By Jean-François Seznec

Co-sponsored by the Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy

The talk will center on the meaning of the booming economic relations between Saudi Arabia and China. It will show that China is shortly going to overcome the US as the Saudi's main trading partner, and that Saudi Arabia has a key role in the Chinese's ability to dominate the trade deficit with the US.

Dr. Seznec has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's Middle East Institute for 18 years and at Georgetown University for three years. His research centers on the influence of the Arab-Persian Gulf political and social variables on the financial and oil markets in the region.