The Mapping Connections Project is pleased to announce the recent publication of an article by Dr. Oliver Hayakawa in the journal Mediterranean Politics. Oliver is an ECR on the project and a Lecturer in International Relations on the joint degree programme 'International Governance and Public Policy' delivered in partnership between the University of Keele, UK, and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), China.

This paper examines China's overseas industrial zone in Egypt from a local perspective, assessing whether Belt and Road (BRI)-linked zones have effectively responded to local needs and development objectives. China’s industrial parks under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have facilitated Chinese investment abroad while aiming to support host countries' industrialisation, but their effectiveness varies.

Mapping Connections Early Career Researcher Jie Wang contributed an essay titled “A Chinese Conversation Nādi in Cairo: The Grassroots Popularity of Mandarin Chinese in the Middle East” to the Focus section of Global China Pulse

This working paper explores the new frontiers of green capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula by taking Ibri II as a case study. Ibri II is a solar plant inaugurated in Oman in 2022 with seed funding provided by China. Its establishment has facilitated the development of a land corridor that links Saudi Arabia to Oman through a new highway, connecting Red Sea and Indian Ocean trade routes and reshaping the economic geography of the Arabian Peninsula.

Our concluding blog from the Mapping Connections Institute is written by Diana Ishaqat, a development practitioner from Jordan, who discusses the nature and perception of Chinese aid to the Arab world

Two new pieces published by Zaynab El Bernoussi

In this blog from the Mapping Connections Institute, Javier Guirado Alonso examines China's involvement in Oman's Ibri II solar plant, and the implications for Saudi-Oman relations

In this blog from the Mapping Connections Institute, Noura Wahby and Sijia Zhao explore the significant role of entrepreneurs from the Chinese diaspora in the granite and marble industry of Shaq AlThoban, or 'Snake Valley', Egypt

Halal is principally a standard of what is permissible for consumption and use in Islam. It presents both a growth opportunity for different social actors (firms, government institutions, consumers) and is also becoming a trend in its own right. This working paper explores the general expansion of global halal markets, focusing particularly on halal food. It provides an overview of the crucial role of actors engaged in halal certification and quality standardization, and analyzes the possibility of China emerging as a major player in the global halal industry, particularly in the MENA region.

In this new blog from our Mapping Connections Institute, Xinyu Lin discusses the 'Hundred Schools Project' in the UAE, a program to incorporate Mandarin into the UAE's national educational curriculum, from public kindergarten to state high school

In this new piece, Mapping Connections Early Career Researcher Jie Wang explores the history and meaning of a unique Arabic-language magazine, Sawt Al-Arab, which was published between 2013 and 2017 by a group of Arab diaspora residents living in China

In our second Arabic-language blog from the Mapping Connections Institute, Oussama Dhiab explores the scale of organised Chinese tours to Tunisia and some of the challenges that these present

In this Arabic language blog from the Mapping Connections Institute, Nassiba Tamma from the University of Boumerdes in Algeria explores China's infrastructure expansion in the Maghreb, with a particular focus on Algeria.

In this next blog from our Mapping Connections Institute, Muntaha Abed reflects on the importance of studying the shared experiences of student movements across West and East Asia

In this further instalment of blogs from our Mapping Connections Institute, Ying Huang explores the significance of Sino-Arab film weeks in building closer relationships at the popular level between China and the Arab world during the 1950s and 1960s

In this fourth blog from our Mapping Connections Institute, Hala Abi Saleh discusses different ways of thinking about how Saudi Arabia and the UAE perceive their fast developing relationships with China

This next instalment of blog pieces developed by participants at the Mapping Connections Institute presents an analysis of China's memory narratives and their role in supporting Sino-Arab diplomatic and economic initiatives. It is written by Abdelhamid Mecheri, a Lecturer at Boumerdes University (UMBB), Algeria

In our second blog from the Beirut Mapping Connections Institute, we present an analysis by Samir Ramzy on the impact that competition around Artificial Intelligence might have on the balance of power in the region.

Over the coming weeks, we will be presenting blogs written by participants at the Mapping Connections Institute, held in Beirut between 27-30 May 2024 as part of the Inter-Asia Partnership's (IAP) 'Inter-Asia Week'. The first of these explores the new regional dynamics of the Middle East in light of the war in Gaza and heightening US-China rivalries.

The Mapping Connections project recently concluded an Institute on Mapping Arab Region-China Connections’ convened between 27th – 30th May as part of the Inter-Asia Partnership’s (IAP) ‘Inter-Asia Week’.