Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Global Knowledge Production about China, Leiden University Press, 2026
Julie Yu-Wen Chen’s new book Global Knowledge Production about China (Leiden University Press) illuminates how China-watching has evolved over the decades. China-watching is not the realm of intelligence agencies alone; diplomats, journalists, and scholars, among others, also play an important part. Although global attention has been focused on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, perhaps nowhere is there a greater potential for serious conflict between the major powers than in the Indo-Pacific. China-watching plays a vital role, yet until now, except for China-watchers themselves, there has been little appreciation of who is undertaking this work, why, where, and what shapes the perspectives of China-watchers and hence the information they present. Chen’s book will fill the gap. The book completely free to download online here: https://www.jstor.org/content/oa_book_monograph/jj.36512724
Julie Yu-Wen Chen (BA, National Taiwan University; MA, Leiden University; PhD, University of Konstanz) is Professor of Chinese Studies at Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki in Finland and visiting professor at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University in Thailand.