Richard Heeks is Professor of Digital Development at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. He is Director of the University's Centre for Digital Development, with research interests around digital transformation, digital uplands and the geopolitics of AI.

Christopher Foster is a Senior Lecturer at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. His research focuses on the digital economy, digital governance and the implications of innovations on the global distribution of production, work and labour.

Ping Gao is a Senior Lecturer at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. His research focuses on IT innovation and policy, especially in the Chinese context and from a government perspective.

Xia Han is a Lecturer in International Business at the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research draws from political economy and international business to explain the expansion of emerging market multinational enterprises with a focus on Chinese firms. She looks at the implications of international relations for MNEs.

Nicholas Jepson is a Lecturer at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. His work examines the global political economy of the rise of China, particularly in relation to development in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe. He leads the finance working group for the China in Europe Research Network (CHERN).

Seth Schindler is Professor of Urban Politics and Development at the University of Manchester, UK. He is also the co-founder of the Second Cold War Observatory. He previously coordinated the MA in Global Studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany.

Qingna Zhou obtained her PhD degree at the University of Manchester, UK. She is serving as an interdisciplinary lecturer across the International Business Group in the Alliance Manchester Business School and the Global Development Institute. Her research interests include digital multinationals, digital transformation, and China's digital expansion in the Global South.