Title: How Saudi Arabia Bent China to Its Technoscientific Ambitions
Speaker: Dr. Mohammed AlSudairi (Australian National University)
Time: 3rd April, 2024, 14:30 (Wednesday)
Place: Room 412, School of Marxism, Chongqing University
Language: English
Hosted by: School of Marxism, Chongqing University
Organized by: Chongqing Municipal Center for the Popularization of Humanities and Social Sciences Knowledge
Co-organized by: Office of Current Affairs and Policies, Chongqing University
Overview:
Over the course of half a century, Saudi Arabia has sought to achieve mastery in the technoscientific realm. The lecture focuses on the underlying logic and tangible pursuit of this longstanding ambition, one which has only intensified since the launching of Vision 2030 over a decade ago. Within this overall context, the lecture examines how and in what ways China has emerged as a major technoscientific partner for the kingdom, particularly in the context of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. A key argument is that Saudi-Chinese techno-scientific cooperation, far from being an instance of China presumably influencing developing countries through the “underbelly of technology” so as to undermine Western interests, is far more nuanced, being structured and driven by local factors (i.e., capital and human resources) and interests that have little to do with “great power” confrontation.
Biography:
Dr. Mohammed Turki Al-Sudairi (Chinese name: 苏墨涵) currently serves at the Australian National University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Hong Kong, dual master’s degrees in International Relations from Peking University and International History from London School of Economics and Political Science, and a bachelor’s degree in International Politics from Georgetown University. Additionally, he holds the position of Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Asian Studies Department at King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia. Proficient in Arabic, English, and Chinese, his research interests include China-Middle East relations, ideology and culture, and Chinese politics.
Copyedited by Zeng Chenxi
