5-7 December 2019 /First Annual NYUSH-HKUST Global China Studies Conference: “China in Global Conversation”. Shanghai, China

14-15 November 2019/ International Symposium “ The Army in the Fabric of Peace “ (19th-21st Centuries). Paris France
8 August 2019
September 2-4, 2020/International symposium “Scandinavian Internationalist Diplomacy, 1920s-1970s ” University of Copenhagen – DENMARK
20 February 2020
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5-7 December 2019 /First Annual NYUSH-HKUST Global China Studies Conference: “China in Global Conversation”. Shanghai, China

Shanghai Panoramic view

Shanghai, PRC, December 5-7, 2019

Jointly hosted by the Global China Studies Programs at NYU Shanghai and the Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyThe Global China Studies programs at NYU Shanghai and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology invite the submission of paper abstracts for their first annual China studies conference, to be held at the NYU Shanghai campus from December 5-7, 2019. The theme of this year’s conference will be “China in Global Conversation,” broadly defined. We aim to generate a wide-ranging discussion of topics in China studies (including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau) that take a global perspective on contemporary China, especially including scholarship that:
● Explicitly places China in comparative context with other countries or regions
● Investigates the impact of global trends in China
● Explores China’s impact on the rest of the world
● Expands understanding of how China is perceived globally

China through Arab’ eyes and imaginaries


A preliminary approach of Arab-Chinese Perceptions and Outlooks


Dr Mohieddine Hadhri
Emeritus Professor / Diplomacy and International relations -Tunis University



Paper Abstract
According to most of Arab scholars and geographers, China was continually present in the Arabs’ imaginaries in the ancient time and in particulars during the “Golden age “of Arab civilization. Accordingly, this paper will refer to the description of China within the manuscripts and narrative books produced by many renowned Arab scholars such as Al Mas’udi s, known as the “Herodotus of the Arabs.” (from Bagdad), the Sicilian Al Idrissi geographer , the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta who visited China (1345 ) and the Tunisian historian Ibn Khaldun. For more than seven centuries (VII-XIV Centuries.) Spice maritime routes controlled by the Arab traders emerged and gradually complemented the importance of the Silk Road in linking East and West trade and cross cultural relations. During the Middle Age, the Spice maritime route started at Canton (Guangzhou), passed through Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and then reached Alexandria where the Venetians and Genoese controlled the bulk of the Mediterranean trade which connected to the major European trading centers and capitals.
For this purpose, the present paper based on historical research and contemporary reflections aims at placing China within the past cultural perceptions and literary productions of the Arab World. How do collective consciousness and cultural representations in the Arab world perceived China and Chinese civilization. ? What’s about the beginning of contemporary Arab Chinese relationship in the fifties and Sixties ? What's on the horizon of Arab Chinese multilateral relations in the increasing globalized world.?
These are some of the questions we will try to answer, the goal being to explore the stimulating concepts of “routes and roads “ as vectors of trade and culture exchanges between Arabs and Chinese and to shed some lights on the outlook of Arab vision towards the Chinese cultural heritage. Three main topics will be raised in this research project :
1- In search of Sindbad : Arabs, Spice maritime Route and China
2- Revisiting the beginning of contemporary Arab Chinese relationship at the time of Chou En Lai and Nasser leadership ( Bandung conference 1955) in the fifties and Sixties ?
3- 3- Bridging the past and the present : Towards a collaborative academic network to promoting the New Silk Road in the Arab region .
In short, this paper intend to explore the profile of these legendary routes from a historical perspective in order to tackle important issues dealing with the present and the future of Arab-Chinese relationship within the new context of the re-launch of the “Belt and Road Initiative ” in 2015.
Keywords: China, Arab scholars, Spice routes, Silk Road ,Cultural heritagel
Mohieddine Hadhri
Mohieddine Hadhri

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