China’s role in the Middle East and North Africa has grown in recent years as Beijing has expanded its engagement in energy, trade, infrastructure, and diplomacy across the region. At the same time, Middle Eastern and North African governments are assessing what deeper ties with China can offer and where Beijing’s influence still falls short. What draws China to the Middle East and North Africa, what is its strategy there, and how are shifts in U.S. policy shaping Beijing’s regional approach?
Chuchu Zhang joined us on March 24, 2026 to discuss China’s interests in the Middle East and North Africa and how governments in the region view China.
Chuchu Zhang
Chuchu Zhang is Associate Professor at Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs and Deputy Director of its Center for Middle Eastern Studies. She is also a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and an adjunct professor at ESSCA School of Management in France. She earned her PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on China-Middle East relations, Chinese foreign policy, and geoeconomics. She is the author of Filling a Power Vacuum? China’s Changing Role under the Belt and Road Initiative (2025) and Islamist Party Mobilization (2020), and has published widely in leading journals on international relations and Middle East politics.