Jiakun (Jack) Zhang

My research explores the political economy of trade and conflict in East Asia. A scarcity of appropriate measures of interdependence and theoretical disarray about its effects hinder the formulation of effective policies to manage strategic competition with China. I am building a new framework for the dynamics of political competition under economic interdependence with the aid of new data. My newest project assesses the political participation of American businesses in the section 301 hearings process to understand why business interests were unable to restrain the Trump administration’s escalation of trade tensions with China. In another project, my co-authors and I explore the political backlash against Chinese economic competition and its implications for the escalating trade war between the United States and China.