Who we are
A diverse set of scholars and practitioners.
Linguists, diplomats, economists, policy analysts, calligraphers, logisticians, anthropologists, humanitarian workers—these are but a few of the many profiles represented within our expanding network of China-Mideast specialists.
Representing more than a dozen nationalities.
Our members hail from all over the world, with the vast majority either originating from or primarily based in China and the Mideast.
With 40+ members—and counting.
Join our community and grow the Sino-Arabica network. Share a few details regarding your background, interests, and current pursuits to connect with our current members.
Events
Cairo Launch Event
Featured membership
Majduleen Nezar Al Ali
Majduleen is a Palestinian-Jordanian scholar currently pursuing her master’s at the London School of Economics as a Chevening Scholar. She earned her BA in International Relations from the University of Sharjah and is an alumna of the BRICS Summer School at Fudan University. Her research and professional experience center on China–Middle East relations, international political economy, and economic governance. Fluent in Arabic, English, German, and Mandarin, she has worked in public relations and digital engagement with Chinese multinationals and a UN agency, and is passionate about advancing inter-regional cultural and academic exchange.
Dounia Al Jijakli
Dounia is a French citizen of Syrian-Lebanese and Moroccan origin currently completing a master’s degree at Peking University, where she specializes in Politics and International Relations. Before coming to Beijing, Dounia completed her MPhil in Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, Trinity College, where she wrote her thesis on the French-Syrian diaspora in France. During her time at Cambridge, Dounia acted as a panelist for the Center of Human Rights and Governance Podcast, in which role she hosted former Syrian political prisoner Omar al Shogre for a discussion on the relationship between activism and human rights in the context of the Syrian revolution. Upon her graduation from Peking University, Dounia aspires to join the European civil service and become a European diplomat.
Hythem Almulla
Hythem is an international relations practitioner currently based in Doha, Qatar. He has experience serving in both government and international organizations, including in the United Nations Chinese Language Programme; as an advisor (observer) to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Directors; and as a public diplomacy officer for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hythem holds an M.Sc. in Foreign Service with a concentration in Global Politics and Security from Georgetown University, where he also earned his B.Sc. in Foreign Service. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy, East Asian politics, and illicit economies. As an undergraduate, Hythem spent a year at Peking University’s School of International Studies, where he completed a raft of political science courses taught entirely in Mandarin Chinese, a language he speaks fluently.
Raphael Angieri
Raphael is an independent linguist and analyst of global affairs. Currently based at the American University in Cairo as a Fulbright Scholar, he has over a decade of combined field experience between Greater China and the Mideast, the former primarily in Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei, and the latter in Egypt, Israel/Palestine, and Lebanon. Raphael has consulted on international policy for a diverse range of clients including AlphaSights, China Macro, China Six, Othrys, Oxford Business Group, PwC, Rhodium Group, and UNICEF, with contributions featured by China Digital Times, Euronews, France 24, The China-Global South Project, and The Guardian. He holds a B.Sc. in International Affairs from Georgetown University and an M.Sc. in International Development from Sciences Po Paris. Aside from his native English and French, Raphael is fluent in Chinese and Arabic.
Sama Aziz
Sama is an economist and multi-media designer with research experience in public policy and international trade. She has held positions in Arab-American and multinational organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, where she served as a precinct captain. Sama holds an MA in economics from Peking University, and a BA in Economics and German from San Diego State University, where she served as a research affiliate at the Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies. Currently based out of Damascus, she is researching Syria’s transitional economy. Sama is fluent in Arabic, English, and German.
Rania Bou Jabbour
Born and raised in Lebanon, Rania is passionate about cross-cultural communication and traveling. As an active member of and coordinator for the Beirut-based Arab-Chinese Cooperation and Development Association (ACCDA), she is committed to exploring and promoting the China-Mideast relationship, with a particular focus on facilitating the development of private-sector connections. She has been to China on two occasions, including once to attend a semester-long intensive Mandarin language program in the southwestern province of Yunnan. Rania speaks Arabic, English, and Chinese.
Amanda Chen
Amanda is an Italian-Chinese scholar and international relations practitioner specializing in China-Mideast. She is a Research Fellow at the ChinaMed Project and a graduate of the Sciences Po-Peking University Dual Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy. She also holds a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS University of London. With academic and lived experience across the Mideast, Europe, and China—including work in Jerusalem and the British Isles in support of children with disabilities—Amanda brings a cross-cultural and socially engaged perspective to her work. Her research interests include Chinese diplomacy in the Mideast, conflict studies, and peacebuilding. She speaks Arabic and Hebrew and aspires to a career in diplomacy, development, or the humanitarian sector.
Charlotte Chouler-Tissier
Charlotte is pursuing a Master’s in Intelligence and International Security at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies. She previously studied Chinese at the University of Edinburgh and spent time in Taiwan in 2021 and 2023—first for language study, then conducting regional analysis on the Indo-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and the Mideast, with an additional several months spent in Cairo, Egypt. Her dissertation bridges these regional interests, examining the expansion of Chinese investment in space infrastructure, with a focus on the Belt and Road Information Corridor and its broader implications for the global defense landscape.
Marco DeBiasi
Marco is a master’s student at the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at Beijing Foreign Studies University, where he specializes in Chinese-English-Arabic interpretation. Originally from Venice, Italy, he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, English, Modern Standard Arabic, and Darija, and is currently improving his command of Levantine Arabic.
Serene Debs
Serene Debs is a Syrian multi-media artist and art educator based in Hong Kong. Debs is the founder of“Măkè dù sī,” a project which introduces Levantine culture to HK through art, from food workshops to ancient printing techniques. She is currently building out the e-commerce side of this project, which aims to make the cultural component more financially sustainable through the sale of curated handmade products from the Levant to the Asia market. Debs has been featured in the SCMP and YUNG, among other publications.
Chloe Dempsey
Based out of Abu Dhabi, Chloe has a longstanding passion for emerging technology, policy, and international relations. She earned her master’s degree from Peking University, focusing her thesis on the cultured meat market in China. Cumulatively, Chloe has spent nearly half a decade in China, where she worked, studied, and traveled across most of the country’s provinces while based predominantly in Beijing. Since arriving in the UAE two years ago to pursue her current work in government advisory, Chloe has developed a keen interest in the broader region and is now learning Arabic to complement her proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.
Iskandar Ding
Iskandar Ding is a linguist based in London. He holds a B.A. in Modern Languages and Linguistics from the University of Oxford and an M.A. in Iranian Studies from SOAS University of London, where he is currently finishing his Ph.D. on the Yaghnobi language. As a member of the Hui Muslim community of China, Iskandar has a keen interest in the languages, literatures, and shared cultural heritage of the Eurasian Islamicate world, especially Persianate societies. Apart from English, Iskandar is fluent in Chinese, Persian, Uyghur, and has a good command of Urdu, Arabic, Russian, French, German, and Japanese. His research interests include the syntax of Iranian and Turkic languages, Persianate literatures, pre-Islamic religions in Central and West Asia, as well as Sino-Persian and Sino-Arabic textual history.
Melania El Khayat
Born in Italy to Egyptian parents, Melania holds a BA in International Relations and Chinese from SOAS University of London, where her research focused on religion and foreign policy. Currently pursuing a master’s degree at Peking University, she is deeply interested in the role of identity and culture in shaping international relations. Melania aspires to be a writer and, amidst other pursuits, is conducting research on the Coptic diaspora. She is fluent in Italian, Arabic, English, Chinese, and Persian.
Fourat El Khoury
Fourat is a writer, translator, and Arabic language teacher from Lebanon. Currently based in Beirut, he specializes in teaching Levantine Arabic as a second language, for which he has designed a comprehensive curriculum: The Modern Lebanese Arabic Series. He has also worked as a Chinese-Arabic interpreter for China Construction, on a China Aid-financed project underway in Dbayeh, North Beirut. Fourat previously studied in China through a Confucius Institute scholarship, and speaks English, French, and Spanish in addition to Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.
Claire Astrid Fuchs
Claire Astrid Fuchs is a Belgian-American analyst at Janes on the Geoeconomic Influence & Threat Intelligence team. She tracks Russian and Chinese foreign investment and related security risks worldwide, focusing on the Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian world, with contextual analysis of state and non-state actors in investment zones. An Eisenhower Global Scholar, Claire is pursuing an MPP at Oxford to examine the human impact of national security policies, bridging her humanitarian background and security expertise. She is also Geostrategy Rising Expert with YPFP, where she writes on national security, the great power competition, MENA, and Central Asia, and also chairs its Arabic Language Discussion Group. She speaks nine languages to varying degrees of fluency, including Arabic, Persian, Russian, and Mandarin.
Joshua Gauche
Joshua Gauche is currently a masters of politics and international relations student at Peking University’s Yenching Academy in Beijing, China. Hailing from Cincinnati, USA, his research focus lies in Chinese entrepreneurship in the Arab world and overall Sino-Arab economic relations via the BRI. During his undergrad at Princeton, he majored in Politics with minors in Arabic Language and East Asian Studies. To this end, he spent summers in Jordan and Egypt studying Arabic, and completed an HSK 6 winter bootcamp in Shenzhen, China. He speaks English, Mandarin, Arabic, and Japanese.
Yasmine Huang
Yushan (Yasmine) Huang is currently conducting her PhD in sociology at EHESS (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences). Intrigued by the Rojava revolution, she became interested in the practical implication of Kurdish women behind the romanticised imagination. Her doctoral research explores the real situation and tangible contributions of women in Rojava to gender equality and female emancipation in the complex socio-political landscape, aiming to understand how the ‘rebel governance’ exercised by the DAANES under the guidance of progressive ideology fosters women’s participation and gender equality, especially in the face of traditional patriarchal norms and external uncertainties. She’s based in Paris, France, where she performs stand-up comedy shows in Arabic and Kurdish.
Arthur Kaufmann
Arthur is a French-American journalist based in Paris. He currently works as an editor at China Digital Times, where he covers global China, including China-Middle East relations, and as an editorial assistant at Global China Lab, which publishes the Made in China Journal and Global China Pulse. Arthur holds a dual master’s degree in human rights and international relations from Sciences Po and Peking University. He has lived in mainland China and Morocco.
Danhong Lai
Danhong is a master’s student at Peking University’s Department of Arabic Language & Culture, where she also completed her undergraduate degree. She has developed a command of Modern Standard Arabic during her studies and is currently conducting research on Algeria and North Africa more broadly.
Nicholas Lyall
Nicholas Lyall is a Political Affairs Specialist at TRENDS Research and Advisory in Abu Dhabi, with experience spanning policy, research, and business across Australia, China, and the Mideast. Prior to joining TRENDS, he spent six years in Amman, Jordan, working on Mideast geopolitics, conflict systems, and China-Mideast relations for organizations across the region, the UK, and China, including consulting for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in Amman and Baghdad. A former international security researcher at the Australian National University, Nicholas holds a master’s degree from Peking University as a Yenching Scholar and has published extensively on Mideast- and China-related geopolitics, including for the Middle East Institute, The Diplomat, Operations and Policy Center, The Conversation, The National Interest, and East Asia Forum.
Jesse Marks
Born and raised in the United States, Jesse Marks is a foreign affairs expert with over a decade of experience in the Mideast, China, and Europe. An Arabic speaker, he serves as Senior Advocate for the Middle East at Refugees International and a Nonresident Fellow at the Stimson Center’s China Program. From 2020-2022, he advised on Mideast policy for the US government. Jesse has researched and advised on public policy, crisis response, strategic communications, and national security as a McCain Defense Fellow, Schwarzman Scholar, Fulbright Fellow, Scoville Fellow, and Boren Scholar. His work is featured with Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, Financial Times, The Washington Post, and The South China Morning Post, among others. He is also an avid archaeology enthusiast and manages the Coffee in the Desert newsletter and Qahwa House Podcast. He holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, Tsinghua University, and Florida State University.
Patrick McMaster
Patrick McMaster works at the International Energy Agency (IEA), where he serves as the China lead in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions, engaging with China and other emerging economies on energy and climate policy. His research interests lie in Sino-Algerian relations, public policy, and China’s engagement with the Global South. He has published academic papers on China’s diplomatic engagement with Algeria during the Cold War, concepts of gender in contemporary China, and international governance. Patrick holds a dual master’s degree in history and international relations from the London School of Economics and Peking University. He has spent time in Algeria conducting fieldwork funded by LSE.
Kai Moreno Momiejo
Kai Moreno Momiejo is a PhD student in Spanish and Portuguese at Cambridge University. He holds a degree from Peking University where he focuses on Chinese thought and philosophy. He has a strong interest in West Asia, especially in the Arab World and Iran, having studied both Arabic and Persian at university level during his studies. He is interested in peace processes in the region following his background in peace and conflict studies and in the intellectual history and art of the region.
Omnia Musa
Omnia is a policy specialist with a focus on geopolitical strategy, transitional justice, and stakeholder engagement. Having grown up in both Arab and Chinese contexts, she brings a multifaceted perspective to her engagement with the two regions. Omnia has worked in Iraq on civilian protection programs, and continues to engage in research and policy development focusing on the Mideast, Africa, and China-Mideast relations. A graduate of Tsinghua University, Omnia is a native speaker of Arabic and Mandarin Chinese with a commitment to advancing informed and impactful policy solutions. She is currently based in the UAE.
Nowmay Opalinski
Nowmay is a Ph.D. candidate at the French Institute of Geopolitics (IFG) of l’Université Paris 8, a member of the research project GEODE (Geopolitics of the Datasphere), and a China analyst for Cassini, a research-oriented advisory firm. His research focuses on the geopolitical underpinnings of digital connectivity in Asia, with a focus on China and Pakistan. He was previously a Guest Researcher at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Computer Science Lab, and studied Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU).
Sara Saba
Sara is pursuing a master’s degree in Politics and International Relations at Peking University’s Yenching Academy. She earned her B.A. in International Relations from King’s College London, and then spent two years working as a private-sector security and intelligence analyst in London, before returning in 2024 to Beijing, where she had previously studied Mandarin as a teenager. Sara has spent significant time in the Mideast as well as in China, and speaks Arabic (including 3 regional dialects) in addition to Chinese.
Jasper Schutt
Jasper Schutt is a master’s student and Schwarzman scholar at Tsinghua University. He earned his BA in political economy as a Morehead-Cain scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In college, he wrote a prize-winning thesis on the economic history of Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Region and was an internationally-ranked Arabic-language debater. Prior to starting at Tsinghua, Jasper spent a year researching post-Soviet commercial legal reforms in Kazakhstan and has worked on investment law and policy issues at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. He is fluent in Arabic, Russian, and Mandarin in addition to his native English.
Razan Shawamreh
Razan is a Palestinian scholar specializing in Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). She holds a PhD in International Relations from Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in North Cyprus, with a focus on China’s engagement in the MENA region—particularly its bilateral and multilateral relations with Gulf countries, Iran, Turkey, Israel, and North African states. Her research critically examines the contradictions between China’s rhetoric and its actions on the ground, with special attention to its diplomatic discourse, strategic interests, and investments. She is notably the first scholar to document Chinese investments in illegal Israeli settlements and to challenge China’s stated support for the two-state solution. Razan has published peer-reviewed research, policy briefs, and op-eds on China’s role in the region. Her pear-reviewed papers include “Biased Impartiality: Understanding China’s Contradictory Foreign Policy on Palestine” (Journal of Palestine Studies, 2025) and “China’s Soft Power (Non) Expansion in the MENA Region” (Cogent Social Sciences, 2025). She has participated in several international and regional conferences on China, and currently works as a lecturer assistant at Eastern Mediterranean University.
Huayi Shen
Huayi is an early-career professional passionate about China-Mideast cooperation. Born and raised in China, he recently graduated with a degree in Arabic from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He previously studied abroad at Cairo University and the American University in Cairo, where he focused on Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian dialect. Huayi has experience across several industries, including stints in journalism at China Media Group, artificial intelligence at 4Paradigm, and e-commerce at BDA Consulting. During his studies in Cairo, Huayi also worked as a Chinese-Arabic interpreter. He is now engaged as a logistics-focused Management Trainee at Sinotrans Middle East, a Chinese-Saudi joint venture in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Lily Song
Lily (Chenjie) is a policy consultant and writer specializing in public policy, geostrategy, and energy geopolitics. A graduate of the University of Chicago, she has also studied at Peking University and Boğaziçi University, gaining immersive academic experience in both East Asian and Middle Eastern contexts. She currently advises public and private sector entities across the GCC on strategic policy issues. Her research and professional interests span China, the MENA region, and Africa. Lily’s work has been featured in platforms such as the South China Morning Post and the Middle East Institute, where she writes on the intersection of global strategy and regional development. With academic training in Sociology and Political Science, Lily approaches China–MENA relations through a qualitative, cross-cultural lens, committed to fostering mutual understanding through rigorous and accessible analysis. She is based between Dubai and Shenzhen.
Huangyi Su
Huangyi is a Singaporean national currently in the final semester of his undergraduate studies at the School of International Studies at Peking University, majoring in International Politics with a focus on international organizations and international public policy. His research has primarily concentrated on Central Asia, including a graduation thesis on the role of third-party actors in transboundary water disputes in the region, as well as a field research project examining the migration of Chinese Kazakhs to Kazakhstan and their ethno-national identities. This fall, he will begin a Master’s program in Middle East Studies at the American University in Cairo, where he aims to deepen his understanding of the region and further develop his Arabic proficiency.
Gloria Tsang
Gloria Tsang is an interdisciplinary researcher and business analyst passionate about China-Mideast relations. A NYC native with Hong Kong roots, she holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from NYU Shanghai and has studied and worked across London, the UAE, and Southeast Asia. With over 8 years in global youth advocacy, her initiatives in education and sustainability have been recognized through invitations to speak by the World Federation of United Nations Associations, Columbia University, and Mashreq Bank. Previously a tech project manager at Morgan Stanley, Gloria is now running the Sino-Gulf Youth Network, a youth-centered platform dedicated to strengthening the China-GCC relationship. Her academic research explores the historical intersections of Islam and diplomacy in the Chinese context, with particular interest in Xinjiang and engagement with the Arab world. Gloria’s latest work focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, examining international law and the conflicting responses of institutional and state actors.
Yap Xiong
Yap is a communications specialist and calligrapher based in Singapore. He has studied Arabic for several years, including intensive training at the Levantine Institute in Tripoli, Lebanon. Since 2022, he has been practicing Chinese-style Arabic calligraphy (al-Khatt al-Sīnī) under Hoca Haji Noor Deen Mi Guang Jiang of the Deen Arts Foundation. Yap has also been active in church-led initiatives supporting communities affected by the recent war in Lebanon.
Hongda Zhang
A native of coastal China, Hongda has been interested in the Mideast since childhood. Today, as a confirmed travel junky holding a Chinese passport, he has trekked across twelve different countries of the Mideast, notably Iran, Iraq, and Syria. When he is not criss-crossing Eurasia, Hongda works in the Chinese domestic energy sector, and has a penchant for composing industrial insight commentaries on China-Mideast cooperation in the field of renewable energy. He holds a Master of Economics from Peking University, with research interests including energy economics, monetary economics, and empirical studies.
Yiying Zhang
Yiying Zhang is an undergraduate at Princeton University, majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering with minors in Arabic, Near Eastern Studies, and Diplomacy. Formerly President of Princeton’s largest student organization, the Entrepreneurship Club, he founded 5Terra, a network centered on the economic growth of Saudi Arabia + broader MENA, and a platform for business between Saudi Arabia and the world. Having worked in India, China, and the U.S., Yiying is preparing for a career as a cross-cultural dealmaker bridging developed and emerging markets. In 2025–26, he will be based in Riyadh, studying Arabic at the King Salman Global Academy. He resides in Beijing.
Zuozhen Zhang
Zuozhen is a translator based in Shenzhen, China. He holds a B.A. in Arabic Language and Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University, where he is currently finishing his master’s in Translation and Interpreting. Zuozhen has passed China’s highest-level Chinese-Arabic translation qualification exam, and has interpreted for high-profile figures such as the Ambassador of the Arab League to China, for institutions including the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and at international events like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Zuozhen has gained industry experience through internships at SoulChill, TikTok, Rednote, Keeta, and NIO, and has studied Arabic in Abu Dhabi. Upon completing his master’s degree this year, Zuozhen will join a Chinese bank’s investment team in Dubai.