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Neil Thompson

Neil Thompson is a freelance writer who has lived and travelled extensively through East Asia and the Middle East. He holds an MA in the International Relations of East Asia from Durham University, and is now based in the UK.

China
Even as it Strikes Deals with Trump, the Gulf Embraces Chinese Tech Giants

Even as it Strikes Deals with Trump, the Gulf Embraces Chinese Tech Giants

Neil Thompson

Chinese technology firms are increasingly competing with US ones in major Middle Eastern markets, escalating technology-related US national security concerns. London (Special to Informed Comment; feature) – Chinese technology companies are poised to play a growing role in the Middle East’s digitalization process, amid expanding ties between Chinese entities and local regional partners. Firms including […]

China
Can Trump’s Plan to Target China for its Oil Imports from Iran Succeed?

Can Trump’s Plan to Target China for its Oil Imports from Iran Succeed?

Neil Thompson

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Since returning to office in January, US President Donald Trump has reinstated the maximum pressure campaign of his first administration on Iran. Trump wants to push Iran into ending its nuclear programme, and the White House has tried to severely curtail Iran’s oil exports as way of putting […]

China
How Trump’s Tariffs are driving Asia and the Gulf into China’s Arms

How Trump’s Tariffs are driving Asia and the Gulf into China’s Arms

Neil Thompson

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – US President Donald Trump’s America First trade policy has seen the global economy enter a new era of protectionism in the two months since he took office. The US leader has embarked on a series of trade wars with countries that run trade deficits with the US, including […]

China
China’s Green Energy Wave enters the Middle East

China’s Green Energy Wave enters the Middle East

Neil Thompson

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Facing rising trade barriers and diplomatic tensions with the US and the EU, Chinese renewable energy companies are turning to Middle Eastern states as an alternative market for goods including electric vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries, and solar panels. The US, the EU and Canada have all imposed tariffs […]

China
Mideast AI:  Saudi, UAE Chip imports from US imperiled by Their Close China Ties

Mideast AI: Saudi, UAE Chip imports from US imperiled by Their Close China Ties

Neil Thompson

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Efforts by Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to join the race for artificial intelligence could be hindered by US opposition to China’s growing footprint in the region. US President Joe Biden and his administration appear concerned that rising Chinese influence in […]

Brazil
Why did China attend MBS's Ukraine Peace Conference in Saudi Arabia? Breaking with Moscow or Keeping Options Open?

Why did China attend MBS’s Ukraine Peace Conference in Saudi Arabia? Breaking with Moscow or Keeping Options Open?

Neil Thompson

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – China has come out in favour of a third round of talks to design a peace framework for the conflict in Ukraine following its attendance at an international forum in the Saudi city of Jeddah earlier this month. China’s attendance and active participation in the summit was seen […]

China
Will China Leapfrog America in the Middle East Using its Green Technology and EVs?

Will China Leapfrog America in the Middle East Using its Green Technology and EVs?

Neil Thompson

Over the past decade, since Xi Jinping became the General-Secretary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, he has accelerated China’s return to political prominence. In turn, China’s ambitious global programme of economic, diplomatic and political expansion has pushed the world back towards a state of multipolarity.  As well as developing China’s domestic […]

China
Dragon Waiting: After Idlib, Will Beijing Bring Syria into its One Belt Network?

Dragon Waiting: After Idlib, Will Beijing Bring Syria into its One Belt Network?

Neil Thompson

As speculation grows that the Syrian army under the regime of Bashar al-Assad is preparing to strike at the Idlib de-escalation zone, the last piece of Syrian territory with a significant rebel presence left active, it seems as if the brutal civil there is at last drawing to a bloody conclusion. Like Iraq, Syria may […]

China
Is China Stealing a March on Trump in Pakistan amid New Trade War?

Is China Stealing a March on Trump in Pakistan amid New Trade War?

Neil Thompson

The outbreak of tit-for-tat tariffs means the US-Sino confrontation now embraces both the military sphere in the South China Sea and over Taiwan

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