Denghua Zhang

Denghua Zhang is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University (ANU). He holds a PhD from ANU, specializing in Chinese foreign aid and trilateral aid cooperation. His research focuses on Chinese foreign policy, foreign aid, and China-Pacific Islands relations, with a strong emphasis on geopolitical dynamics, development studies, and regional diplomacy.

Key research interests include Chinese foreign policy toward the Pacific, bilateral and trilateral aid mechanisms, and perceptions of China’s influence in Pacific Island countries. He has published extensively in journals such as *Australian Journal of International Affairs*, *International Relations of the Asia-Pacific*, and *Pacific Affairs*. His 2022 article on China’s influence in Pacific Island countries won the Boyer Prize, and his 2023 work on Chinese scholars’ views was highlighted by Oxford University Press as 'High Impact Research.'

Zhang leads research projects such as 'Is China's Influence in the Pacific Really Growing? Views from the Ground' (2018–2021) and is currently investigating China’s Juncao Project in Papua New Guinea. His book *A Cautious New Approach: China’s Growing Trilateral Aid Cooperation* (2020) remains influential in development studies.

Academically, he supervises research students and collaborates globally on topics like China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Pacific regionalism, and the impact of foreign aid on small island states.