Contact
Biography
Chee Meng is a political economist who is also an expert in Chinese foreign policy and soft power.
As an Assistant Professor of Business Economics at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, he writes frequently about China's geopolitical aspirations and how this affects the world and vice-versa. Aside from panda diplomacy, which he is an expert on, Chee Meng has also commented and written articles on how a second Trump presidency would impact China's ambitions, and how China might counter US tariffs with its own set of economic weapons.
Some of his writings can be found on prominent current affairs outlet 'The Conversation'.
Chee Meng is also heavily involved in public discourse. Aside from advising governmental entities, his commentaries often appear in both local and global media and can be found in such outlets as Malaysia's national news agency Bernama, the Washington Post, the BBC, CNN, NBC News, TRT World, DW, the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Channel News Asia (CNA), the Straits Times, and so on.
Chee Meng has also appeared on two documentaries on 'panda diplomacy', underscoring his expertise in this area. The first was produced by the prominent US science radio show, Science Friday, titled "How 'Panda Diplomacy' Led To Conservation Success" . The second was by Channel News Asia', entitled "The Power Of Pandas In China-Southeast Asia Relations".
He holds a Ph.D in economics from renown French business school, ESSEC, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Cergy-Pontoise, which is now known as CY Cergy Paris University.
Expertise Summary
I work on institutional and political economic topics. My main expertise includes topics related to China's soft power and infrastructure investment, and have extensive expertise on panda diplomacy, which I have been sought by media regularly to discuss on.
I am also an expert in multilevel analysis (MLM), which is a method frequently used in both the sciences and social sciences to study data structures with a hierarchical or nested nature. I am regularly sought by outlets to review papers related to MLM, as experts on this important method is somewhat lacking.
Alongside my MLM skills, I have also applied my political economics expertise on various topics in cultural and social psychology, and have published my work in good quality journals that are ranked highly on the Academic Journal Guide or AJG, and the Australian Business Dean's Council Journal Quality List (ABDC)
Teaching Summary
I teach the following in 2021/2022
Autumn Semester
1. Quantitative methods 2a (BUSI2055)
2. Industrial Economics 3: Market Structure and Competition Policy (BUSI3164)
Spring Semester
1. Industrial Economics 4: Games and Strategy (BUSI3165)
2. Industrial Economics 5: Economics of Regulation and Public Choice (BUSI3166)
Research Summary
I am a political economist by training and have expertise in Chinese soft power, as well as social and cultural psychology. Much of my work looks at how the intersection between politics and culture… read more
Selected Publications
Current Research
I am a political economist by training and have expertise in Chinese soft power, as well as social and cultural psychology. Much of my work looks at how the intersection between politics and culture influences political or economic outcomes. My expertise have been sought by media outlets and think tanks related to Chinese soft power and the Belt Road Initiative.
Recent work looks into how
1. panda diplomacy influence inbound Chinese tourists
2. vaccination and governmental confidence influences vaccination intent
3. work-family conflict and culture impacts individual happiness
Future Research
I'm presently writing several articles on panda diplomacy. One of them involves the late 2023 panda recalls, and what motivates Beijing's silence and intentions of sending more bears to California,