The increasing engagement of Iran towards China is nothing but a major issue in the Gulf region. Yet, despite this, GCC countries have been cooperating with China when talking about trade, investments, politics, and even culture. In this podcast, We are joined by Mohammed Al-Sudairi, a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Asian Studies Program at KFCRIS. Mohammed and Jonathan talked about the political view of GCC towards China, the relationship of GCC countries with China in terms of people, culture, and businesses, and the competition narrative of the two countries, the USA and China in the region. Key Takeaways The political perspective of GCC countries toward China The early diplomatic ties of some GCC countries with China Oman and Kuwait's early relations with China suddenly become passive. Chinese investments moving to other countries due to bad politics The Sino-Arab citizens assimilate the culture and life of Arab people Competition narrative of US and China in GCC Impression of Gulf people towards China The Saudi citizens trying to live in the Mainland China Quotes Energy has been the main catalyst for this orientation between GCC and China - Mohammed There is solidified imagery about China as a potential alternative to the U.S.- Mohammed A lot of these individuals wrote about their experiences and depicted China as this great liberatory power. - Mohammed Featured in this Episode Jonathan Fulton Nonresident Senior Fellow for Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council. Assistant Professor of Political Science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi Profile: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/jonathan-fulton/ Linkedin: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-fulton-2627414b Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathandfulton Mohammed Al-Sudairi Senior Research Fellow and Head of Asian Studies Program at KFCRIS. King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Asian Studies Unit Head Profile: https://www.kfcris.com/en/researcher/10 Email: [email protected] Phone: +852-6816-4293 Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:38 GCC's attitude towards China 06:04 Early diplomatic ties of GCC with China 08:06 Early relations between China and GCC suddenly become silent 10:45 Moving to other countries 14:55 Regional representation of the Gulf Peninsula 17:00 Sino-Arab citizens 20:44 US-GCC relations 22:55 Competition narrative of US and China in GCC countries 32:57 Impressions of Gulf people toward China 40:32 Saudi people moving to China This podcast was produced by Heartcast Media. www.heartcastmedia.com