This special issue of Mediterranean Quarterly focuses on Asia’s new economic and political strength, its increasing ties with Europe, and what this means for the Mediterranean region, as a gateway between the two. With the opportunity to once again be the place in the world where "things happen" the Mediterranean faces several obstacles to economic growth, from conflicting interests and policies, regional instability and political unrest. Contributors focus on tackling these problems one by one, with essays on Turkey's relationship with China in the wake of the Arab Spring, new horizon's in Greek-Chinese relations, including China's investment into Greece's Port of Piraeus infrastructure, Chinese posture and debate towards WANA, as well as prospects for nontraditional security cooperation between China and the EU. The goal of this issue is to further prepare the field for a future of long-term shared strategy and to take an in-depth look at how Europe, Asia and the Middle East must collectively face these challenges.