Contact Information
Tel. (808) 956-2681, Email: harwit@hawaii.edu
Educational Background
• Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Political Science, 1992
• M.A. University of California, Berkeley, Political Science, 1985
• B.A. Cornell University, College Scholar, 1984
Professor Harwit teaches at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Asian Studies Program.
Specializations
Professor Harwit’s recent work has focused on the politics of industrial development in China. His most recent single-authored book, China’s Telecommunications Revolution (Oxford, 2008) examines telecommunications and Internet development in the PRC. The book assesses the political and social impact of China’s data network, as well as the spread of mobile and fixed-line telecommunications to both urban and rural parts of the country. His most recent co-edited book (with Yu Hong) is China’s Globalizing Internet: History, Power, and Governance (Routledge, 2022). His teaching includes courses on comparative Asian development, China’s economic advance, and the spread of communications technologies in the East Asian region.
Courses
- ASAN 201 Introduction to East Asia.
- ASAN 320C: Asia Past & Present: China.
- ASAN 485: Contemporary Chinese Development.
- ASAN 600C: Approaches to Asia: China.
- ASAN 608: Politics & Development: China.
- ASAN 626: Capitalism in Contemporary Asia.
- ASAN 651: East Asia Now.
- ASAN 689: International Relations in Asia.
- ASAN 750C: Research Seminar: China.
- MGT 670B Chinese Management Systems.
Selected Publications
- “China’s EV Battery Industry Goes Abroad: the U.S. Reaction and Restrictions” China-US Focus, April 19, 2024, online.
- “U.S.‑China 5G Competition, the Economy‑Security Nexus, and Asia” Journal of Chinese Political Science (Vol. 29, November 2023), pp. 417-432.
- “China’s 5G Mobile Technology in Asia: US Security Concerns and Regional Economic Priorities” Asia Pacific Issues, No. 159, May 2023, pp. 1-8, online.
- China’s Globalizing Internet: History, Power and Governance, (co-edited with Yu Hong), Routledge, 2022.
- “Tesla Goes to China” Asia Pacific Issues, No. 152, April, 2022, pp. 1-8, online.
- “China’s Space Exploration and China-U.S. Scientific Cooperation” China-US Focus, October 2, 2021, online.
- “Tesla’s Path Forward in China,” China-US Focus, June 21, 2021, online.
- “Prospects for TikTok and WeChat in the U.S. 2021 and Beyond” China-US Focus, March 3, 2021, online.
- “China’s Globalizing Internet: History, Power, and Governance,” Chinese Journal of Communication (Vol. 13, no. 1, January 2020), pp. 1-7 (co-authored with Yu Hong)
- “China’s Video App TikTok: A Challenge to the U.S.?” China-US Focus, November 15, 2019, online.
- “China’s 5G Progress and Implications for a Global Telecommunication Divide,” China-US Focus, March 22, 2019, online.
- “Issues of US-Chinese Economic Relations in 2017,” Journal of Chinese Economy and Management Studies, Vol 2, No. 1, March 2018, pp. 2-8, 2018.
- “Warming Japan-China Ties: Implications for American Cars,” China-US Focus, November 7, 2018, online.
- “Is 5G Wireless Technology the Next Field for Chinese Dominance?” Editorial in China-US Focus, April 4, 2018.
- “WeChat: Social and Political Development of China’s Dominant Messaging App” Chinese Journal of Communication, 2017, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 312-327.
- “Tesla’s China Venture – Will the Company Set a Precedent in Shanghai?” Editorial in China-US Focus, November 9, 2017.
- “Ford and Tesla’s Challenge to Trump in China” Editorial in China-US Focus, July 19, 2017.
- “ZTE’s Penalty: Repercussions of an American-Imposed Fine” Editorial in China-US Focus, May 24, 2017.
- “Blessing China’s Takeover of Syngenta” Editorial in China-US Focus, August 31, 2016.
- “Sanctioning ZTE and Huawei: Chinese Telecom Giants’ Conflict with the U.S.,” editorial in China-US Focus, June 30, 2016.
- “The Internet in China: How the Network is Shaping the PRC’s Economic and Social Landscape,” The World Financial Review, January-February 2016, pp. 64-67.
- “The Rise and Influence of Weibo (Microblogs) in China,” Asian Survey, November/December 2014, pp. 1059-1087.
- “Chinese and Japanese Investment in Southeast and South Asia: Case Studies of the Automobile and Electronics Industries,” Pacific Review, September, 2013, pp. 361-383.
- “Comparative Development of the Mobile Internet in China and Japan,” in Chu, Rodney, et. al., ed., Mobile Communication and Greater China, Routledge, New York, 2012, pp. 80-95.
- “Telecommunications and the Internet in China,” in Asia-Pacific Yearbook (Centre for International Information and Documentation: Barcelona, Spain) (2009).
- “Automobile Industry,” entry in Encyclopedia of Modern China(Charles Scribner’s Sons: Detroit), 2009, pp. 121-123.
- “Japan’s Economic Ties with China: A Focus on Industrial Investment and Technology Transfer Policies,” Japanese Journal of Administrative Science, vol. 21, no. 2, 2008, pp. 153-160.
- “Chinese Overseas Investment: Cases in the Automobile and Telecommunications Sectors,” in Takahashi, Goro, ed., Kaigai-shinshutsu suru chugoku- keizai[The overseas advance of the Chinese economy]. Tokyo: Nippon Hyoronsha, 2008, pp. 184-98.
- China’s Telecommunications Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2008), 249 pages. ◊ Japanese translation (NTT Publishing, Inc., 2011).
- “Building China’s Telecommunications Network: Industrial Policy and the Role of Chinese State-owned, Foreign and Private Domestic Enterprises,” China Quarterly, June, 2007, pp. 311-332.
- “Government Policy and Political Control over China’s Internet,” in Jens Damm and Simona Thomas, ed., Chinese Cyberspaces, Routledge, New York, 2006, pp. 12-41. (co-written with Duncan Clark).
- “Telecommunications and the Internet in Shanghai: Political and Economic Factors Shaping the Network in a Chinese City,” Urban Studies, September, 2005, pp. 1837-1858.
- “Spreading Telecommunications to Developing Areas in China: Telephones, the Internet and the Digital Divide,” China Quarterly, December, 2004, pp. 1010-1030.
- “The Automobile Industry in China after WTO Entry,” Harvard China Review, Spring, 2004, pp. 107-111.
- “High Technology Business Incubators in China: Keys to Fueling New Entrepreneurship?” China Business Review, July-August 2002, pp. 26-29.
- “Shaping the Internet in China: Evolution of Political Control over Network Infrastructure and Content,” Asian Survey, May-June, 2001
- “China’s Automobile Industry: Policies, Problems, and Prospects,” M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY, 1995, 208 pages.
Media Engagements
- “Maui fire misinformation on social media linked to China” September 12, 2023 television interview with station KITV
- “Can ‘good cop’ Janet Yellen help fix US-China relations?” Quoted on BBC website, July 5, 2023
- “Can a Million Chinese People Die and Nobody Know?” Quoted in The Atlantic, February 24, 2023
- “Tesla’s China ties help EV maker bounce back from COVID chaos” Quoted in Nikkei Asia, July 8, 2022
- “Trump blesses TikTok deal with Oracle and Walmart. How will China respond?” Quoted in Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2020
- “Influencer exits. Ban threats. Can TikTok weather the storm?” Quoted in Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2020
- “This gamer’s punishment over Hong Kong protest shows China’s sway over U.S. companies” Quoted in Los Angeles Times, October 8, 2019
- “Huawei, une success story à la chinoise” Quoted in Libération, July 15, 2019
- “What’s so scary about Huawei?” February 10, 2019, radio interview with BBC
- “The Fate of Huawei Foreshadows the Fate of China” December 18, 2018, Quoted in The Atlantic
- “Joint U.S.-South Korean Military Exercises Take Place Amid Backdrop of Rhetoric Between U.S., North Korea” August 22, 2017 radio interview with station KJZZ.
- “The Car Industry” October 29, 2017 radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- “How the Warriors Became China’s Favorite Team” Quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, September 30, 2017.
- “Some Startups Find the American Dream in China” Quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 2017.