Abstract：Since the end of the Cold War,China has gradually formulated a global and multi-dimensional partnership network.China’s partnership diplomacy in the Middle East is a crucial component of said network,including partners in the Persian Gulf,the Eastern Mediterranean Sea,the Red Sea and the Maghreb region.Based on their level of importance to China,these countries can be roughly divided into four categories,namely"pivot states," "node states," "key states" and "stronghold states," which constitute the portfolio of China’s partnership diplomacy in the region.In prospect,China’s partnership diplomacy will be evolving from bilateral cooperation to multilateral consultation,from partnership with sovereign states to that with international organizations,and from state-based partnership to issue-oriented partnership.

    Keywords: partnership diplomacy, China and the Middle East, Chinese diplomacy, strategic partnership, alliance diplomacy

    （Sun Degang, Professoer at the Institude of International Studies, Fudan University）