Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. I am also affiliated with the Agora Institute at JHU as a member of the Center for Economy and Society. Outside of JHU, I was affiliated with Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University as a Nonresident Associate. My research interests lie in political economy and state-business relations, with a regional focus on China. I study the nexus between states and business, such as economic, tax, and industrial policies. I am especially intrigued by the political, coalitional and institutional origins of policy outcomes, as well as the relationship between capitalism and the authoritarian state. My research combines in-depth field interviews with statistical analysis and machine learning. My articles have been published or are forthcoming in American Journal of Political Science, Perspectives on Politics, International Security,  International Studies Quarterly, Comparative Politics, World Development, Politics & Society, The China Journal, Review of International Political Economy, and New Political Economy. 

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My first book Manipulating Globalization: The Influence of Bureaucrats on Business in China was published by Stanford University Press in 2018. The book explores the political roots of government-business coalitions and economic policy implementation in China. My second book project is on capitalists and authoritarian governance in China, which has received support from the Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award. In addition I am also working on a co-authored book project under contract with Cambridge Elements on pathways and social foundations of authoritarian capitalism. My research has been funded by institutions such as the Wilson Center, Social Science Research Council (Andrew Mellon Foundation), Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation, Institute for Humane Studies, and Stanford University.

 

I was a 2021-2022 Wilson China Fellow in the Woodrow Wilson Center. I am the winner of 2022 American Political Science Association (APSA) Best Comparative Policy Paper Award. I was also recognized as an NCID Emerging Diversity Scholar by the University of Michigan. In addition to academic outlets, I have also published in Washington Post and Axios. I have given congressional testimony in front of the US-China Economic and Security Review Committee.  My comments have been quoted, among others, by New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, National Committee on US-China Relations, and USCC Report to Congress.