Peking University in Beijing, China hosted a seminar on ‘China-Gulf Strategic Cooperation,’ which was organised jointly by the University’s Department of Arabic Language and Culture in the School of Foreign Languages and the Qatar Chair for Middle East Studies in Peking University, China.
The Qatar Chair, which is supervised by the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University (QU), was set up following a visit to Beijing by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in 2014.
A number of international dignitaries as well as a large number of experts in the field of Middle East and Gulf studies attended the seminar including Ambassador Wu Sike, Former China’s Special Envoy on the Middle East Issues; Ambassador Patrick Theros, Former US Ambassador to Qatar; and Professor Gerd Nonneman from Georgetown University in Qatar.
Qatar Chair for Middle East Studies Professor Dr. Wu Bingbing commented on the seminar saying, “It’s a community, all the professors and scholars and former diplomats, met with each other and through activities, we are deepening our understanding with other parts. This is going to be happening annually in the future, so we can follow up on situations, and what we have done to see the results and the fruit of the cooperations.”
Dr. Wu Bingbing discussed the work of the Qatar Chair for Middle East Studies in 2019 saying, “We have had a series of symposiums and seminars, and exchange of visits where we have hosted faculty members and in the new year we will exchange students. We want to promote cooperation beyond Middle East studies, for example medical science, engineering and environmental science, so it is a comprehensive cooperation not limited to one discipline. More than that, we bring scholars from the region and around the world to build a network of top scholars.”
He added, “This seminar in 2019 is the first one, we have three topics this year, the situation in the Gulf, the regional cooperation and the China-Gulf relations. Next year, we will have more specific and concrete topics and also include more fields.”
Cesar Wazen, Director of International Affairs Office, Qatar University, made a presentation on behalf of Qatar University during the event’s Opening Ceremony in which he discussed Qatar National Vision 2030, QU’s focus on research, the university’s strategy and its various functions.
Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri, Director of QU’s Gulf Studies Center delivered a speech at the event, where he covered the new understating of Gulf security.
