The China Model's Middle East Appeal
Analyzing Middle Eastern states’ perceptions and emulation of a China model and China’s changing presentation of its model to appeal to target countries.
Today, most Middle Eastern states seek to emulate at least some aspects of China’s model of economic, social, and political organization. China’s path has produced decades of strong economic growth and relative social quiescence under the firm guidance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CSIS Middle East Program seeks to offer timely analysis of how Middle Eastern elites perceive and seek to emulate a China model; what states find both appealing and cautionary about the prospect of seeking to follow the Chinese path; and how China tailors its presentation of what the China model offers to fit the needs and desires of individual target countries. In particular, we will explore how states evaluate the Chinese proposition—both its economic and security aspects—and how they weigh that proposition against the Western commitment to support multilateral architectures for economics and trade, as well as a commitment to assist governments against foreign threats.
Featured Analysis

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Jon Alterman in Survival: The ‘China Model’ in the Middle East
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — March 28, 2024

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What the Red Sea Crisis Reveals about China’s Middle East Strategy
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — February 15, 2024
Featured Testimony

Photo: Cameron Glass/CSIS
China and the Middle East
Congressional Testimony by Jon B. Alterman — April 19, 2024
All The China Model's Middle East Appeal Content
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The Middle East’s View of the “China Model”
Report by Jon B. Alterman — September 19, 2024
What the Red Sea Crisis Reveals about China’s Middle East Strategy
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — February 15, 2024
Who Wins When U.S.-Iran Tensions Rise? China.
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — May 20, 2019
Chinese and Russian Influence in the Middle East
Congressional Testimony by Jon B. Alterman — May 9, 2019