About

Welcome!

I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia (UBC). I expect to receive my Ph.D. in 2025. I received my MA in Political Science from UBC in 2019 and BSc. in Global China Studies from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2016. 

My research is at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations, with a regional focus on China and Africa. My substantive research interests lie in questions of public opinion, political economy of development, Sino-African relations, Sino-US relations, and climate governance.  I employ a variety of methods in my research, including (survey) experiments, panel data analysis, and interviews.

My dissertation, Essays on the Public Perception of Chinese Economic Activities in Africa, asks two interconnected questions: 1) how do foreign aid and foreign direct investment (FDI) impact the African public’s perception of China as a development model for their country, and 2) how do different foreign policy narratives shape the public support in third countries such as the US toward a closer engagement with Africa? 

In my dissertation, I treat the proximity to Chinese investment and aid projects as a proxy of interaction intensity. I argue that increased interaction with Chinese projects may decrease local citizens’ perception of China as a development model for their home country. Furthermore, the sector of Chinese projects matters (e.g., closer interaction with service-oriented FDI projects generally decreases the perception of China), and we should recognize the diversity among African countries. Exploring how different policy framing shapes public support toward closer engagement with Africa, I conducted a survey experiment in the US, and my research shows that the framing of "countering China" may not elicit public support as politicians have suspected. Partisanship is vital, and Democrats always favor increased engagement with Africa. 

I see my dissertation as part of a larger research agenda on how Global South countries perceive and cooperate with China on issues like economic development and clean energy transition and how the US and other Western countries respond to those perceptions and cooperations in designing their own foreign policies toward Global South countries. For instance, my co-authors and I have working papers discussing China’s involvement in clean energy transition projects in Nigeria and how middle powers like the UK and Australia can advance their relations with ASEAN countries via climate governance projects even under the shadow of China’s active role in the region. 

Feel free to contact me at parkeryz@mail.ubc.ca. I welcome any feedback and advice about my research work.