Li Cheng is professor of political science and founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong. Li is the author and editor of 17 books, and his research areas include the transformation of political leaders, the Chinese middle class, technological development in China, and Sino-US relations. Prior to joining HKU, Li served as director and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center, where he remains a nonresident senior fellow.