Experts

Aynne Kokas

Fast Facts

  • Director, UVA East Asia Center
  • Non-resident scholar, Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy
  • Member, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program
  • Expertise on U.S.-China relations, cybersecurity, media industry

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • Asia
  • Domestic Affairs
  • Media and the Press
  • Science and Technology

Aynne Kokas is the C.K. Yen Professor at the Miller Center, director of UVA's East Asia Center, and a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Kokas’ research examines Sino-U.S. media and technology relations. Her award-winning book Trafficking Data: How China Is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty (Oxford University Press, October 2022) argues that exploitative Silicon Valley data governance practices help China build infrastructures for global control. Her award-winning first book Hollywood Made in China (University of California Press, 2017) argues that Chinese investment and regulations have transformed the U.S. commercial media industry, most prominently in the case of media conglomerates’ leverage of global commercial brands. 

Kokas is a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program.

She was a Fulbright Scholar at East China Normal University and has received fellowships from the Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mellon Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Japan’s Abe Fellowship, and other international organizations. Her writing and commentary have appeared globally in more than 50 countries and 15 languages. In the United States, her research and writing appear regularly in media outlets including CNBC, NPR’s MarketplaceThe Washington Post, and Wired. She has testified before the Senate Finance Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Aynne Kokas News Feed

Aynne Kokas, a University of Virginia professor and author of “Hollywood Made In China,” about their relationship, said a film’s popularity was a key variable in China’s reaction. But “if it does go viral I can see possible penalties for other HBO shows and significant impact for broader Warner Media distribution.”
Aynne Kokas The Washington Post
The images of bare-chested, flag-waving MAGA loyalists overtaking the US Capitol flooded US social media and news channels in the days following the January 6 siege against the electoral college count. Memed and amplified, the same images circulated widely on Chinese social media and state-owned news sites without even the need for critical commentary.
Aynne Kokas Financial Review
As a scholar of US-China relations, what strikes me most is that while lawmakers condemn anti-democratic actions abroad, we failed our core institutions, those that seek to build a timeless democracy through knowledge.
Aynne Kokas South China Morning Post
What does it take to make a Hollywood blockbuster? Movie stars? A great script? How about approval from the Chinese government? In this episode, two guests explore the surprising role of Chinese censorship and oversight in the production of U.S. films and ask what’s at stake as their presence increases.
Aynne Kokas Council on Foreign Relations
Chances are, by now you have heard about the controversy surrounding TikTok, the popular social media video app. The controversy stems from allegations that TikTok complies with Chinese Communist Party’s request to provide user data for purposes of surveillance and intelligence gathering. And yes, that data is purported to include US user data. But the TikTok controversy highlights a much larger issue – that of US user data exfiltration to external nation states such as China as a security and privacy risk. Are the steps being taken by the Trump administration appropriate or overkill? Is TikTok unique or part of a growing trend? And what are the consequences of data gathering and exfiltration across borders. We will discuss all this and more with our guest Aynne Kokas, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and a senior faculty fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs.
Aynne Kokas TechSequences Podcast
“People who have spoken out are the people whose work has very little chance of ever appearing in China,” says Aynne Kokas, author of “Hollywood Made in China.” “For example, Judd Apatow, whose screwball sex comedies will never enter the Chinese market, spoke out.”
Aynne Kokas The Christian Science Monitor