The ChinaMed Project - T.wai, together with the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” is excited to announce a new series of online seminars on “China and the Middle East from the Cold War to the Present” for this Fall 2025 semester.

This is the largest webinar series we have organized to date, featuring distinguished scholars and experts from the region and beyond, offering valuable insights into China’s evolving role in the Middle East and North Africa, with discussions on security issues and conflict mediation, China’s digital and AI footprint in the region, and the limits and future of Beijing’s influence.

All seminars of this series will be chaired by Enrico Fardella, Director of the ChinaMed Project - T.wai and Professor of History and Institutions of Asia at the University of Naples “L’Orientale.”

To participate in one, some or all the webinars, and have the possibility to engage with our outstanding line-up of experts, please register at https://forms.gle/NbfQ71MsuHf6JFfr9 or contact us at chinamed@tochina.it.

We hope to see you there!

SCHEDULE:

• FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CEST)
  Jonathan FULTON (Zayed University)
  “The Logic and Limits of China’s Presence in the Gulf”

• FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CEST)
  ‍Andrea GHISELLI (University of Exeter & ChinaMed - T.wai) &
  Mohammed ALSUDAIRI (Australian National University)
  “Book Presentation ‘Narratives of Sino-Middle Eastern Futures’”

• FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CEST) 
  Tin Hinane EL KADI (University of Oxford)
  “Connectivity or Control? China’s Digital Expansion and the Development Dilemma in North Africa”

• FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CET)
  The ChinaMed Research Team
  “ChinaMed Report Presentation: ‘Regional Perspectives on China in the Middle East after the Israel–Iran War’”

• FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CET) 
  Emilie TRAN (Hong Kong Metropolitan University)
  “China’s IT and AI Diplomacy in the Middle East”

• FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CET)
  Jesse MARKS (Rihla Research & Advisory)
  “Is China a Mediator in the Middle East?”

• FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CET)
  Razan SHAWAMREH (Al-Quds Bard College)
  ”China and the Gaza War: The Politics of Not Saying ‘Genocide’”

• THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00 (CET)
  Omar AL-UBAYDLI (Bahrain Center for Strategic, International, and Energy Studies)
  “Why China is so compatible economically with the Gulf countries”