Shinji YAMAGUCHI is a Senior Research Fellow in the Regional Studies Department of the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), Ministry of Defense, Japan, located in Tokyo, and was a Visiting Scholar at Sigur Center for Asian Studies of George Washington University. He specializes in Chinese politics, China’s security policy, and contemporary Chinese history. He earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Keio University. His publications include “Strategies of China’s Maritime Actors in the South China Sea: A Coordinated Plan under the Leadership of Xi Jinping?” China Perspective, 2016 No.3, (October 2016), pp.23-31; Mou Takuto no Kyokoku ka Senryaku (Mao’s Grand Strategy to Build Strong Country) (Keio University Press, 2021, winner of the 34th Mainichi Shimbun Asia Pacific Grand Prix Award). He is a co-author of the NIDS China Security Report 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023.