Leandro, Francisco José B. S.

Francisco Leandro received a Ph.D. in political science and international relations from the Catholic University of Portugal (2010). He is currently Associate Professor and Assistant-Dean of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries at the City University of Macau, China. His most recent books include Steps of Greatness: The Geopolitics of OBOR (2018), The Belt and Road Initiative: An Old Archetype of a New Development Model (2020, Palgrave MacMillan). He is a member of the OBSERVARE Lisbon, Portugal.

Carlos Branco is a retired Major General of the Portuguese Army. He was Director of the War College Security and Defense Research Centre, Portugal. He is currently a researcher with the Portuguese Institute of International Relations, and an associate researcher with the National Defense Institute. His most recent book is From the End of the Cold War to Trump and COVID-19: Betrayed Promises of the Liberal Order (2020, Edições Colibri).

Flavius Caba-Maria is President of the think tank, the Middle East Political and Economic Institute (MEPEI) in Bucharest, Romania. He has organised numerous international conferences, summer schools, and international seminars, through which current subjects and the main issues of the Middle East and its impact on Europe and relations with China have been discussed and debated.