Martin K. Dimitrov is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Tulane University. He is Associate Editor of the journal Problems of Post-Communism and of The Journal of Asian Studies. He obtained his PhD in Political Science from Stanford University in 2004. His books include Piracy and the State: The Politics of Intellectual Property Rights in China (Cambridge University Press, 2009); Why Communism Did Not Collapse: Understanding Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Asia and Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2013); The Political Logic of Socialist Consumption (Ciela Publishers, 2018); Dictatorship and Information: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China (Oxford University Press, 2023) and The Adaptability of the Chinese Communist Party (Cambridge University Press, 2024). Currently, he is a completing a book entitled Welfare Dictatorships. His project at CIW will focus on cultural security in contemporary China. He is a member of the National Committee on United States–China Relations.

Ke Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore and a Fung Global Fellow (2023–2024) at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies at Princeton University. She received her Ph.D. in communications and media studies from the Institute of Communication Research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. At CIW, she is finalizing her first book, which explores the corporate-state relationship in China’s high-tech industries, situating it within the cult of innovation and the ideology of technological salvation. 

Bo Ma is an Associate Professor at the School of International Studies and serves as Assistant Director of the China Center for Collaborative Study of the South China Sea at Nanjing University. Previously, he was the Wang Gungwu Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and a British Chevening Scholar (2019–2020). Dr. Ma earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) in 2014. He is the author of Chinese Foreign Policy in Xi Jinping’s Era: A Grand Design and Hot Issues, published by World Scientific Publishing (Singapore) in 2018, and The Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunity and Challenge for China’s Neighboring Foreign Policy, forthcoming from Social Sciences Academic Press (Beijing) in 2026. His commentary has appeared in outlets such as The Diplomat, Fulcrum, Global Times, and China Daily. His research interests include Chinese international relations theory, China's foreign policy, Sino-U.S. relations, and public international law, with a particular emphasis on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Runping Zhu holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia, alongside degrees from Sichuan University (China) and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). She is currently an Assistant Professor at Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, following roles at Lanzhou University and Monash College. Dr. Zhu's research expertise lies in intercultural communication, digital media and society. Her work specifically explores innovation in cross-cultural communication, strategic national image building through digital narratives, and the synergy between new media technologies and social governance.

Chair Professor Guanghua WAN is Deputy Dean, Institute of Chinese Modernization and Development, Nankai University, China. Previously, he was Director, Institute of World Economy, Fudan University. Before returning to China, he spent a decade in the Asian Development Bank as a Research Director and Head of Poverty/Inequality Group. Earlier in his career, he taught in Australian Universities and was a senior economist in the United Nations. 

Trained in development economics and econometrics, Dr. Wan is a multi-award-winning scholar on the Chinese economy and an expert on Asia, with an outstanding publication record of more than 300 professional articles and a dozen of books including two by Oxford University Press. The latest RePEc ranks Dr. Wan among the top 4% economists globally and top 2% in Asia. Some of his publications can be downloaded here.

Qi ZHOU is a full professor, and the Director of Institute of Global Governance and Development, Renmin University in Beijing. Her fields of research are US politics and foreign policies, and international relations. She holds a Ph. D. from School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS）of the Johns Hopkins University in the US, and a B.A. and M.A. from Fudan University in Shanghai. She was as a senior researcher (full professor) and the Director of Department of American Politics at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in Beijing, and the Executive Director of National Strategy Institute, Tsinghua University. She is now also the Vice President of Pacific Society of China (PSC). Zhou Qi has taught in Pomona College as Frank M. Johnson Visiting Professor (1998-99), has been twice visiting scholar to Harvard University (1990-1991, 2001-2002), and a visiting fellow of Brookings Institution (Dec. 2013-Feb. 2014). She has published 12 books, over 100 academic articles, and more than 170 other articles. Her six books have been awarded the Prize in “Excellent Scientific Research Products” by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2006, 2010, 2013, 2018, 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Martin King WHYTE is John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Sociology, Emeritus, at Harvard University.  He specializes in the study of grass roots social organization and social change in the People’s Republic of China in both the Mao and reform eras.  Since 2000 he has been directing survey projects in China to examine how ordinary citizens view the very high levels of income inequality in that society, with the first of three national surveys (conducted in 2004) summarized in his book, Myth of the Social Volcano, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2010. His most recent book is Remembering Ezra Vogel (co-edited with Mary Brinton), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2022.

Andrew Scobell is Distinguished Fellow and Principal Asia Analyst at the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) and an adjunct professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Previous positions include distinguished fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. His publications include Crossing the Strait: China's Military Prepares for War with Taiwan (2022), China's Grand Strategy (2020), China's Search for Security (2012) and China's Use of Military Force (2003).

Geng SONG is Professor and Director of the Translation Program at the University of Hong Kong. His research explores transcultural, transdisciplinary, and transhistorical inquiries into gender and identity in Chinese popular culture. He has written extensively on topics such as men and masculinities in Chinese culture and society, Chinese television, and Chinese nationalism. Among his publications are three monographs:  The Fragile Scholar (2004); Men and Masculinities in Contemporary China (2014); and Televising Chineseness: Gender, Nation and Subjectivity (2022). He has also published research articles in journals such as Modern China, The China Journal, Men and Masculinities, Asian Studies Review, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, and Nan Nü.