The report explores how the Red Sea is conceived in Chinese-language academic discussions as a means towards understanding the strategic perceptions and calculations of Chinese political elites toward the region.

It provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of China’s multifaceted and dynamic material footprint across the Red Sea, focusing primarily on its political, economic, and security dimensions there.

The report considers how China’s discursive conception of the Red Sea, in addition to its material footprint, can be harnessed to serve the collective interests of local states while facilitating the formation of a transregional security-governance structure