Dr. Naser Al-Tamimi is a UK-based political economist and Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) Senior Associate Research Fellow focused on the Gulf/Middle East region with research interests in energy and Arab/GCC – Asia/China relations. He received his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Durham, where his thesis focused on China’s relations with Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al-Tamimi previously worked as a journalist in the Middle East and United Kingdom, and extensively researched GCC and Middle Eastern economies.

Dr. Al-Tamimi has written extensively on matters concerning Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and Middle East for both academic and popular publications, as well as several major research centers, including The Brookings Institution, European Council on Foreign Relations, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), Middle East Institute, Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), University of Durham, Gulf Research Centre, Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Centre for Arab Unity Studies, and Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies. He is the author of China-Saudi Arabia Relations, 1990-2012: Marriage of Convenience or Strategic Alliance, Routledge, 2014.