Dr. LI Mingjiang is an Associate Professor and Provost’s Chair in International Relations at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is Associate Dean and the Head of Graduate Studies at RSIS. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston University. His main research interests include international politics, Chinese foreign policy, China-ASEAN relations, Sino-U.S. relations, and Asia-Pacific security. He is the author (including editor and co-editor) of 15 books. His recent books are China’s Economic Statecraft (World Scientific, 2017) and New Dynamics in US-China Relations: Contending for the Asia Pacific (lead editor, Routledge, 2014). He has published papers in various peer-reviewed outlets including Chinese Journal of Communication, Asian Journal of Political Science, International Journal of Asian Studies, Asian Policy, Journal of Contemporary Asia,  International Relations of the Asia Pacific, World Development, China International Strategy Review, the China Review, International Affairs, Asian Perspective, Asian Politics & Policy, Asian Security, Oxford Bibliographies, Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, Journal of Strategic Studies, Global Governance, Cold War History, Journal of Contemporary China, the Chinese Journal of International Politics, the Chinese Journal of Political Science, China: An International Journal, China Security, Harvard Asia Quarterly, Security Challenges, etc.

• China’s Diplomatic History
• Domestic Sources of Chinese Foreign Policy
• China’s Relations with East Asian Nations and the United States
• Asia-Pacific Security
• The South China Sea Disputes
• The Rise of China and Its International Implications

Member of Editorial Board, East Asia Policy, a journal of East Asian Institute, NUS

Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Defense Management

 Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Center for Advanced Studies on Contemporary China and Central Asia (University of Torino, Italy) and the Center for International Relation and Applied Political Studies (the Ablai Khan University Almaty, Kazakhstan)

Member of the Reviewers’ Board of Athens Journal of Social Sciences

 Guest Editor of the Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 23, issue 86, 2014

Academic Advisor to Global Youth Congress International, a NGO in Singapore

 Member of Faculty Affiliates at the Chinese Heritage Centre, NTU

Adjunct Faculty of the Master of Arts in Contemporary China Programme, NTU

Served as Reviewer for Various Leading Journals, including Pacific Review, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, the Journal of Contemporary China, Chinese Journal of International Politics, China: an International Journal, East Asia Policy, Mainland China Studies (Taiwan), Issues and Studies, Asian Journal of Communication, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Asian Politics & Policy

Served as Reviewer of Book Proposals and Manuscripts for Various Leading Academic Publishers, including Palgrave, Routledge, and Oxford University Press

Frequently Interviewed by Various Local and International Media, including Channel News Asia, Straits Times, Lianhe zaobao, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, Global Times, and People’s Daily

IDSS Papers

• IP25008 | The Illusion of an Internet Utopia: RedNote’s Crossroads in Digital Migration and Data Sovereignty

  03 February, 2025

• IP24092 | China-Japan Thaw: Can the Two Countries Better Manage the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Dispute?

  08 November, 2024

• IP24044 | From Chopsticks to Diplomacy: Understanding China’s Culture-centric Influence on Foreign Relations

  17 April, 2024

• IP23082 | The US-China Security Dilemma: The Need for Constant Mitigation

  17 November, 2023

• IP23051 | ASEAN-China Relations: Does Political Tension Necessarily Impact Trade Relations?

  07 July, 2023

• IP22078 | China's COVID-19 Protest: How Far Will It Go?

  12 December, 2022

• IP22067 | The US Talents Sanctions: Unprecedented Challenges for China’s High-Tech Industry

  14 November, 2022

• IP21016 | The “Little Pink” versus “Glass Hearts”: The Growth of Cyber-nationalism in China and the Risk of Misunderstanding

  12 November, 2021

Working Papers

• WP239 | Chinese Debates of South China Sea Policy: Implications for Future Developments

  17 May, 2012

• WP225 | Rising from Within: China’s Search for a Multilateral World and Its Implications for Sino-U.S. Relations

  28 March, 2011

• WP179 | China and Asian Regionalism: Pragmatism Hinders Leadership

  19 May, 2009

• WP168 | Beibu Gulf: Emerging Sub-regional Integration between China and ASEAN

  02 January, 2009

• WP165 | Soft Power in Chinese Discourse: Popularity and Prospect

  01 September, 2008

• WP149 | Security in the South China Sea: China’s Balancing Act and New Regional Dynamics

  11 February, 2008

• WP134 | China’s Proactive Engagement in Asia: Economics, Politics and Interactions

  30 July, 2007

RSIS Commentary Series

• Renminbi Internationalisation and US Dollar Hegemony

  22 November, 2022

• CO16205 | The South China Sea Arbitration: Turning Point in Chinese Foreign Policy?

  12 August, 2016

• CO15050 | China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative: New Round of Opening Up?

  11 March, 2015

• CO14249 | The Half-Moon Shoal Trials: China’s Half-Hearted Response

  19 December, 2014

• CO13050 | Restructuring China's Maritime Law Enforcement:Impact on Regional Security

  01 April, 2013

• CO12053 | China’s Rising Maritime Aspirations: Impact on Beijing’s Good-Neighbour Policy

  28 March, 2012

• CO11080 | Non-Confrontational Assertiveness: China’s New Security Posture

  16 May, 2011

• CO10041 | South China Sea: Emerging China-Taiwan Cooperation

  19 April, 2010

• CO09072 | Xinjiang Unrest: Catalyst for New Grand Vision for China?

  22 July, 2009

• CO09004 | China’s Gulf of Aden Expedition: Stepping Stone to East Asia?

  09 January, 2009

• CO08114 | Nanning-Singapore Corridor: A New Vision in China-ASEAN Cooperation

  24 October, 2008

• CO08066 | China’s Growing Military Transparency: the Domestic Factor

  17 June, 2008

• CO08058 | China’s Soft Power: Stuck in Transition

  05 May, 2008

• CO08041 | Taiwan Strait Relations: How Far Can It Go?

  31 March, 2008

• CO08005 | Pan-Tonkin Gulf Cooperation: De-securitising the South China Sea

  10 January, 2008

• CO07115 | The 17th CPC Congress: The Transition that the world Missed

  31 October, 2007

• CO07089 | PLA’s New Military Revolution: Developing Talent

  17 August, 2007

• CO07087 | Climate Change: ASEAN Plus 3’s New Concern

  08 August, 2007

• CO07059 | China Warms Up for Battle on Global Warming

  11 June, 2007

• CO07032 | Premier Wen’s Japan Visit: China’s “New Thinking” at Work?

  18 April, 2007

• CO07029 | The 17th CCP Congress: The Issue of Succession

  10 April, 2007

• CO06087 | Koizumi’s Shrine Visit Fulfills Pledge, Complicates East Asian Relations

  22 August, 2006

Authored Books

• Mao’s China and the Sino-Soviet Split: Ideological Dilemma. London: Routledge, 2012

Journal Articles

• “Failure of China’s COVID-19 health diplomacy in wining hearts and minds in Thailand and the Philippines: political efficacy constrained by local politics” (with Li Xirui , and Zi Yang) in International Journal of Asian Studies , Vol. 22, Issue 1, 2024. p.83–102
• “Taking ideas and words seriously: explaining the institutionalization of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation” (with Xue Gong) in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 2023
• “Taking ideas and words seriously: explaining the institutionalization of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation” (with Xue Gong) in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 2023
• “The BRI: A new development cooperation paradigm in the making? Unpacking China’s infrastructure cooperation along the Maritime Silk Road” (with Xue Gong, and Ana Cristina Alves) in World Development, Vol 169, 2023
• “Fisheries Governance in the South China Sea: Problems, Progress, and Prospects” (with Zhang Hongzhou) in Marine Policy, 2020
• “China’s Water Diplomacy in the Mekong: A Paradigm Shift and the Role of Yunnan Provincial Government” (with Zhang Hongzhou) in Water International, Vol. 45, No. 4, 2020. pp. 347–364
• “The Belt and Road Initiative: Geo-economics and Indo–Pacific Security Competition” in International Affairs, Vol. 96, No. 1, 2020, pp. 169–187
• “Understanding the Dynamics of the Indo-Pacific: US–China Strategic Competition, Regional Actors, and Beyond” (with Kai He) in International Affairs, Vol. 96, No. 1, 2019
• “Hainan Province in China’s South China Sea Policy: What Role Does the Local Government Play?” in Asian Politics & Policy, 11, 4, 2019, 623-642
• “China’s Economic Power in Asia: The Belt and Road Initiative and the Local Guangxi Government’s Role” in Asian Perspective, 43, 3, 2019, 273-295
• Hongzhou Zhang and Mingjiang Li, 2018, Editorial. International Journal of Water Resources Development.
  https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2018.1499201
• Hongzhou Zhang and Mingjiang Li. 2018. "A Process-Based Framework to Examine China’s Approach to Transboundary Water Management". International Journal of Water Resources Development (CIJW). https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2018.1476225 .
• “New Trends in Chinese Foreign Policy” (with Hoo Tiang Boon, and James Char) in Asian Security, 13, 2, 2017. 81-83
• Li Mingjiang, “Southeast Asia and the Curse of the South China Sea Disputes,” China: an International Journal, Volume 15 Number 1 (February 2017): 187 – 213 (co-author)
• Li Mingjiang, “A China in Transition: The Rhetoric and Substance of Chinese Foreign Policy under Xi Jinping,” Asian Security (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2017.1286163 (co-author)
• Mingjiang Li (2016): From Look-West to Act-West: Xinjiang’s role in China–Central Asian relations, Journal of Contemporary China,
  DOI: 10.1080/10670564.2015.1132753
  
• Irene Chan and Li Mingjiang, “New Chinese Leadership, New Policy in the South China Sea Dispute?” Journal of Chinese Political Science, Volume 20 Number 1 (2015):35–50.
• Li Mingjiang, “The People’s Liberation Army and China’s Smart Power Quandary in Southeast Asia,” Journal of Strategic Studies, 38:3 (2015): 359-382.
• Li Mingjiang, “Local Liberalism: China’s Provincial Approaches to Relations with Southeast Asia,” Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 23, issue 86, 2014.
• Zhang Hongzhou and Li Mingjiang. 2014. “Hunting for food: a New driving force in Chinese foreign policy”. Harvard Asia Quarterly 16 (1 ). Pp.46-59.
• Li Mingjiang and Zhang Hongzhou, “Singapore’s South China Sea Policy,” Southeast Asian Studies (Chinese) , 6 (2011).
• Li Mingjiang, “Ideological Dilemma: Mao’s China and the Sino-Soviet Split, 1962-1963,” Cold War History, 3 (August 2011):.387-420.
• Li Mingjiang, “Rising from Within: China’s Search for a Multilateral World and Its Implications for Sino-US Relations,” Global Governance, 3 (2011):331-352.
• Li Mingjiang and Zhang Hongzhou, “Singapore’s South China Sea Policy,” Southeast Asian Studies (Chinese) , 6 (2011).
• Li Mingjiang, “China Searching for a Multilateral World: Desires and Dilemmas,” The International Spectator, 4 (2010).
• Li Mingjiang, “China and Maritime Cooperation in East Asia: Recent Developments and Future Prospects,” Journal of Contemporary China, 64 (2010): 291-310
• Li Mingjiang, “Reconciling Assertiveness and Cooperation?  China’s Changing Approach to the South China Sea Dispute,” Security Challenges, 2 (2010): 49-68.
• Li Mingjiang, “Domestic Sources of China’s Soft Power Approach,” China Security, 2 (2009).
• Li Mingjiang, “China-EU Relations: Strategic Partnership at a Crossroads,” China: An International Journal, 2 (2009): 227-254.
• Li Mingjiang, “Cooperation for Competition: China’s Approach to Regional Security in East Asia,” Panorama (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung), 2 (2009): 121-134
• Li Mingjiang, “China Debates Soft Power,” Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2 (2008)
• Li Mingjiang, “Soft Power and the Chinese Approach,” China Security, 3 (2008)
• Li Mingjiang, “Pan-Tonkin Gulf Economic Cooperation and Regional Security: Focusing on the South China Sea,” Dongnanya Zongheng [All-round Southeast Asia] (Chinese), 1 (2008).
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s Domestic Politics and Its African Policy,” African Security Review, 1 (2008).
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s Proactive Engagement and the New Asia,” Indian Ocean Survey, 1 & 2 (2007).

Edited Books / Special Issues

• China and Transboundary Water Politics in Asia (with Zhang Hongzhou), Eds. New York: Routledge, 2017
• New Dynamics in US-China Relations: Contending for the Asia Pacific (with Kalyan M. Kemburi), Eds. London: Routledge, 2015
• China’s Power and Asian Security (with Kalyan M. Kemburi), Eds. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2015
• Chinese Power and Asian Security (with Kalyan M. Kemburi), Eds. London: Routlege, 2014
• China and East Asian Strategic Dynamics: the Shaping of a New Regional Order (with Lee Dong Min), Eds. Roman & Littlefield: Lexington, 2013
• Li Mingjiang, China Joins Global Governance: Cooperation and Contentions (Lexington-Roman & Littlefield, 2012)
• China-ASEAN Sub-regional Cooperation: Problems, Progress, and Prospect (with Kwa Chong Guan), Eds. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co., 2011
• Li Mingjiang, Soft Power: China’s Emerging Strategy in International Politics (Lexington-Roman & Littlefield, 2009)
• Tang Shiping, Li Mingjiang and Amitav Acharya, Living with China (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, China and the Changing Strategic Dynamics in Asia(Routledge, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, China and Non-traditional Security in Asia (Routledge, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, China and Asian Regional Multilateralism (Routledge, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, East Asia Responds to a Rising China (Routledge, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s South China Sea Dilemma: Balancing Sovereignty, Development, and Security,” in Sam Bateman and Ralf Emmers, eds., Security and International Politics in the South China Sea (Routledge, 2009)

Chapters in Edited Books

• Zhang Hongzhou, and Li Mingjiang, “The thirsty China and its transboundary waters” in China and Transboundary Water Politics in Asia, Routledge. New York: Routledge. 2017
• Zhang Hongzhou and Li Mingjiang, "China and global water governance: New developments", in China and Transboundary Water Politics in Asia, Routledge. New York: Routledge. 2017
• Zhang Hongzhou and Li Mingjiang. Chapter-"Hunting for Food: A New Driver in Chinese Foreign Policy" in book: China's Economic Statecraft Cooperation, Cooperation, and Coercion Edited by: Mingjiang Li (World Scientific: Signapore) , pp.259-291
• Li Mingjiang, “China-EU Relations: Rivalry Impedes Strategic Partnership,” in Jianwei Wang and Weiqing Song, eds., China, the European Union, and the International Politics of Global Governance (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), pp.13-28
  
• Li Mingjiang, “Xi Jinping and the Challenges to Chinese Security,” in Robert S. Ross and Jo Inge Bekkevold, eds., China in the Era of Xi Jinping (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2016), pp.233-264 (co-author with Robert S. Ross)
• Li Mingjiang, “China Debates the South China Sea Disputes,” in Ian Storey and Lin Cheng-yi, eds., The South China Sea Dispute: Navigating Diplomatic and Strategic Tensions (Singapore: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Instittue, 2016), pp.47-73
• Mingjiang Li. "Central-Local Interactions in Foreign Affairs " in Assessing the Balance of Power in Central-Local Relations in China edited by John Donaldson (Routledge 2017)
• Li Mingjiang, “Going Assertive? Chinese foreign policy under the new leadership,” in Zheng Yongnian and Lance L.P. Gore, eds., China Entering the Xi Jinping Era (Routledge, 2015, second author)
• Li Mingjiang and Kalyan M. Kemburi and Zhang Hongzhou. " Growth of China's power Capabilities, perceptions, and practice" in Li Mingjiang and Kalyan M. Kemburi (eds.), China's Power and Asian Security, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2015.
• Li Mingjiang, “New Security Challenges for China in East Asia,” in Prospects of Multilateral Cooperation in the Asia Pacific: To Overcome the Gap of Security Outlooks, the National Institute for Defense Studies, Japan, October 2014
• Li Mingjiang, “From DOC to COC: Managing Stability in the South China Sea,” in A Collection of Papers of the International Symposium on Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region (China Institute for International Strategic Studies, 2014)
• Li Mingjiang, “The South China Sea: Possible Pathways to Cooperation,” in Shicun Wu and Keyuan Zou, eds., Non-Traditional Security Issues and the South China Sea: Shaping a New Framework for Cooperation (Ashgate: 2014)
• Li Mingjiang, “The Changing Contexts of China’s Policy on the South China Sea Dispute,” in Pavin Chachavalpongpun, ed., Entering Unchartered Waters? ASEAN and the South China Sea (Singapore, ISEAS Publishing, 2014)
• Li Mingjiang, “US Policy in the South China Sea Issue in 2012”, in Liu Fuguo and Wu Shicun, eds., Assessments of the South China Sea Region in 2012 (Center of International Studies, National Cheng-chi University, Taiwan, January 2014)
• Li Mingjiang and Zhang Hongzhou, “Singapore’s South China Sea Policy: Implications for Freedom and Safety of Navigation,” in Shicun Wu and Keyuan Zou, eds., Securing the Safety of Navigation in East Asia (Oxford, UK: Chandos Publishing, 2013), pp. 171-190
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s Provincial Initiatives in Sino-Southeast Asian Relations,” in Zheng Yongnian and Lin Wenxun, eds., Chinese Frontiers’ Governance and Development in the 21st Century (Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2013), pp.278-296 (in Chinese)
• Li Mingjiang, “The Current Situation and Future Trend of the South China Sea Dispute,” in Institute for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, PLA, ed., International Strategic Situation and China’s National Security 2011/2012 (Beijing: Current Affairs Press, 2012)
• Li Mingjiang, “International Status: China’s Pursuit of a Comprehensive Superpower Status,” in Emilian Kavalski, ed., Ashgate Research Companion on Chinese Foreign Policy (Ashgate, 2012)
• Li Mingjiang, “The South China Sea Issue and Its Future Trend,” in Tang Yongsheng and Qi Dapeng, eds., International Strategic Situation and China’s National Security (Current Events Press, 2012) (in Chinese)
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s Pessoptimist Views on and Pragmatic Involvement in East Asian Regionalism,” in Narayanan Ganesan and Colin Durkop, eds., East Asian Regionalism (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2011) (co-author)
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s Provincial Approaches to ASEAN,” in Lam Peng Er and Colin Duerkop, eds., Rethinking Diplomacy: New Approaches and Domestic Challenges in East Asia and the European Union (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2011
• Li Mingjiang, “Introduction,” in Li Mingjiang and Kwa Chong Guan, eds., China-ASEAN Sub-regional Cooperation: Problems, Progress, and Prospect (Singapore: World Scientific Press, 2011)
• Li Mingjiang, “Introduction,” in Li Mingjiang and Lee Dongmin, eds., China and East Asian Strategic Dynamics: the Shaping of a New Regional Order (Lexington-Roman & Littlefield, 2011)
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s Accommodative Diplomacy towards East Asia,” in Lam Peng Er, Narayanan Ganesan, and Colin Durkop, eds., East Asia’s Relations with a Rising China (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2010)
• Li Mingjiang, “Chinese Domestic Politics and International Strategy in East Asia,” in Daniel Flemes, ed., Regional Leadership in the Global System (Ashgate, 2010)
• Li Mingjiang, “China participates in East Asian maritime cooperation: growing activism and strategic concerns,” in Joshua Ho and Sam Bateman, eds., Southeast Asia and the Rise of Chinese and Indian Naval Power (Routledge, 2010)
• Li Mingjiang, “Cooperation for Competition: China’s Strategic Response to US Supremacy in East Asia,” in Sujian Guo and Baogang Guo, eds., Thirty Years of China-U.S. Relations: Analytical Approaches and Contemporary Issues (Lexington-Roman & Littlefield, 2010) (co-author)
• Li Mingjiang, “Explaining China’s Regional Strategy,” in Tang Shiping, et al, eds., Living with China (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “Sino-Indian Energy Politics,” in Marie Lall, ed., Energy Politics in South Asia (ISEAS Publications, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “Soft Power: Nurture not Nature,” in Li Mingjiang, ed., Soft Power: China’s Emerging Strategy in International Politics (Lextington-Rowman & Littlefield, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “Soft Power in Chinese Discourse: Popularity and Prospect,” in Li Mingjiang, ed., Soft Power: China’s Emerging Strategy in International Politics (Lextington-Rowman & Littlefield, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “Sino-EU Relations: Strategic Partnership at a Crossroads,” in Roger Kanet, ed., The United States and Europe in a Changing World Order (Republic of Letters, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “China and Functional Cooperation in East Asia: Possibilities and Limitations,” in See Seng Tan, ed., Collaboration under Anarchy: Functional Regionalism and the Security of East Asia, RSIS Monograph No. 15, 2009.
• Li Mingjiang, “The Security Dimension of Climate Change,” in Yang Razali Kassim, ed., Strategic Currents: Emerging Trends in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009) (co-author)
• Li Mingjiang, “China’s participation in Asian multilateralism: pragmatism prevails,” in Ron Huisken, ed., Rising China: Power and Reassurance (Australian National University Press, 2009)
• Li Mingjiang, “China Defends its Core Interests in a Unipolar World,” in Edward A. Kolodziej and Roger E. Kanet, eds., From Superpower to Besieged Global Power: Restoring World Order after the Failure of the Bush Doctrine (University of Georgia Press, 2008)
• Li Mingjiang, “Pan-Beibu Gulf Cooperation: Potential for Peace in the South China Sea,” in Do Tien Sam, ed., ASEAN-China Cooperation in the New Context (Hanoi: Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2008)
• Li Mingjiang, “The Rural-Urban Divide in China’s Social Security and Its Political Explanations,” in Lei Guang, et al, eds., The State of Rural China: Peasants, Agriculture, and the Rural Society in Reform Era (Hong Kong: Tide Time Publishing Ltd, 2006)

Op-Eds

• “As South China Sea Tensions Rise, China’s Participation in ASEAN Naval Exercise Raises Hope of Calmer Waters” (with Zi Yang), South China Morning Post, 6 November 2018

• AS6013 State, Society and Politics in China