Abstract

Objective: This paper proposes strategies for promoting scientific cooperation between China and Islamic countries in the Middle East under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while also identifying and mitigating potential threats.
Method: The paper adopts a structure-agent theoretical framework and uses documentary and analytical methods.
Results: The paper results that strategies for promoting scientific cooperation can be divided into three levels: micro (individual scientists and institutions), meso (national science and technology agencies and universities), and macro (inter-governmental agreements). These strategies are affected by a number of factors, including the networked nature of international scientific cooperation and the center-periphery structure of the global science system.
Conclusion: The paper concludes that scientific cooperation is a key component of China's macro-diplomacy and that it has the potential to improve relations between China and the countries of the Middle East in other fields. However, the paper also emphasizes that other political, economic, cultural, and social factors can hinder scientific cooperation, and that these factors must be addressed in order to maximize the benefits of this cooperation.