Dr Olivia Cheung is Lecturer in Politics at the Department of European & International Studies and Affiliate of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London. She is also China Fellow at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Previously, she was Research Fellow at the China Institute of SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, and Teaching Fellow at the University of Warwick. She obtained the MPhil and DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford as a Swire Scholar and Rhodes Scholar.

Dr Cheung is the author or co-author of China’s Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping (Oxford University Press, 2026); The Political Thought of Xi Jinping (Oxford University Press, 2024; also available on Kindle and Audible), which was featured in the Financial Times’ ‘What to read in 2024’; and Factional-Ideological Conflicts in Chinese Politics: To the Left or to the Right? (Amsterdam University Press, 2023; free e-book). She has also published multiple journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews. Her research has been featured in The Economist, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among other international media outlets.

Dr Cheung participates in Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues and gives media interviews. She serves on the editorial board of Government and Opposition, where she is Associate Editor.

Office hours

Monday: 13.00-14.00

Friday: 11.00-12.00

Term-time only (excluding reading week). Please e-mail in advance to book an appointment.

Research interests

Dr Cheung is working on research projects on Chinese politics and foreign policy, international orders, and the comparative study of political leadership and ideology. Her research interests include:

• Politics and foreign policy of China
• Rising powers
• Global governance
• International orders
• Political leadership
• Political ideas, ideologies, and worldviews

Teaching

5AAOB217 The Politics and Foreign Policy of China

7AAON232 China’s Global Rise: Great Power Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics

PhD supervision

I welcome applications for PhD topics related to my research interests. 

Publications

Books

China’s Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping (New York: Oxford University Press, 2026), co-authored with Steve Tsang

The Political Thought of Xi Jinping (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024), co-authored with Steve Tsang

Factional-Ideological Conflicts in Chinese Politics: To the Left or to the Right? (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2023)

Journal Articles

“Authors’ Response: Policy Implications of Xi Jinping Thought for China and the World,” Asia Policy 19, no. 4 (2024): 245–49, co-authored with Steve Tsang

“Xi Jinping’s Approach to Acquire Strategic Technology from the West,” East Asia: An International Quarterly 41 (2024): 301–23, co-authored with Steve Tsang

“Factional Model-Making in China: Party Elites’ Open Political Contention in the Policy Process,” The China Quarterly 251 (2022): 705–25

“Has Xi Jinping Made China’s Political System More Resilient and Enduring?” Third World Quarterly 43, no. 1 (2022): 225–43, co-authored with Steve Tsang

“Uninterrupted Rise: China’s Global Strategy According to Xi Jinping Thought,” The Asan Forum 9, no. 2 (2021), co-authored with Steve Tsang.

Book Chapters

“The People's Republic of China: History,” in The Far East and Australasia 2026, 57th ed. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2026): 137–44.

“The People's Republic of China: History,” in The Far East and Australasia 2025, 56th ed. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2025): 146–53.

“An East Asian Theory of Democracy,” in Samantha Cooke (ed.), Non-Western Global Theories of International Relations (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022): 103–32.

Book Reviews

“Deadly Decision in Beijing: Succession Politics, Protest Repression, and the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, by Yang Su. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. xxii + 314 pp. US$29.99/£22.99 (paper); also available as an e-book,” The China Journal 93 (2025): 145–47.

“The End of Engagement: America’s China and Russia Experts and U.S. Strategy Since 1989, by David M. McCourt. New York: Oxford University Press, 2024. ISBN 9780197765203,” International Affairs 101, no. 3 (2025): 1170–71.

“The Xi Jinping Effect, edited by Ashley Esarey and Rongbin Han. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2024. 304 pp. US$32.00 (paper), ISBN 978-0-295-75281-5,” H-Net Reviews, 22 March 2025. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=61434.

“The Sentinel State: Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China, by Minxin Pei. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2024. 321 pp. US$35.00 (hardback), ISBN 9780674257832,” Pacific Affairs 98, no. 3 (2025). https://pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-reviews/the-sentinel-state-surveillance-and-the-survival-of-dictatorship-in-china-by-minxin-pei/

“Xi: A Study in Power (2022) by Kerry Brown; The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State (2018) by Elizabeth C. Economy; Xi Jinping: The Hidden Agendas of China’s Ruler for Life (2023) by Willy Lam; Dictatorship by Degrees: Xi Jinping in China (2021) by Steven Feldman; and The Politics of the Core Leader of China: Culture, Institution, Legitimacy, and Power (2021) by Xuezhi Guo,” in “The Best Books on Xi Jinping,” Five Books, Interview, 9 January 2024. https://fivebooks.com/best-books/xi-jinping-olivia-cheung/.

“China's Leaders: From Mao to Now, by David Shambaugh. Cambridge; Oxford; Boston; New York: Polity, 2021. xiv + 383 pp. (Tables, graphs, B&W photos). US$28.00 (cloth), ISBN 9781509546510,” Pacific Affairs 95, no. 3 (2022): 609–11. https://pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-reviews/chinas-leaders-from-mao-to-now-by-david-shambaugh/

“The Politics of the Core Leader in China: Culture, Institution, Legitimacy, and Power, by Xuezhi Guo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. 434 pp. £90.00, ISBN 978-1-108-48049-9,” The China Quarterly 246 (2021): 605–07.

“Toxic Politics: China's Environmental Health Crisis and Its Challenge to the Chinese State, by Yanzhong Huang. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. 280 pp. £22.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-108-81528-4,” South African Journal of International Affairs 28, no. 3 (2021): 487–88.