On the map of global trade, China is now the factory of the world. A parade of ships full of raw commodities - iron ore, coal, oil - arrive in its ports, and fleets of container ships leave with manufactured goods in all directions. The oil that fuels China's manufacturing comes primarily from the Arabian Peninsula. Much of the material shipped from China are transported through the ports of Arabian Peninsula, Dubai's Jabal Ali port foremost among them. China's 'maritime silk road' flanks the Peninsula on all sides. 'Sinews of War and Trade' is the story of what the making of new ports and shipping infrastructures has meant not only for the Arabian Peninsula itself, but for the region and the world beyond.
