On April 12-13, 2017, Conference on Middle East Political Transition and China’s Middle East Policy with Chinese Characteristics was held in Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. The conference was hosted by Institute for International Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, China Middle East Society and Shanghai World History Society, co-organized by the Gulf Research Center of China Academy of Social Sciences, and undertaken by the International Security Discipline Innovation Team of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Guo Wei, counselor from the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs under Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yang Guang, president of China Middle East Society, have delivered keynote speeches. Many topics, such as the development of the Middle East upheaval and geopolitics situation, powers’ game in the Middle East around the coming to power of Trump administration, development trends of the ISIS and the Middle East hotspots, China’s Middle East policy with Chinese characteristics in the new era, etc., are discussed in the conference. As many as 40 experts, scholars and media persons from academic institutions, universities and media in places including Beijing, Shaanxi, Henan, Fujian, Ningxia and Shanghai, participated in the conference.

Director Liu Zhongmin, professor Zhu Weilie, Sun Degang, Wang Bo and Ding Jun from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University attended the conference on invitation and delivered speech. The Middle East Studies Institute is among the research institutions with most participants. Scholars from the institute actively joined the discussion and promoted the academic exchanges among research centers and think tanks on the Middle East studies.