Chinese Soft Power and Green Energy Investment in the Greater Middle East

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 59-72
Author(s):  
Juan R. I. Cole

Green energy investment is one avenue through with the Chinese government is beginning to create a new relationship with the Middle East. Chinese solar panel firms have research and production advantages in the world market, but face rising labor costs at home. The Communist Party under Xi Jinping has pursued two major policies, “Go out!” and “One Road, One Belt.” The first refers to Chinese firms creating factories abroad to benefit from cheap labor and from local low-tariff trade blocs. China will therefore set up solar panel factories in the United Arab Emirates and in Morocco. Both countries have strong national commitments to renewable energy, but also have access to a wide range of export markets. This sort of investment changes China’s relationship to the region from being one of buying hydrocarbons to a much more intensive set of interactions, including acting as employer for local labor.

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panos Kourgiotis

This essay addresses the ideological utilization of religion in the international relations of the United Arab Emirates during the Arab Spring and beyond. By referring to the theoretical framework of public diplomacy and analyzing UAE regional and domestic attitudes, this essay intends to examine the politics of ‘moderate Islam’ in line with: (a) the monarchy’s nation building visions for the 21st century; (b) its national rebranding strategies; (c) its geopolitical empowerment in the Gulf and the Middle East. Throughout our analysis, it is argued that even though ‘moderate Islam’ has been devised for creating ‘soft power’, it serves ‘sharp power’ as well. As will become obvious, this has been mainly the case as far as the containment of Political Islam is concerned.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Andrea Ghiselli ◽  
Pippa Morgan

Abstract The nexus between China's human and economic presence abroad and its security policy is increasingly important. Within this nexus, this study statistically explores whether and to what extent Chinese contractors reduce the number of Chinese nationals they send to work in North Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa when the security situation in host states worsens. We find no significant evidence that either warnings from Chinese embassies and consulates to leave host countries or expert perceptions of host stability influence the number of Chinese workers. Worker numbers appear to decrease significantly only in the aftermath of large-scale violent events. These findings suggest that Chinese companies are relatively acceptant of security risks and uncertainties, despite the decade-long regulatory efforts of the Chinese government to make them more security-conscious overseas and, thus, to reduce pressure to use diplomatically and economically expensive military means for their protection.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S662-S662
Author(s):  
Alita Miller ◽  
Sarah McLeod ◽  
Samir Moussa ◽  
Meredith Hackel

Abstract Background The incidence of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) is increasing at an alarming rate in certain regions of the world, including the Middle East. Sulbactam (SUL) has intrinsic antibacterial activity against Ab; however, the prevalence of β-lactamases in Ab has limited its therapeutic utility. Durlobactam (DUR, formerly ETX2514) is a diazabicyclooctenone β-lactamase inhibitor with broad-spectrum activity against Ambler class A, C and D β-lactamases that restores SUL activity in vitro against MDR Ab. SUL-DUR is an antibiotic designed to treat serious infections caused by Acinetobacter, including multidrug-resistant strains, that is currently in Phase 3 clinical development. In global surveillance studies of >3600 isolates from 2012-2017, the MIC90 of SUL-DUR was 2 mg/L. Although surveillance systems to monitor MDR infections in the Middle East are currently being established, quantitative, prevalence-based data are not yet available. Therefore, the potency of SUL-DUR was determined against 190 recent, diverse Ab clinical isolates from this region. Methods 190 Ab isolates were collected between 2016 - 2018 from medical centers located in Israel (N = 47), Jordan (N = 36), Qatar (N = 13), Kuwait (N = 42), Lebanon (N = 8), Saudi Arabia (N = 24) and United Arab Emirates (N = 20). Seventy-five percent and 20.5% of these isolates were from respiratory and blood stream infections, respectively. Susceptibility to SUL-DUR and comparator agents was performed according to CLSI guidelines, and data analysis was performed using CLSI and EUCAST breakpoint criteria where available. Results This collection of isolates was 86% carbapenem-resistant and 90% sulbactam-resistant (based on a breakpoint of 4 mg/L). The addition of SUL-DUR (fixed at 4 mg/L) decreased the sulbactam MIC90 from 64 mg/L to 4 mg/L. Only 3 isolates (1.6%) had SUL-DUR MIC values of > 4 mg/L. This potency was consistent across countries, sources of infection and subsets of resistance phenotypes. Conclusion SUL-DUR demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against recent clinical isolates of Ab from the Middle East, including MDR isolates. These data support the global development of SUL-DUR for the treatment of MDR Ab infections. Disclosures Alita Miller, PhD, Entasis Therapeutics (Employee) Sarah McLeod, PhD, Entasis Therapeutics (Employee) Samir Moussa, PhD, Entasis Therapeutics (Employee)


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_D) ◽  
pp. D118-D120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afzalhussein Yusufali ◽  
Nooshin Bazargani ◽  
Amrish Agrawal ◽  
Khalifa Muhammed ◽  
Hanan Obaid ◽  
...  

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 592
Author(s):  
Stephanie N. Seifert ◽  
Jonathan E. Schulz ◽  
Stacy Ricklefs ◽  
Michael Letko ◽  
Elangeni Yabba ◽  
...  

Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a persistent zoonotic pathogen with frequent spillover from dromedary camels to humans in the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in limited outbreaks of MERS with a high case-fatality rate. Full genome sequence data from camel-derived MERS-CoV variants show diverse lineages circulating in domestic camels with frequent recombination. More than 90% of the available full MERS-CoV genome sequences derived from camels are from just two countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this study, we employ a novel method to amplify and sequence the partial MERS-CoV genome with high sensitivity from nasal swabs of infected camels. We recovered more than 99% of the MERS-CoV genome from field-collected samples with greater than 500 TCID50 equivalent per nasal swab from camel herds sampled in Jordan in May 2016. Our subsequent analyses of 14 camel-derived MERS-CoV genomes show a striking lack of genetic diversity circulating in Jordan camels relative to MERS-CoV genome sequences derived from large camel markets in KSA and UAE. The low genetic diversity detected in Jordan camels during our study is consistent with a lack of endemic circulation in these camel herds and reflective of data from MERS outbreaks in humans dominated by nosocomial transmission following a single introduction as reported during the 2015 MERS outbreak in South Korea. Our data suggest transmission of MERS-CoV among two camel herds in Jordan in 2016 following a single introduction event.


Significance Aluminium smelters are being hampered by high power prices and shortages amid the switch towards green energy sources. China has been forced to start importing aluminium at record levels to tackle domestic shortages. Impacts The green energy transition will strain power markets, increasing the challenge of producing energy-intensive aluminium. Supply will gradually diversify as outputs stagnates in China but looks set to rise in Argentina, Brazil, the Middle East and Russia. Consumers and governments in importing nations will increase aluminium recovery and recycling to cut pressure on the supply chain.


Author(s):  
I. Labinskaya

Political developments in North Africa and the Middle East that have begun in January 2011 are gaining strength and involve an increasing number of Arab countries. The participants of the Roundtable – experts from IMEMO, Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS), Institute of the USA and Canada (RAS) and Mrs. E. Suponina from “Moscow News” newspaper analyzed a wide range of issues associated with these events. Among them are: 1) the reasons for such a large-scale explosion, 2) the nature of the discussed developments (revolutions, riots?) and who are the subjects of the current “Arab drama”, 3) the role of Islam and political Islamism, 4) the role of external factors.


2011 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Taherbaneh ◽  
A. H. Rezaie ◽  
H. Ghafoorifard ◽  
K. Rahimi ◽  
M. B. Menhaj ◽  
...  

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