Oxford University Press, 2021).

Émilie Tran is an Assistant Professor and Programme and Stream Leader in Politics and Public Administration at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. She is also a Research Fellow at the Centre d’études et de recherche internationales (CÉRIUM) at the Université de Montréal. Her research examines China’s global engagement, with particular interests in health and digital diplomacy, Chinese diaspora communities, and China’s relations with Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa. She is co-editor of China in the Mediterranean: An Arena of Strategic Competition? (2025) and the Handbook of Chinese Migration to Europe (2024).

Jonathan Fulton is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. He is a leading specialist on China’s relations with the Middle East, particularly China’s engagement with the Gulf states and the Belt and Road Initiative. He is the author of China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies and has edited and co-edited several books on China–Middle East relations and Gulf security. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Leicester.

Mohammed Al-Sudairi is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations of the Arabic-Speaking World at the Australian National University and an Affiliated Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Asian Studies Program at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia. He holds a PhD in Comparative Politics from the University of Hong Kong, as well as master's degrees in International Relations from Peking University and International History from the London School of Economics. His research focuses on China–Middle East relations, Chinese politics, and the historical and contemporary connections between East Asia and the Arab world.

Reyhaneh Fallah-Noshiravani is a Research Associate at the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King’s College London. She holds an MA and PhD from King’s College London and is also a graduate of the University of Toronto. Her research interests include international relations, international history, space security, deterrence, the Global Cold War and Iran. She has previously worked at Chatham House, the United Nations Compensation Commission and the LSE Middle East Centre and has held senior roles in the private sector focused on strategy and ESG.

This is a free event, which means we overbook to allow for no-shows and avoid empty seats. While we generally do not have to turn people away, this does mean we cannot guarantee all ticket holders a place. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Those without tickets will not be admitted.

This event is hosted as part of King’s Lau China Institute’s CHINA WEEK (19-23 October) - a series of events designed to engage a wider audience in China. Find out more at kcl.ac.uk/china-week