Dr. Ngeow Chow Bing is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China. He focuses on China’s relations with Southeast Asian countries. He is also the director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya. He received his PhD in Public and International Affairs from Northeastern University.
Dr. Ngeow is editor of Populism, Nationalism and South China Sea Dispute (Springer, 2022, with Nian Peng), Researching China in Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2019) and Southeast Asia and China: A Contest in Mutual Socialization (World Scientific, 2017, with Lowell Dittmer). His scholarly articles have been published in journals such as Cold War History, Ocean Development and International Law, China Report, The China Review, Journal of Contemporary China, Asian Politics and Policy, Contemporary Southeast Asia, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Issues and Studies, Problems of Post-Communism, and others. He has also contributed book chapters to several edited volumes, and has published short pieces at online platforms such as East Asia Forum, The Asia Dialogue, ThinkChina, and Channel News Asia.
Dr. Ngeow has written a range of topics related to Chinese politics and history, such as China–Malaysia relations, the South China Sea dispute, the Belt and Road Initiative, foreign policy of Taiwan, grassroots politics in China, and the politics of think tanks and intellectuals in China. He speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Malay.
Beijing could seek to limit the spillover from a Taiwan conflict into the South China Sea and offer to assist in evacuation operations for Southeast Asian citizens.
Engaging with China and with the United States are not zero-sum choices for Southeast Asia, but the challenge for the region’s leaders and diplomats is actually about keeping the United States interested in the region.
Carnegie China scholars share their assessment of the Biden-Xi meeting and its implications for U.S.-China relations going forward.
Washington aims to convince Southeast Asian countries that U.S. military power in the region is benign, while Beijing aims to convince the region that its rise offers economic opportunities. Malaysia assesses both powers as having constructive roles to play.
What are the implications of the Iran-Saudi deal for China’s international role? Can China be expected to make efforts to de-escalate the war in Ukraine? Six scholars provide their takes.
For now, Malaysia remains committed to maintaining public displays of friendly relations with China while handling any differences quietly. But the difficulties and pressures of keeping the friendship real, alive, and substantive are greater than ever.
