China in MENA: An EU Perspective

Many nations with interests in the Middle East are now reevaluating their strategies in light of China's rise as a key player in the region. Governments and businesses in the MENA region did not have to think much about China until recently. The last ten years have seen a significant change in that. And whether you're talking about commerce, investment, security, development, or diplomacy, the subject of what Beijing thinks is one that is constantly raised. Additionally, this is complicated by China's difficult interactions with numerous international events and economies.

In today's podcast, we are joined by Camille Lons. Camille is a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies or IISS. She will discuss how Europeans see China as China is now rising as a big player in geopolitics in the MENA region and the world.

Takeaways
How does the EU respond to the rising influence of China in the MENA region and the world?
The areas where the EU and China can cooperate in the MENA region
How does the EU position itself in the US-China rivalry in the geopolitics
Why does China still have a strong influence in the region despite the warnings and issues given by the western countries

Quotes
The Europeans realized how dependent they were on China during COVID when it came to their supply chains, and this acted as a wakeup call that they were now vulnerable to rising authoritarian powers - Camille

The EU and China can really cooperate when talking about clean energy infrastructures in the MENA region. - Camille

The EU is trying to position itself as a third party in the US-China rivalry. It means that other nations have the opportunity to choose the EU as a partner over the US and China. - Camille

One of the concerns of the EU about the China's presence in the MENA is that China is the provider of the finance development in the region and these might raise some concerns such as humanitarian issues, labor issues and below standard practices - Camille.

Featured in this Episode
Jonathan Fulton
Nonresident Senior Fellow for Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council. Assistant Professor of Political Science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi
Profile: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/jonathan-fulton/
Linkedin: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-fulton-2627414b
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathandfulton

Camille Lons
Research Associate, IISS-Middle East
Profile: https://www.iiss.org/people/middle-east/camille-lons
Twitter: https://twitter.com/camillelons

Links mentioned in the episode
IISS China connect project
Check it here -> https://chinaconnects.iiss.org

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:02 How does Europe see China both within Europe and globally
09:28 EU's perspective on China's rising presence in the MENA region
22:27 China is a big player in providing development aid in the MENA region
26:35 Nations that are challenging for the EU and have China's influence
32:14 Areas where the EU and China can cooperate
38:43 Why China is an attractive political partner in the MENA region
43:10 How the EU is using the US engagement in the region as their main narratives

This podcast was produced by Heartcast Media.
https://www.heartcastmedia.com