Yuen Yuen Ang is the Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University. A central theme in Ang’s work is governance under complexity and how societies adapt, or fail to adapt, to disruptions—whether from China’s transformation, multipolarity, or artificial intelligence. A cross-disciplinary scholar and systems thinker, Ang’s research has won awards across political science, sociology, and economics, with prize committees recognizing it for “game-changing” and “field-shifting” ideas.

Her award-winning books, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016) and China’s Gilded Age (2020), laid the empirical foundation for Ang’s paradigm—AIM: Adaptive, Inclusive & Moral Political Economy. Her recent work extends AIM to interpret the emerging world order, AI, and China’s policy communication and state-led innovation drive.

Ang has been named among the world’s 100 Most Influential Academics in Government for “research that has the potential to steer the direction of government.” Bridging scholarship with policymaking, Ang directs The Polytunity Project and The Multipolar World & U.S.-China Forum at Johns Hopkins University. The forum convenes experts across sectors in Washington, DC to explore US-China relations in a tech-disrupted, multipolar era. She also serves as a Trustee of the Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company, overseeing the Trust Principles of journalistic independence and integrity at Reuters.

Her media interviews have appeared across Asia, Europe, and the U.S., including on The Ezra Klein Show (New York Times), Freakonomics Radio, Jiemian, and South China Morning Post.