China’s "march" towards the region began in the late 1970s and has accelerated each year, expanding its scope from an economic to a political and security horizon. As China’s economy diversified, it required more resources and promising markets; the massive energy basins in the eastern and southern parts of the Mediterranean region and rich developed markets in the northern one seemed a perfect destination for Beijing’s new ambitions. Today, China’s powerful economic presence is a common feature in the vast majority of the Mediterranean countries.

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Against this background, how does China’s growing global role affect the current dynamics of the Mediterranean region? Scholars and experts from China and a number of Mediterranean countries gathered in Rome on October 28, 2019 for the ChinaMed Symposium 2019 to discuss this issue and present the ChinaMed Report 2019 - China’s New Role in the Wider Mediterranean Region.

The ChinaMed Symposium is a closed-door event - to be held under Chatham House Rule - for a select group of experts and practitioners. The event will be divided in five sections addressing the following topics:

• The Mediterranean Region in China’s Grand Strategy
• The New Centrality of the Eastern Mediterranean and the role of China
• China’s interests in the Southern Arc of the Mediterranean
• China’s diplomatic litmus test: the Middle East
• Italy and China in the Wider Mediterranean Region

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