Featured Projects

Photo: WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images

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.

Photo: Frederic J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: Frederic J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

The Vital Triangle

This volume explores the complex interrelationships among China, the United States, and the Middle East—what the authors call the "vital triangle."

Book by Jon B. Alterman and John W. Garver — May 20, 2008

Featured Testimony

Photo: Cameron Glass/CSIS

Photo: Cameron Glass/CSIS

China and the Middle East

China sees the Middle East as the point of the spear of creating a different world which is more mercantilist and less committed to international law and multilateralism.

Congressional Testimony by Jon B. Alterman — April 19, 2024

All China-Middle East Content

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China in the Middle East

Please join the CSIS Middle East Program for a conversation about the evolving role of China in the Middle East and its implications for U.S. regional policy.

Event — November 4, 2024

China in the Middle East

On November 4, the CSIS Middle East Program hosted a discussion with Jude Blanchette, Rick Waters, and Yun Sun on China’s ambitions in the region, the future of great power competition, and Dr. Alterman’s report about the Middle East's view of the "China Model."

Transcript — November 4, 2024

The Middle East’s View of the “China Model”

China does not seek to replace or outcompete the United States in the Middle East. Instead, China is working to untie the Middle East from the United States and make the region and the world more receptive to China through its model of political and economic development.

Report by Jon B. Alterman — September 19, 2024

China and the Middle East

China sees the Middle East as the point of the spear of creating a different world which is more mercantilist and less committed to international law and multilateralism.

Congressional Testimony by Jon B. Alterman — April 19, 2024

China's Approach to the Middle East

Please join the Interpret: China project for a discussion of China's strategy for engagement with countries in the Middle East.

Event — January 31, 2024

China’s Essential Role in the Gulf States’ Energy Transitions

China has established itself as an essential partner in Gulf states’ energy transition, serving as an investor and developer in renewable energy projects. Western governments, however, have been reluctant to compete with Chinese enterprises in the region.

Brief by Faris Al-Sulayman and Jon B. Alterman — December 11, 2023

Water in a Multipolar World: China and the Issue of Water Management

Senior Fellow Natasha Hall and Professor Ashok Swain argue that as water becomes scarcer, China’s financing and construction of dams worldwide could have profound social, security, and environmental consequences.   

Commentary by Natasha Hall and Ashok Swain — August 14, 2023