Panelists will explore the strengthening economic ties between China and MENA countries, and their geopolitical and cultural implications.

China’s engagement with the Middle East and North Africa is growing significantly, particularly with Algeria, Egypt, Iran, and countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Beyond forging bilateral relations, Beijing has also used plurilateralism— such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation（FOCAC）and the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum（CASCF）— and ‘partnership diplomacy’ to cultivate its relationships. Most MENA countries have agreed to participate in China’s transcontinental Belt and Road initiative（BRI）, prompting concerns among some western powers. As the MENA region contends with fiscal challenges of the COVID-19 fallout（twin crises for hydrocarbon exporters）, it is unclear whether Chinese ambitions and engagements will expand at the same pace in the coming years.

Panelists will explore the strengthening economic ties between China and MENA countries, and their geopolitical and cultural implications.

How do historical factors drive China-MENA relations today? How balanced or asymmetric are relations between China and MENA countries? Beyond hydrocarbons, which sectors are the most important to commercial ties? Is Chinese activity in the MENA digital space problematic for allies in Europe and the U.S? Will Beijing’s growing economic interests prompt a more significant political（and security）engagement in the region? How is ‘soft power’ used between the two sides and has it been effective? How will the fallout of COVID-19 impact BRI projects and China-MENA relations?”

MODERATOR— Mr. Adel Hamaizia is Committee Vice-Chairman of the Oxford Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Forum（OxGAPS）, where he is the co-editor of the thematic-quarterly, “Gulf Affairs.” He is an independent consultant advising governments and private sector organizations throughout the GCC and North Africa, with a focus on political risk, economic development, and public diplomacy issues. Mr. Hamaizia also serves as a researcher at the University of Oxford, where he previously taught Middle East politics. He was formerly a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS's Department of Financial and Management Studies. Mr. Hamaizia is also an associate at Global Partners Governance and an associate fellow at Chatham House.

PANELIST— Dr. Abdel Aziz Hamad Aluwaisheg is the GCC Assistant Secretary General for Political and Negotiation Affairs. Before assuming this post in 2011, he served as GCC Director-General for International Economic Relations（2009-2011）and Director of Economic Integration（1999- 2008）. Between 2002 and 2011, he was also responsible for setting up the GCC Common Market. Before joining the GCC in 1999, he served as an economist and legal expert at the United Nations. He has taught at a number of US and GCC universities, most recently at Georgetown University. He writes a weekly column on current economic and international affairs in Arab News（Saudi Arabia）and a column in Arabic in the London-based "Asharq Al-Awsat."

PANELIST— Ms. Martina Fuchs is a Europe Business Correspondent for Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua and China Global Television Network（CGTN）, Commentator for China Radio International（CRI）, International Consultant for the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, and International Advisor for the St. Gallen Symposium. Previously, Ms. Fuchs was CNNMoney Switzerland TV Anchor in Zurich and CGTN Senior Business Reporter in Beijing. Before that, she worked as Reuters Economy Correspondent for the Gulf Arab region in Dubai and Reuters Financial TV Producer in London. Ms. Fuchs speaks nine languages, including German, French, English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Swahili.

PANELIST— Dr. Yahia H. Zoubir is a professor of international relations and international management, and director of research in geopolitics at KEDGE Business School. He has been international visiting faculty in numerous universities and business schools for the last 30 years in China, the United States, and various European and Asian countries.  Professor Zoubir has published dozens of scholarly works, including books, articles, entries in encyclopedias, and book chapters in international politics, foreign policy, governance, and security issues. He has also served as consultant for governments and companies worldwide. In 2020, he was Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar.

PANELIST— Dr. Jiuzhou Duan is an assistant professor of political science in the Institute for International and Area Studies at Tsinghua University, China. He has previously taught international affairs at Schwarzman College in Tsinghua University. He was a former Rajawali Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and visiting scholar at American University in Cairo. His research is focused on the field of Middle East politics and society in general, with a special concentration on state-society relations, China-Middle East relations, and the political economy of development.

Please register here for the Zoom webinar. After you register, we will forward Zoom access instructions for the event. The talk is viewable using a desktop or laptop computer, tablet, smartphone, or by calling with a telephone. You may also view the webinar via YouTube live stream by returning to the CMED event page on the day of the event. Questions can only be submitted by those participating via Zoom. For those who are unable to join the live event, a recording will be available on the CMED website afterwards.

Sponsor（s）: Center for Middle East Development, Asia Pacific Center, Center for Chinese Studies

Exhibition as an Art Historical Space

The 1933 Chinese Art Exhibition in Paris

Xu Beihong（right）and André Dezarroi（center）at the Chinese Art Exhibition, Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris, 1933. Photograph. Archives nationales, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, France.

Thursday, January 28, 2021
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Live via Zoom

Please Register to Receive Zoom Webinar Link

The 1933 Chinese Art Exhibition in Paris played a crucial role in establishing the category of “modern Chinese painting” in Europe. Opened at the Musée Jeu de Paume in May 1933, the Exposition de la Peinture Chinoise was the first large-scale exhibition of Chinese art in France. It attracted unprecedented numbers of viewers, and afterwards the museum founded a Chinese art gallery. Motivated by the success of earlier Japanese art exhibitions in Paris, the curator Xu Beihong（1895-1953）collaborated with French art museums, private collectors and Chinese artists to organize this show. By analyzing its visual and textual narratives, I argue that this exhibition was shaped by three factors：the international politics between France, Japan, and China; the complex social network among Chinese artists; and the personal vision of the curator. It was through the interaction and competition among various agents and institutions that the category of “modern Chinese painting” was created in the early 20th century.

Stephanie Su is an Assistant Professor of Asian Art at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research interests include global modernism, historiography, the history of display and collecting, and cultures of color. Her book manuscript, Entangled Modernities：Constructing East Asian Classicism in Early Twentieth Century Chinese and Japanese Art, examines how regional identity and historical connections across East Asia led to the formation of modern nations and arts. Her second project, Colors of Modernity：Changing Aesthetics in Meiji Japanese Prints, explores the impact of the global trade network on the late 19th century Japanese prints. Her articles have appeared on the Frontier of Literary Studies in China, The Art Bulletin （forthcoming）, Kimono in Print：300 Years of Japanese Design, and among others.

Sponsor（s）: Center for Chinese Studies