Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is Director of the China-Indonesia Desk at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS). He also holds affiliated positions at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics, and Busan University of Foreign Studies. His research focuses on the political economy of international cooperation, with particular expertise in China–Indonesia relations, China–Middle East relations, and Indonesia–Middle East relations.