US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference

In-person attendance is by invitation only. The event will also air live on this page.

Interested in attending? Request an RSVP here.

China is expanding its strategic footprint across the Middle East through infrastructure, technology, and energy diplomacy. Amid Beijing’s global competition with the United States, shifting power dynamics and growing economic and technological entanglements are putting longstanding US alliances to the test in this crucial region.

Former policymakers and leading national security experts will join Hudson for a conference to assess how China’s growing influence is reshaping the regional order—and how the US should respond.

Hudson thanks the Public Interest Fellowship for supporting this conference.

Agenda

9:30 a.m. |  Welcome Remarks

• Joel Scanlon, Executive Vice President, Hudson Institute
• Michael Doran, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute

9:45 a.m. | Panel Discussion: The Middle East Between Washington and Beijing

• Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow, Middle East Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
• Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow, Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
• Michael Doran, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute

Moderator

• Liel Leibovitz, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

11:15 a.m. | Panel Discussion: Markets and Power: US-China Competition in the Middle East

• Thomas J. Duesterberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Mary Kissel, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute and Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor, Stephens
• Bernard Haykel, Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute

Moderator

• Daniel J. Samet, Research Fellow, Ronald Reagan Institute

12:30 p.m. | Lunch Discussion: Restoring American Leadership in an Era of Strategic Rivalry

• Senator Ted Cruz, United States Senator, Texas
• Zineb Riboua, Research Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute

2:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion: China’s Emerging AI and Tech Influence in the Middle East and Africa

• Jason Hsu, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Michael Sobolik, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Mike Watson, Associate Director, Center for the Future of Liberal Society, Hudson Institute
• Dan Blumenthal, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Moderator

• Ethan Gutman, Founder, 770 Strategies LLC

3:15 p.m. | Panel Discussion: Are US Allies Shifting Away? Strategic Realignments and China’s Expanding Reach in the Gulf and Africa

• Joshua Meservey, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• John Lee, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Jonathan Hessen, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Garrett Exner, Adjunct Fellow, Hudson Institute

Moderator

• Adhwaa Alsaleh, Public Policy Expert

4:30 p.m. | Israel’s Strategic Role in the US-China Rivalry

• Michael Doran, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute
• Ilan Berman, Senior Vice President, American Foreign Policy Council

Moderator

• Aaron MacLean, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

5:30 p.m. | Reception Remarks

• Congressman Kevin Hern, United States Representative, First District of Oklahoma