Professional Affiliation

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kansas and Director of the Kansas University Trade War Lab

Expert Bio

Jiakun Jack Zhang is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas (KU) and Director of the KU Trade War Lab (TWL). He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at UC San Diego and holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a certificate in East Asian studies from Duke University. In 2018-2019, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University. His research explores the political economy of trade and conflict in East Asia. He is currently working on a number of projects on the U.S.-China Trade War as well as a book manuscript on the national security implications of economic interdependence with China. Dr. Zhang has been the recipient of various grants and awards, including a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant, the Minerva Research Initiative DECUR Partnership, the Smith Richardson Foundation World Politics and Statecraft Fellowship, and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Herb York Dissertation Fellowship. He is an alumnus of the Mansfield-Luce Asia Scholars Network, the Bridging the Gap Scholar Network, the YPFP U.S.-China Futures Project, and the CSIS Pacific Forum Young Leaders Program. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Zhang worked as a China researcher for the Eurasia Group and consulted for the Economist Intelligence Unit. Follow him on Twitter @HanFeiTzu.

Wilson Center Project

“Multinational Corporations and Economic Statecraft in U.S.-China Competition.”