Launch of Middle East Briefing Explores China-Gulf Ties and Beyond

September 1, 2022 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 2 minutes

Our parent publishing company, Asia Briefing, in turn owned by the consulting practice Dezan Shira & Associates, has today launched Middle East Briefing.

The website will introduce readers to the Middle East region, generally considered to include Turkiye, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, the Arabic world with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, Iran, Iraq, and Jordan in addition to Egypt and the Yemen. The focus will be mainly on the Gulf States in addition to Turkiye and Israel. The term ‘The Middle East’ was coined in the 20^th century to describe lands East of Europe as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East).

China needs oil and gas to fuel its rapid economic growth and to become the largest exporter of goods in the world; the Arab states of the Persian Gulf needed export revenues to finance the diversification of their economies. Countries such as Turkiye and Iran are developing into regional hubs between Europe, and Russia as well as Central and South Asia.

Articles will focus on foreign investment market intelligence, trade and investment, including legal, tax and compliance issues for foreign investors, in addition to introducing Middle-Eastern based companies to the growing trade and investment ties with South Asia.

China’s relationship with the region is significant; it recently signed a massive, US$400 billion trade and investment deal with Saudi Arabia, is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, while Hong Kong remains a financial centre with tax treaties to help facilitate the packaging of Middle-Eastern and Chinese financing for investment projects.

China is the Arab countries’ main bilateral trade partner, with figures amounting to US$330 billion in 2021. Figures for trade with Saudi Arabia and the Emirates alone amounted to $200 billion. Chinese investments in the Gulf – ports and infrastructure – has topped US$177 billion and these are creating additional investment and service opportunities in their own right, the knock-in effect of creating new infrastructure.

To learn about opportunities for businesses considering the Middle East, Middle East Briefing is the new primary source of intelligence.

Dezan Shira & Associates have established an office in Dubai to assist. For enquiries about the region please contact dubai@dezshira.com