Zongyuan Zoe Liu is the Maurice R. Greenberg Fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she specializes in Chinese studies with a focus on international political economy. Her new book, Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances its Global Ambitions, explores the history and impact of the enormous investment funds China has set up over the last two decades in order to utilize its huge pile of foreign exchange reserves. In the following lightly edited interview, we discussed Beijing’s evolving ambitions for its sovereign wealth funds, their controversial investments in the U.S. and elsewhere, and their future in a world often growing more skeptical towards Chinese capital.  Zongyuan Zoe Liu.Illustration by Kate Copeland Q: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have become a huge force in international finance, in places from Norway to Saudi Arabia. Can you start by explaining what they typically are? A: There isn’t a universally accepte