Prof. Jimmy Yab is a Cameroonian political economist, scholar, and public policy leader specializing in development strategy, China–Africa relations, and comparative political economy, whose academic home institution is the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC). He currently serves as President of the Observatory of China–Africa Francophone (OCAF) and President of the Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon (MLDC) as well, positioning him at the intersection of academic research and political leadership. 

He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Southampton (UK), where he is also a visiting scholar. Prof. Yab has developed over a decade of academic collaboration with leading Chinese institutions, focusing on development models, state capacity, industrial policy, and advancing his concept of the “Community Developmental State” for Africa’s transformation.

He is the author of major scholarly works on East Asian development and China’s political economy, including a political theory book Kant and the Politics of Racism: Towards Kant’s Racialised Form of Cosmopolitan Right.

As President of the China–Cameroon Friendship Association (CCFA), Professor Jimmy Yab attended the China International Friendship Conference and Events Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship in 2024, where he elaborated on and promoted Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy.

Jimmy Yab will be a visiting scholar at Fudan Development Institute from March 24, 2026 to April 26, 2026.