Mingwei ZHOU graduated from Department of International Politics of Fudan University in July 1984. He studied at Rockefeller School of Politics of State University of New York and Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and received his PhD degree. He served as Member of the 12^th National Committee of CPPCC and Deputy to the 16^th and the 18^th CPC National Congress.

Mingwei ZHOU served as Assistant to President and Director of the President's Office and Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Fudan University (1994-1996), Deputy Director and Director of Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Shanghai (1996-2000), Deputy Director (Vice-Minister Level) of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, (2000-2003), and Executive Vice Director-General (Vice Minister Level) and Director-General of China International Publishing Group (2004-2017).

He also served as Executive Director of Confucius Institute Headquarters, Vice President of China Association for Preservation & Development of Tibetan Culture, Vice President of China Eco-Culture Association, and Chinese Member of the 5^th 21^st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship. Currently, he is Executive Director of Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University and School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Honorary Director of China-U.S. Strategic Dialogue Research Center for Humanistic Exchange of Fudan University, Distinguished Professor of Central Institute of Socialism, China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong, Fudan University, Visiting Professor of East China Normal University, Honorary Professor of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, etc.

He focuses the research on politics of U.S. Congress: Congress lobby groups, lobbying and congressional decision-making; International relations, American politics, China-U.S. relations and Taiwan issue, international communication, cultural comparison between East and West, etc.