Allen Zhang is the Research Assistant for the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation. His work focuses on U.S.–China strategic competition in the South Pacific, with a particular emphasis on dual-use infrastructure, transnational crime, and U.S. engagement with the Pacific Islands. His analysis has been featured in Breaking Defense, The Washington Times, and RealClearDefense, among other outlets.

Previously, Zhang served in the Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and with Homeland Security Investigations at the Department of Homeland Security. Across these roles, his research centered on China’s regional footprint and the broader dynamics of U.S.–China relations.

He has also spent half a year in Taiwan, undertaking intensive Mandarin study and researching cross-strait relations at National Taiwan University. Zhang is fluent in Mandarin, English, and Spanish, and is currently studying Korean. Originally from Texas, he is now based in Washington, D.C.