Summer Intern, Asia Society Policy Institute Center for China Analysis (Society)

Position description

The Center for China Analysis (CCA) is part of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), a think- and do- tank with a policy-solving mandate that tackles major policy challenges confronting the Asia-Pacific in security and diplomacy; trade, investment, and innovation; climate and energy; and society, technology, and public health. 

Established in 2022, CCA is committed to decoding China's complexities with an "inside-out" approach by offering evidence-based, independent, and policy-relevant analyses with a balanced, holistic, and human-centered focus, covering Chinese domestic politics; economy and technology; foreign policy and national security; climate, energy and the environment; society, public health, and education. The intern(s) will directly assist two flagship projects led by the pillar lead:

China Demography Project — An interactive website presenting data, analysis, and commentary on China’s demographic trends and their policy implications.

Social Dissent / State Response Project — A collaborative research initiative developing a coding framework and open-access dataset for analyzing how the Chinese state responds to social unrest triggered by economic stress, using open-source data and remote methods.

This is an excellent opportunity for a graduate or advanced undergraduate student seeking hands-on research experience at the intersection of China analysis, data work, and policy communication. The intern will be supervised by the pillar lead and, where applicable, will work alongside the pillar’s Research Associate.

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RESPONSIBILITIES:

Essential functions may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Track and research developments in Chinese society (including in demographic policy, labor markets, social unrest, and local governance) using Chinese- and English-language sources.
• Assist with event coding and data entry for the social dissent / social unrest project, including logging protest events, state response types, and economic context variables using the project’s coding instrument.
• Compile and organize datasets from publicly available sources.
• Write, edit, and proofread research summaries, data narratives, policy memos, and website content related to both projects.
• Conduct targeted literature reviews on specific topics as assigned (e.g., local fiscal capacity, youth unemployment, property sector distress, migration trends).
• Assist with event and conference logistics, including coordinating invitations, preparing briefing materials, drafting event summaries, and managing attendee lists for roundtables and workshops.
• Support the pillar’s digital presence by helping maintain contact databases, draft newsletter content, and develop social media materials.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Must be a recent graduate or graduate student. Graduate-level students are preferred.
• Candidates are expected to commit to a minimum of 18 hours per week for a period of at least 12 weeks.
• Must be able to participate in person at ASPI offices in Washington, D.C. or New York for at least two days a week. Remote candidates with strong qualifications will be considered.
• Familiarity with China policy issues, Chinese politics, or Chinese society through previous academic study and/or professional experience.
• Advanced proficiency or higher in Mandarin Chinese (reading ability strongly preferred).
• Strong research, writing, and editing skills in English.
• Excellent attention to detail, particularly with data and source materials.
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and manage diverse tasks independently.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and comfort working with data in spreadsheet or database formats.
• Interest in data visualization, coding tools (Python, R), or web development is a plus but not required.
• Must be based in the U.S. and have U.S. work authorization.

COMPENSATION:

Interns are paid $17.95-$18.40/per hour.

Application instructions

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