Tian He Ph.D.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

I joined the Department of International Studies as an Assistant Professor in September 2022. Previously, I was an Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute for International Affairs at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. In addition to my academic work, I also contribute to public policy analysis and policy discussions.

Much of my research has focused on the interactions between economic development and political transformation in rapidly industrialising countries in East Asia. My first book exploring the divergent patterns of the transformation of developmental states in several booming economies in the region was published in 2020. I am also interested in the international politics aspects of strategic technologies and the political economy of great power competition. My recent projects examine the geoeconomics and geopolitics of the global semiconductor industry in the context of US-China technological competition.


  • Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Canterbury, 2018
  • M.S. in International Relations, Kingston University, 2011
  • B.A. in Business and Finance, University of Hull, 2009


  • Assistant Professor, Department of International Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, 2022-Present
  • Research Fellow, Institute for International Affairs, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 2021-2022
  • Research Fellow, The XIPU Institution, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, 2020
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Government, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, 2018-2019


  • Political Economy of Development
  • International Political Economy of Technology
  • International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
  • East Asian Politics and Policy
  • Asian Political Economy
  • China's Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy


  • “The CPTPP, Cross-Strait Tensions, and Taiwan’s Recognition for Survival Strategy under the Democratic Progressive Party.” International relations of the Asia-Pacific (September 2023). With Michael Macagmit.
  • “The geoeconomics of global semiconductor value chains: Extraterritoriality and the US-China technology rivalry.” Review of International Political Economy (August 2023). With Anton Malkin.
  • “China’s Techno-Economic Statecraft Amid-US-China Strategic Rivalry: AI and the “New Whole-State System.” Orbis (September 2023). With You Ji.
  • "Ethnic Identity Politics and the Transformation of the Developmental State: Industrial Structure, Democratic Transition, and Policy Constraints in Taiwan", Asian Politics and Policy, 12:3 (September 2020) pp.293-315
  • "Transforming the East Asian developmental state: democratic mobilisation and the role of the middle class”, Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 6:2 (January 2020) pp.109-126
  • “Towards a theory of the transformation of the developmental state: political elites, social actors and state policy constraints in South Korea and Taiwan”, Japanese Journal of Political Science, 21:2 (October 2019) pp.47-67


  • “The Political Economy of Developmental States in East Asia: South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan”, Palgrave Macmillan (2020)


  • "Political Economy of Developmental States" in Tan, A. & Quilala, D. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Asian Politics. Edward Elgar (2023), pp.126-132.
  • "China" in Tan, A. & Quilala, D. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Asian Politics. Edward Elgar (2023), pp.207-212.
  • “The Political Challenges to Taiwan’s Bid to Join the CPTPP” (with Michael Magcamit), Taiwan Insight, 7 July 2022.
  • "Biden’s Uphill Battle to Restructure the Global Semiconductor Sector" (with Anton Malkin), The Diplomat, 1 July 2022.
  • “Biden Looks to Techno-alliances to Chip In On Semiconductors”, East Asia Forum, 28 July 2021.
  • “When the Chips are Down: Biden’s Semiconductor War”, The Interpreter, 27 July 2021.
  • “Polarised Media Portrayals of Taiwan’s Exclusion from RCEP”, Asian Politics and Policy, 13 (March 2021) pp.284-288
  • Book Review: "The Third Revolution: Xi Jingping and the New Chinese State" by Elizabeth C. Economy, Pacific Affairs (June 2021), pp. 412-414(3)
  • Book Review: "China in the Global Political Economy: From Developmental to Entrepreneurial" by Gordon C. K. Cheung. Pacific Affairs, 93:1 (March 2020), pp. 160-163 (4)
  • Book Review: "Democracy and Growth in the 21st Century: The Diverging Cases of China and Italy" by Francesco Grillo and Raffaella Nanetti, Political Studies Review (February 2020).


  • INS403 Globalisation and Regional Integration
  • INS108 Foundations in Political Science
  • INS006 Introduction to International Relations
Tian He