North Africa in China’s Strategic Thinking

On October 18, 2024, the North Africa Initiative of the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and the Middle East Institute Switzerland organized an insightful hybrid panel discussion that explored China’s historical engagement in North Africa, its current policies and strategies, and its future ambitions. This session featured policymakers and experts from Washington D.C., Shanghai, Brussels and North Africa, and further addresses the implications of China’s North African engagement for US and EU foreign policy and strategic thinking.

About the Speakers

Adam K Webb, Co-Director of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, HNC Resident Professor of Political Science Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

Chuchu Zhang, Associate Professor of International Relations, Fudan University

Jonathan Fulton, Nonresident Senior Fellow for Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Yahia H. Zoubir, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Middle East Council on Global Affairs, Doha

Andrea Ghiselli, Assistant Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA) of Fudan University and non-resident Research Fellow with the TOChina Hub and the Head of Research for the TOChina Hub’s ChinaMed Project

Victor J. Willi (Discussant), Co-Founder and Vice President Research of the Middle East Institute Switzerland (MEIS)

Moderator

Hafed Al-Ghwell, Senior Fellow at SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and Executive Director of the North Africa Inititiave