Rana Mitter is Director of the University China Centre at the University of Oxford, where he is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China. He is the author of several books, including the award-winning A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World (Oxford, 2004). His newest book China’s War with Japan, 1937-45: The Struggle for Survival (Penguin) was named as a 2013 Book of the Year in the Financial Times and the Economist. 

Rana presents and contributes regularly to programmes on television and radio, commenting on contemporary Chinese politics and society.  More broadly, in the UK he is a regular presenter of programmes on music, the arts and ideas including Free Thinking on BBC Radio 3. His reviews and essays have appeared in newspapers including the Financial Times, International New York Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Caijing, and Outlook (India).