Last Thursday, the Fourth China-Arab states Expo opened in Yinchuan, a city in Northwest China. Officials made much of the historic relationship between East Asia and the Middle East and referred liberally to a time in which the Silk Road bridged advanced ancient civilisations through ties of commerce and diplomacy. {"preview_thumbnail":"https://cdn.flowplayer.com/6684a05f-6468-4ecd-87d5-a748773282a3/i/v-i-7…","video_id":"70f96e6a-c7cd-41b4-8c0c-175519725d87","player_id":"8ca46225-42a2-4245-9c20-7850ae937431","provider":"flowplayer","video":"Hamas Shoots Down Israeli Drone on Way to Rafah"} It is these bridging ambitions that China has sought to realise ...