Yuen Yuen Ang Keynote Speaker

Yuen Yuen Ang is the Alfred Chandler Chair of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University. A Stanford-educated Singaporean with a distinctly multicultural background, Ang is a globally renowned expert on China’s political economy and US-China relations.

Professor Ang is named by Apolitical in 2021 among the world’s 100 Most Influential Academics in Government for “research that resonates with policymakers [and] has the potential to steer the direction of government.” She has been profiled in American, Chinese, Indonesian, and European outlets, including CGTN, Die Zeit, Endgame, Ezra Klein Show, Freakonomics Radio, The New York Times, Dushu, Jiemian, Pengpai, among others.

Her podcast interview on Freakonomics was described by the host Stephen Dubner as “one of the most powerful and fascinating pieces we’ve done in some time.” Ezra Klein of The New York Times described Ang as having “done pioneering work on understanding China’s political system and its political development.” Professor Ang’s point of view on China and America — shaped by her multicultural background — he stresses, “has pretty profound implications.” Foreign Affairs, the eminent American magazine of foreign policy, named her writing about the “Best of Books” and “Best of Print.”

Ang is the author of two award-winning books, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016) and China’s Gilded Age (2020), both recommended by The Economist. Her many essays and editorials appear in influential outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Project Syndicate, Pengpai (China). She is the inaugural recipient of Theda Skocpol Prize, awarded by the American Political Science Association for “impactful contributions to comparative politics,” along with multiple book awards across disciplines: political science, economics, and sociology. Yuen Yuen Ang was also named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow for “high-caliber scholarship that applies fresh perspectives to the most pressing issues of our times.”

Professor Ang is frequently invited to advise and speak to business, policy, and civic communities around the world, including in Africa, China, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East. She has twice testified before the US-China Economic & Security Commission, briefed development agencies and think-tanks in Asia, the US, and Europe, and consulted the United Nations on China’s rising role in international development. She is an award-winning teacher.

A team of clients recently commented: “The board raved about your panel and found it to be so helpful… thought-provoking and educational.” Another audience responded, “The debate was great, especially Yuen, who presented from the floor an alternative view about China.”