Book excerpt: "Focusing on China's relations with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), this Companion provides essential analysis of a complex region which threatens to become the battleground for rival powers in the future. The Companion brings together China scholars from around the world, including from China, the MENA region, the United States, Asia, and Europe. The contributors, experts in their respective areas - which range from politics, military and nuclear power to economics, energy, and tourism - use different methodologies to understand China's policies in the MENA. Topics analysed include Chinese investment in infrastructure, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Belt and Road Initiative. Divided into three parts, the book addresses China's multidimensional presence in the MENA and its impact on the region whilst also explicating the MENA's relations with its traditional Western allies. Bilateral relations and people-to-people interactions are also explored and provide in-depth context to the areas of cooperation that are part of China's dealings with its partners in the region. Combining contemporary analysis with accessible prose, the book will be of interest to students, scholars, and policymakers active in international relations, security studies and economics, as well to general audiences interested in the MENA region"--