Dr Tim Summers

Dr Tim Summers is a research affiliate of the Lau China Institute and an Assistant Professor at the Centre for China Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Tim’s current research covers the international relations and political economy of contemporary China. He is the author of three books, China’s Hong Kong: the Politics of a Global City (2021/2019), China’s Regions in an Era of Globalization (2018) and Yunnan – A Chinese Bridgehead to Asia (2013), and has published in a range of academic journals, including Third World Quarterly, The Pacific Review, International Affairs, Territory Politics Governance, China Information, Eurasian Geography and Economics, The Journal of Contemporary China and Issues & Studies.

Tim was a (non-resident) Fellow at Chatham House for a decade, during which time he co-authored research papers on EU-China Innovation Relations (2018), EU-China 2025 (2017) and The Asia-Pacific Power Balance (2015), and was the sole author of Brexit: implications for EU-China relations (2017) and China’s Global Personality (2014). He has also written extensively on UK-China relations and British policy towards China (including Hong Kong).

Prior to taking his PhD, Tim was a British diplomat for 13 years, including a posting as Consul-General in Chongqing from 2004 to 2007, and five years in Hong Kong from 1996 to 2001. He speaks both Cantonese and Putonghua and is based in Hong Kong.