Zhu Ying

Zhu Ying

Professor of Economics, Shanghai Normal University

Zhu Ying is a retired economics professor at the School of Finance and Business in Shanghai Normal University (SHNU), specialising in world economics. He is currently a consulting professor at SHNU's Tianhua College.

US President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a joint news conference after their bilateral meeting at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, 23 May 2022. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The US is winning at building relationships with China's neighbours

Academic Zhu Ying notes that the war in Ukraine has brought the US, Japan and South Korea closer together on issues such as Taiwan and the nuclear threat from North Korea, thus strengthening the US’s strategy of working with alliances. In exchange for the US’s support in forms such as a nuclear umbrella, Japan and South Korea will align with the US in its competition with China.
A demonstrator wearing a face mask in the colours of the Ukraine flag attends a protest rally against the war in Ukraine at the German Chancellery in Berlin on 4 May 2022. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP)

Russia-Ukraine war: A turning point in Germany’s policy towards China

Economics professor Zhu Ying notes that even though Germany is economically dependent on China, its stand is changing due to the war in Ukraine, with China being seen as supportive of Russia’s invasion that goes against shared universal values. All in all, Germany’s increasing focus on values rather than economic interests is having a spillover effect on China.
A destroyed Russian T-72 tank is seen, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the village of Dmytrivka in Ukraine, 1 April 2022. (Oleksandr Klymenko/Reuters)

Chinese academic: Ukraine war shows a corrupt Russia inside and out

Outdated military equipment, expired rations and the plundering of household appliances — these are the realities of Russia’s military fighting in Ukraine. Meanwhile, those at home face a leadership characterised by corruption and impunity. Economics professor Zhu Ying highlights the incidents that have been laid bare for the world to see and how they may lead to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s downfall.
Burnt cars are pictured through the glass of a damaged car in Saltivka neighbourhood, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 10 May 2022. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

Russia-Ukraine war has triggered another split in China-US relations

Economics professor Zhu Ying observes that since US-China relations reached their high point after former President Trump's visit to Beijing in 2017, China-US relations have seen three splits, each driven by the trade war, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine respectively. Amid tense relations and set identities that have been formed, one can only hope that the US and China do not stumble into a hot war.
A boy stands next to a wrecked vehicle in front of an apartment building damaged during the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, 24 April 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Neither will submit: Why the Russia-Ukraine war will be the cruellest since World War II

As much as the world wants an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Chinese professor Zhu Ying notes that in the current situation, given Russian nationalism and Ukrainian grit, it is very unlikely that peace terms can be negotiated at this point. Russian President Vladimir Putin has a point to prove, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also determined not to give in.
This picture taken on 1 April 2022 shows an aerial view of a giant sign being raised by protesters depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin as an octopus with its arms wrapping around the countries of Georgia, Syria, Ukraine and the world globe during a demonstration in the city of Binnish in Syria's northwestern rebel-held Idlib province against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)

How Putin became trapped by his own authoritarianism

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s misjudgement of the Ukrainian situation, its people’s resilience and his own military forces have led to a prolonged war. Economics professor Zhu Ying notes that Putin has been misguided by his beliefs, and his dictatorship over Russia has struck fear even in his top officials, leading to a circle of "yes men" that have shielded him from the realities of the war. Cracks are showing in this inner circle. How long more will Putin stay trapped in his ideology?
A woman walks past graffiti in Borovsk, some 100 km south-west of Moscow, 14 April 2022. (AFP)

The Russia-Ukraine war has accentuated the democratic-autocratic divide

The Russia-Ukraine war has galvanised NATO and the West to action, and it seems that two main camps are taking shape along the East-West divide, and between democratic and autocratic systems. Academic Zhu Ying examines how China and other countries have responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the implications of the splits.
In this file photo the US flag flies in the foreground as containers are seen at the Port of Los Angeles on 18 June 2019 in San Pedro, California. Spending by American consumers and record-high imports as the global economy reopened drove the US trade gap to a new all-time high in March, the Commerce Department reported on 4 May 2021. The trade deficit rose 5.6% to US$74.4 billion, the highest ever recorded and mostly attributable to trade with China. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)

The politicisation of China-US trade ties: Showdown between capitalism and communism?

Economics professor Zhu Ying notes that China-US trade ties are currently highly politicised, not least because of bilateral military competition, and what the West sees as China’s authoritarian approach in the digital sector. The US trade war is set to see further ripples and partial decoupling of supply chains may worsen. Can this standoff be resolved?
US President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on 13 May 2021. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP)

Strategic Competition Act: The US targeting China through Cold War politics?

Economics professor Zhu Ying looks at the similarities and differences between NSC-68 targeting the Soviet Union during the Cold War period, and the recent Strategic Competition Act targeting China, which may soon pass into law. What can we infer about the current state of China-US relations?