Ying Zhu

Ying ZHU’s research areas covers global entertainment industry, encompassing Chinese cinema and media, Sino-Hollywood relations, and streaming media and serial narrative. She has published four single-authored books including Hollywood in China: Behind the Scenes of the World’s Largest Film Market and Two Billion Eyes: The Story of China Central Television, six co-edited books including Soft Power with Chinese Characteristics: China’s Campaign for Hearts and Minds and Art, Politics and Commerce in Chinese Cinema, and numerous articles in academic journals and major media outlets including Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Screen, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal. The recipient of a US National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, and a Fulbright (China) Senior Research Fellowship, Zhu is the founding editor of the peer-reviewed open access academic journal, Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images. Formerly a tenured full-professor at the City University of New York, Zhu currently serves as a Disney Endowed Visiting Chair Professor of Global Media at the Schwarzman College and a Visiting Professor at the Pratt Institute. 

In Amanda Yen, “Gen Z's fascination with China is about their disillusionment with capitalism,” Business Insider (March 19, 2026)

In Vivian Wong, “Labubu Diplomacy: China seems to be winning more hearts and minds abroad. Has it gotten better at soft power?” New York Times (February 17, 2026)

In Andy Browne, “China’s soft power is pouring out of its censored internet” SEMAFOR (December 11, 2025)

In Samantha Masunaga, “‘Zootopia’ was a major hit in China. Will its sequel do as well?” Los Angeles Times (November 26, 2025) 

Appeared on “The story of China and Hollywood's big-screen romance” The Indicator from Planet Money Podcast (July 16, 2025)

In Vivian Wong, “Can This Not-Particularly-Cute Elf Make China Cool? China has long struggled to improve its image, especially in the West. It may be scoring some victories now” New York Times (June 16, 2025) 

In Thomas Chan, Gloria Li, &  Wenjie Ding, “China’s record-breaking blockbuster buoyed by patriotic viewers,” Financial Times (February 21, 2025)

In Sam Davies, “Chinese animated blockbuster breaks records, prompts patriotism,” AFP (December 2, 2025)

In Hayley Wong and Phoebe Zhang, “Nezha 2: ancient Chinese stories prove a winning formula for animated film success,” South China Morning Post (February 9, 2025) 

In Josh Xiao and Jing Li, “China Welcomes Back Hollywood Movies in Bid to Boost Spending.” Bloomberg (January 22, 2025) 

In Thomas Chan, “China’s box office takings drop by a quarter as viewers turn to streaming,” Financial Times (January 5, 2025)