We are pleased to announce the publication of Asian Perspective, volume 50, number 1 (Winter 2026)—our 50^th anniversary publication!—published by Johns Hopkins University Press for the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University and made available online at Project Muse (https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/56443).

This issue contains statements in celebration of AP’s 50^th anniversary from the journal’s founder, senior editorial members, and current editor-in-chief. 

The issue is highlighted by a Special Session on China in the MENA Region – Part 1. This special session examines China’s relations with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to address some of the problems of historical contextualization, assumptions of Chinese influence, and lack of data-driven analysis of existing studies on China’s relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as countries Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Iran, Jordan, and Turkey. Articles in this issue—Part 1—include an introduction to the special session; examination of China’s role in reshaping the urban-industrial-logistical landscapes of the Djibouti-Ethiopia transportation corridor; exploration of the legal complexities in China’s deployment of its park-port model to Egypt and Djibouti under the Belt & Road Initiative; discussion of China’s ‘green energy’ engagement with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt; and examination of the technological competition in the Middle East between China and the United States through a look at China’s ‘Digital Silk Road’ initiative.

The issue includes regular submission articles that investigate the historical evolution and development of Chinese international law theory; how target-state agency shapes the effectiveness of geo-economic instruments in China–North Korea relations, with the target state’s political priorities and calculated responses weighing in significantly on just how much influence the initiating state can expect to wield; and the position of China studies in Hungary, Germany, and the Netherlands, offering a glimpse into the perception of the trends and their causes within this field in Europe’s academia.  Our regular ‘Book Symposium’ features scholarly reviews and author’s response on Anthony J. Spires’ Everyday Democracy: Civil Society, Youth, and the Struggle Against Authoritarian Culture in China (Columbia University Press, 2024).

All back issues of the journal (from 1977 to 2026), including past special issues, are also available at Project Muse (https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/733).

Statements in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Asian Perspective

Special Session on China and the MENA Region – Part 1

Special Session Introduction – China in the MENA Region: Within and Beyond the Belt and Road Initiative

Burak Gürel

Building Away From a Home Template: China’s Role in Reshaping the Urban-Industrial-Logistical Landscapes Spanning a Djibouti-Ethiopia Corridor

Xiangming Chen

From Policy to Practice: Legal Complexities in Deploying China’s Industrial Park-Port Model in Egypt and Djibouti Under the BRI

Ming Jing, Sujata Ashwarya, and Chuchu Zhang

China’s Green Energy Engagement in the MENA Region: Mapping the Scale, Modalities, and Motivations

Emre Demir, Sırma Altun, and Veysel Tekdal

China’s Digital Silk Road in the Middle East: A Region Trapped in the Maelstrom of Technological ompetition between China and the United States of America

László Csicsmann and Scott N. Romaniuk

China: History and Relations

Historical Development of Chinese International Law Theories: rom the Late Qing Dynasty to the Rise of China

Steel Rometius

How Target-State Agency Shapes Geoeconomic Influence: Insights from Sino–North Korean Relations

Pan Binbin and Sang-man Lee

Asian Studies

“Applied China Studies” in Europe

Ágota Révész

BOOK SYMPOSIUM

Book Symposium on Anthony J. Spires. 2024. Everyday

Democracy: Civil Society, Youth, and the Struggle Against Authoritarian Culture in China. New York: Columbia University Press.

Julia Chuang

Timothy Hildebrandt

Anthony J. Spires