Dr. Zhou is Associate Professor and Director of the Department of China’s Regional Strategy in the National Institute of International Strategy (NIIS), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His research interests focus on Chinese grand strategy, foreign relations of ancient China, and East Asian regional cooperation. He is the author of several books and several dozen articles, such as the Quantitative Analysis of International Issues (Shisi Press, 2001), Security Cooperation in East Asia (Co-editor, Peking University Press, 2004), “The Role of Ideational and Material Factors in the Qing Dynasty Diplomatic Transformation” (The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2007), and the “Equilibrium Analysis of the Tributary System” (The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2011). He received a Ph.D. in International Relations from Tsinghua University in 2006.