{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Why China Cares About the Middle East","description":" China\u2019s role in the&amp;nbsp;Middle East&amp;nbsp;and North Africa&amp;nbsp;has grown in recent years as Beijing has expanded its engagement in energy,&amp;nbsp;trade, infrastructure, and&amp;nbsp;diplomacy&amp;nbsp;across the region. At the same time,&amp;nbsp;Middle Eastern&amp;nbsp;and North African&amp;nbsp;governments&amp;nbsp;are assessing what deeper ties with China can offer and where Beijing\u2019s influence still falls short. What draws China to the Middle East&amp;nbsp;and North Africa, what is its strategy there, and how are shifts in&amp;nbsp;U.S. policy&amp;nbsp;shaping Beijing\u2019s regional approach?&amp;nbsp;  Chuchu Zhang&amp;nbsp;joined us on March&amp;nbsp;24,&amp;nbsp;2026&amp;nbsp;to discuss China\u2019s interests in the Middle East&amp;nbsp;and North Africa&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;how governments in the region view China.&amp;nbsp; Learn more about the speaker and watch the video  here. &amp;nbsp; ","author_name":"The US-China Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/chinapodcast.libsyn.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/40961205\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/87A93A\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/201035010"}