Kai Strittmatter (writer and correspondent for Sueddeutsche Zeitung)

The past seven years under the leadership of China’s strong man Xi Jinping have been remarkable. Repression and censorship are stronger than they have been for decades, and ideology has crept back in.

Professor Avery Goldstein (University of Pennsylvania)

China's grand strategy under Xi Jinping is clearly distinctive. It does not, however, fundamentally break with the grand strategy that China has embraced since the early 1990s—one that aims to realize what is now labeled “the dream of national rejuvenation.”

Lynette H. Ong (University of Toronto)

Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, China’s domestic political landscape has gone through some significant transformation.

Professor Andrew Wedeman (Georgia State University)

Analysis of the anti-corruption crackdown launched by Xi Jinping in late 2012, early 2013 shows its primary effect was to dramatically increase the number of senior officials – popularly known as “tigers” – charged with corruption.

Jonathan Fulton (Zayed University - Abu Dhabi, UAE)

China is a major economic actor in the Persian Gulf and its expansive Belt and Road Initiative ambitions add a strategic element.  In an intensely competitive regional security environment, China has maintained an unusual approach, deepening ties with all Gulf states, perhaps best exemplified by its comprehensive strategic partnerships with Iran and its rivals Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Bill Hayton (Chatham House)

In this talk Bill Hayton will argue that the idea of a Han Race was constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century as a political strategy to support the arguments of revolutionary Chinese nationalism.

Anoush Ehteshami (Durham University)

China has been leading the Middle East/West Asia’s ‘Asianization’ since the late 1990s and has emerged as the primary trading and investment partner of ME/WAsian countries. PRC-IRI relations in this process stand out for both geopolitical and ideo-political reasons.