Salman K. Al-Dhafeeire is a Ph.D. candidate in International Politics at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. His research focuses on political relations between China and the Middle East, with particular emphasis on Saudi Arabia, the GCC countries, and broader geopolitical dynamics. He holds a Master of Laws from Kyushu University, Japan, where he researched Japan’s cybersecurity strategies and their implications for international relations. He holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Electrical Engineering from the University of Toledo in the USA. He currently serves as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Law and Political Science at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. He has presented at international conferences on Middle East governance and security cooperation at Fudan University.
ORCID: 0009-0004-3857-0364 e-mail: saldhafeeire@ksu.edu.sa
Sun Degang is a Professor and Director of Political Science at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He was a visiting scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University (September 2018-September 2019), and Senior Associate Member at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, and an Academic Visitor to Oxford Center for Islamic Studies (2012-2013), Denver University (2007-2008), and the University of Hong Kong (2004-2005). His research interests are Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations, Great Powers’ Strategies in the Middle East, and China’s Middle East Diplomacy.
ORCID: 0009-0003-3418-8558 e-mail: sundegang@fudan.edu.cn