China Audio: Recent Episodes
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
China is the world's most populous country and it will soon have the largest economy. Its financial policies, politics, foreign policy, and history are often misunderstood by the West, but they will be of growing importance in the coming decades.
Under Xi Jinping, China is stepping up a crackdown on freedom of expression, including in universities, reports China expert Joshua Eisenman. Is this the beginning of a new Cultural Revolution, as some people fear? If so, we need to understand that this time it will be a Cultural Revolution of the political right, not the left, says Eisenman. "The tactics that they're using are neo-Maoist tactics, but the ideas are neo-fascist."
Tired of conventional wisdom? Check out geopolitical forecaster George Friedman. The period that began at the end of World War II was a freak, he says. "We're returning to a more normal structure in which the nation-state is dominant, international trade is intense but managed by states for their own benefit, and where this idea that the nation-state is obsolete goes away." And find out why he's bullish on Japan and thinks we overestimate China.
Thucydides's Trap is the dangerous dynamic that occurs when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling power, explains Harvard's Graham Allison. So is war between China and the United States inevitable? No, says Allison, but both nations will have to make "painful adaptations and adjustments" to avoid it, starting with U.S. policy adjustments regarding the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula.
"Financial Times" chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman says, "We've reached the point where the West's grip on world affairs begins to loosen." China's economic rise is, indeed, a big reason for this shift, but how do Brexit, Crimea, and "red lines" fit into the story? What will be the effect on Southeast Asia, Australia, and Africa?
Orville Schell has been reporting on China since 1970. In this wide-ranging and insightful conversation he looks at China and the U.S. exit from TPP; North Korea; the South China Sea; China's values system (or lack of one); human rights; climate change; and more.
Why is there no NATO for Asia? After World War II, why did the United States opt for bilateral relationships with countries like Japan and South Korea? As Georgetown's Victor Cha explains, this was a "powerplay" by the Americans to contend with a "dangerous" and complex East Asia. Does this arrangement still make sense today?
What really goes on in an Apple factory in China? In this fascinating conversation, Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Devin Stewart talks to Dejian "Ken" Zeng, a grad student who went undercover at an iPhone factory in Shanghai, about 12-hour workdays, his minimalist life in the dorms, and why it's so hard to organize a labor movement in China.
A frequent visitor to China, Professor Eisenman is an astute observer of the cataclysmic changes taking place there, from the emptying-out of the countryside to the ubiquitous use of the Wechat app. What's his advice for U.S. policy? Americans should try to understand China better, and be far more realistic and modest in their objectives.
Senior Fellow Devin Stewart speaks to scholar Jeffrey Wasserstrom, of University of California, Irvine, about the current state of Chinese media, politics, leadership, and human rights. They also discuss the country's anti-corruption campaign, Chinese history, and Wasserstrom's new book "Eight Juxtapositions: China Through Imperfect Analogies."
James Hsiung gives a clear and compelling explanation of Confucius' views on harmonious human relations and how societies should be run, discussing how his thought differs from Western philosophy. He also explains why and how Confucianism has finally been rehabilitated, after almost a century of ignominy.
With 30 years of growth under its belt, has China joined the ranks of "developed" economies like the United States and Japan? What are obstacles to China's economic growth? What are its success stories? And how is Hong Kong faring?
In Chinese, the word for ambition is "wild heart" and for millennia individual aspirations were looked down on, as the group always came first. How China has changed!
No wonder the South China Sea is important to China, says Robert Kaplan. It's the Mediterranean of Asia, the center of international commerce, including energy shipments. Plus, if the Chinese control it and thus gain access to the Indian Ocean, China will have a two-ocean navy, transforming it in military terms from a regional power into a world power.
As China's urban middle class expands, China's government--and private companies--are traveling the globe in pursuit of fuel, ores, water, and farmland. And the government has all kinds of tools to bring to bear, from public diplomacy and backroom deals, to low-cost financing and low-cost labor. How is this quest changing the world, including China itself?
In this masterly and comprehensive talk, Andrew Nathan looks at the world from Beijing's viewpoint and sees a very challenging environment for China. He identifies four rings of security concerns: inside China's territory; its 24 surrounding countries; six regional systems; and the rest of the world.
In this astute analysis, Westad explains China's international relations over the last 250 years from a Chinese perspective, providing valuable insights into its current and future course.
With economic malaise and political stalemates commonplace across the U.S. and Europe, some are beginning to look to China for answers. Is democracy, with its check and balances, still the best form of governance? Or could the West learn a few things from the "China model"?
Deng Xiaoping was one of the most important leaders of the 20th century. Scholar Ezra Vogel discusses Deng's life, focusing on his work in opening up China to other countries. Vogel also grapples with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which was carried out on Deng's orders.
Carnegie Council's Evan O'Neil ponders the future of mega-cities, and leading Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun discusses China's air and water crisis and the work of his watchdog group, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, which names and shames the worst polluters.
Is a far-reaching Chinese navy a threat to American naval superiority or to the West? Is China simply a major power, peacefully rising and pursuing its natural national interests? Perhaps, ruling the waves doesn’t have the same importance in the 21st century? What do you think?
The Chinese economy and defense budget have grown at an enormous rate over the past five years. Do you think that this will lead to global confrontation? Or will China have a "peaceful rise"? Could there be a third way that blends competition and cooperation?
China has no alternative economic model, says Horn. Its keystone is pragmatism and ad hoc experimentation, combined with the clever exploitation of luck and the fostering of innovation from the ground up. He also discusses China's role in Africa.
In this lively discussion, topics include China's diversity, its "net nanny" approach to the internet, and why China and the U.S. are more alike than we may think.
The more developed and prosperous China becomes, the more threatened its leaders feel. What are the internal issues that create this insecurity?