SupChina: Recent Episodes
SupChina
Beijing’s ban on Japanese seafood, coupled with rising animosity toward all things Japanese, have sent sushi restaurants in China searching for alternative supplies and, in...
China is known for its megacities, but 42% of it is wilderness — the barren and primitive, but also pockets of spectacular biodiversity. As the...
“Being bullied in school is something that can happen to anyone,” Lui shares. “The subjects in my photos are meant to simply be symbolic. The...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s retail sales growth may have been weak in the first half of the year, but spending on...
In the early 20th century, Chessboard Street in Shanghai was the heart of the Chinese publishing industry. This is where our story begins: when Li...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Karen Hao, a reporter recently with the Wall Street Journal whose previous work with the MIT Technology Review has been featured on Sinica; and by Deborah Seligsohn, assistant professor of political science at Villanova University, who has been on the show many times just in the last three years. Both Karen and Deborah have written persuasively about the importance of renewing the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement which was renewed, for the most part, every five years without much fuss — until this year. Karen and Debbi make clear what has been accomplished under the agreement’s auspices, and why GOP concerns are largely misplaced.
In an otherwise restrained era for Chinese youth, the return of brightly colored, highly customizable rubber clogs allows for both escape and self-expression. Click here...
Indonesia suspended diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China from 1967 to 1990 and restricted Chinese-language lessons and literature. But the two countries now...
John and Jared discuss 5 principles to optimize your note-taking for language learning to maximize your learning gains. Guest interview is with Nick Anderson, a...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing launches a sweeping policy package to rescue the property market, China extends income tax breaks for foreigners...
This week on Sinica, MIT professor Yasheng Huang joins Kaiser to talk about his brand new book The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How...
The Treaty of Nerchinsk established a border between Manchu China and Romanov Russia. It was negotiated in a remote region between two sides that distrusted...
The failure of G20 countries last month to agree on a plan to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 highlights a key problem in the...
The once lifeless BRICS bloc got a big boost of energy this week with the addition of six new members including two additional African states...
Something different this week on Sinica: A selection of “This Week in China’s History” columns by James Carter, all narrated by Kaiser with a little...
A French sneak attack in 1884 led to a fundamental misunderstanding of Qing technological prowess. It’s time to reexamine the popular — but simplistic, if...
China’s critics contend the Belt and Road Initiative is dead or dying due to a mix of gross mismanagement and hubris. The data, however, reveals...
The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed President Xi Jinping will travel to South Africa to attend the upcoming BRICS summit, the first time he’ll visit Africa...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes back Lyle Goldstein, director for China engagement at the think tank Defense Priorities and previously a professor at the...
On August 18, 1966, in front of a million supporters at Tiananmen, a symbolic gesture from Mao Zedong made it clear that the Red Guards...
This week on Sinica, Paul Triolo returns to the show to give us a rundown on what’s happening in the exciting arena of generative AI...
In 1517, Portuguese arrived in China on the first formal diplomatic mission to the country in nearly 200 years. The mission failed — but perhaps...
It took a couple more years than in other places, but pickleball has finally made it big in China, fueled by social media. Click here...
What does a great tutor do differently? How often should they correct you? What should you do if you can’t afford a private tutor? John...
Princess Taiping wielded all but ultimate power in the Tang court. It appeared that it was only a matter of time before she might succeed...
This week on Sinica, with Kaiser on holiday we’re running a terrific Twitter Spaces conversation convened by Neysun Mahboubi of UPenn’s Center for the Study...
The Kenyan government’s controversial decision to end certain subsidies and raise taxes sparked days of violent protests in Nairobi. While the move sparked a massive...
In June, Zambia reached what’s been described as a landmark debt restructuring deal that for the first time brought together the country’s bilateral creditors including...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The U.S. Senate targets American investments in China, Beijing plans to relax rules on foreign firms investing in...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Margaret (Maggie) Lewis, professor of law at Seton Hall University and veteran Taiwan observer, and Paul Heer...
During the Tang dynasty, court machinations saw at least two women reach the very cusp of supreme power in two coups in the imperial palace...
In June of 2023, Jared Turner delivered the keynote speech at the Swire Chinese language conference in Newcastle, England. This episode features his address discussing...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business brief: WeChat lets users link overseas cards for everyday payments in China, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry visits China...
Confucius Institutes (CIs) were once known only for teaching Mandarin language and culture classes but the organization’s mission has evolved recently to now include “training”...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes back Jeremy Daum, senior research scholar in law and senior fellow at the Paul Tsai China Law Center. Jeremy...
Wuhan fractured in the summer of 1967 amid Mao’s Cultural Revolution. On one side were the Red Guards, who believed in continuous revolution against institutions...
The short but eventful history of China wrestling is filled with highs and lows. For a while, rival promoters dreamed of building the WWE of...
This week on Sinica, UPenn legal scholar Neysun Mahboubi talks about his recently-concluded trip back to China — his first time back since the outbreak...
The founder of the Ming dynasty established fiefdoms for all 26 of his sons, who were known as “princes.” From the very beginning, they posed...
In this collection of nine interconnected short stories, characters are constantly moving without really going anywhere. Click here to read the article by William McCormack...
Jared and John answer listener questions about learning Chinese such as the effectiveness of extensive reading, habits for Chinese learners, tools for learning word context...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Tesla and Chinese rivals signal a truce in the EV price war, top property developers see June’s new sales...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Elsa Kania, a Ph.D. candidate in Harvard University’s Department of Government and adjunct fellow at the Center for...
The emperor, as “son of heaven,” was meant to mediate between the natural and the supernatural. When dragons were becoming visible to regular folk, as...
On this week’s episode, Chinese entrepreneurs mobilize for an AI race with the U.S., food-delivery giant Meituan buys an AI startup for more than $200...
“With you in charge, I am at ease,” Mao Zedong wrote in a note to his successor, Hua Guofeng. Mao’s trust was misplaced. Click here...
Over the past six months, there’s been a noticeable increase in the number of green energy deals announced by Chinese private and state-owned enterprises in...
Only twice has a Nobel peace laureate died in state custody. The first time was in 1938, when German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky died in...
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up a visit to Beijing last week where he heard lofty promises from Chinese officials about their desire to...
With Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s two days of meetings in Beijing just concluded, Kaiser spoke with Dennis Wilder, managing director for the Initiative for...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Keyu Jin, associate professor of economics at LSE, who talks about her new book, The New China Playbook:...
Yellow River flooding has killed and displaced millions over the centuries. But in June 1938, the river’s levees were intentionally breached, leaving half a million...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: VC giant Sequoia reorganizes and spins off its China unit under geopolitical concerns, China puts drafting a national...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with David Ownby, the University of Montreal historian who runs the always excellent ReadingTheChinaDream.com website — a trove of translations...
After years of strict management on cinematic imports and a pandemic-induced disruption, China’s film sector is reopening to the world again. But while the regulatory...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The Comac C919 takes its maiden commercial flight, Beijing-based ChatGPT rival files for Hong Kong IPO, and China...
With the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue kicking off in Singapore on Friday, June 2, Kaiser chats with the organizer’s managing director for Asia, James Crabtree, about...
The Battle of Luding Bridge is part of the founding lore of the Chinese Communist Party. People outside China first learned of the incident through...
From exploring personal subjects to reimagining ancient stories in a contemporary context, a new generation of Chinese creatives are elevating the world of animation beyond...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Hong Kong greenlights retail cryptocurrency trading, Meituan launches a food delivery app in Hong Kong, Dalian Wanda bonds...
Xu Xiake was China’s first, most popular, and most prolific travel writer. He visited 16 modern provinces over more than three decades, and the observations...
Indonesia is a pioneer among developing countries for its efforts in moving up the EV battery metal value chain. Whereas most other countries like the...
This week on Sinica, Harvard’s eminent sinologist William Kirby joins Kaiser to talk about his book Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to...
Last week, Ya Ya the panda returned to Shanghai after spending 20 years in Memphis. Her arrival marked the end of a drawn-out saga that...
“I don’t think the Center crossed a line, but rather the line crossed them.” Click here to read the article by Zhao Yuanyuan. Narrated by...
On this week’s episode, Oppo shuts down its chip-designing business, Baidu’s quarterly revenue exceeds market expectations, and a Chinese comedy producer takes $2 million hit...
For 70+ years, development economists have been touting the idea that if lesser developed countries trade and invest collaboratively, it would serve as a pathway...
A Life magazine cover in 1938 sought to rally American public support for the war in the Pacific. The images inside that front cover were...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser is joined by The China Project’s CEO Bob Guterma, who just so happens to have served at Chief...
China is one of the very few truly bipartisan issues in Washington today where there is near unanimous consensus that the U.S. must work to...
On this week’s episode of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a Softbank-backed Chinese robot startup has filed for a multimillion-dollar IPO in Shanghai, LinkedIn will scale...
In the old days, a small group of Kenyan elites dominated the business of importing low-cost products from China that they would then turn around...
An age-old story of diplomatic misunderstanding and technology transference. Click here to read the article by James Carter. Narrated by Kaiser Kuo. China Stories is...
In September 2021, President Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations that China would immediately halt all financing of coal power projects abroad as part...
PLA Navy warships facilitated China’s third major evacuation from a war-ravaged MENA country this week when two vessels ferried more than a thousand Chinese and...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Andrew Stokols, a Ph.D. researcher at MIT who has been studying the “techno-natural utopia” that the Chinese government...
China’s greatest train hijacking, by a band of outlaws calling themselves the Autonomous Army, changed the Republic of China. Click here to read the article...
Celebrating one of Taiwan’s greatest writers.
Click here to read the article by Neocha.
Narrated by Cliff Larsen.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In this week’s episode: Evergrande’s offshore debt restructuring hits another roadblock, CATL’s revolutionary battery has its eye on electric flight, a Chinese city is paying civil servants in digital yuan, and China’s president affirms the country’s commitment to peace in Ukraine.
In addition, Kaiser speaks with Jonathan Breen about chipmaking equipment export restrictions and how Dutch and Japanese companies might still manage to sell into China.
The Yellow Flower Mound Uprising, also known as the Second Guangzhou Uprising, may have failed, but its legacy is now celebrated in mainstream Chinese culture. Here’s how it happened.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, an Earth Day special: Kaiser chats with Marilyn Waite, managing director of the Climate Finance Fund; Alex Wang, a UCLA law professor who specializes in China climate and environmental law; and Deborah Seligsohn, a political scientist at Villanova University who served as the Environment, Science, Technology and Health Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. This episode was taped live on Thursday, April 20, as a webinar from The China Project.
5:24 – Taking stock: Where have we come since the first Earth Day in 1970?
14:24 – Is the Inflation Reduction Act an unalloyed good for the environment and climate?
17:17 – The good and the bad of China’s recent record on climate
20:45 – The unmet need for climate finance globally, and what China’s PbOC is doing right
27:54 – Should we roll our eyes when China speaks of “ecological civilization”?
31:57 – Embracing the JEDI approach in addressing climate change
35:30 – Can the U.S. and China harness competition to drive better climate outcomes?
39:54 – Why pushing each other won’t work, and cooperation is still needed
45:15 – Addressing hard-to-abate sectors like agrifood
50:30 – Balancing cooperation and competition between the U.S. and China on climate
A complete transcript of this episode is available at TheChinaProject.com.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s 1Q GDP grew by a surprising 4.5%, ByteDance sticks to its strengths with release of products for AI developers, private equity investment in China plunges to an eight-year low, and a Beijing hospital fire leaves 29 dead.
In addition, Kelsey Cheng talks about why Apple’s Chinese contract manufacturers are diversifying, mainly into auto parts.
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser and Jeremy chat with Mike Chinoy, the legendary award-winning TV newsman who helmed CNN in Beijing for many critical years. Mike talks about the video documentary series and accompanying book Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People’s Republic, for which he interviewed about 130 journalists whose careers spanned an 80-year period, from the 1940s to the present.
04:08 – The genesis of the Assignment China project
11:15 – Editorial decisions: What was included, and what wasn’t
16:13 – The big takeaways for Mike on finishing this project
25:13 – The role of contingency and the observer effect
32:52 – How Tiananmen really made CNN and changed the future of cable news
36:30 – Tough ethical calls in the reporting of China
42:42 – Structural biases in American reporting on China…
50:50 – …and what news consumers can do to adjust for those baked-in biases
52:54 – Does where the reporters are actually determine what the story is?
1:02:17 – What went wrong with TV news?
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Mike: Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai by Matti Friedman
Jeremy: From the Jewish Provinces: Selected Storiesby Fradl Shtok, translated by Jordan Finkin and Allison Schachter
Kaiser: Father’s Laszlo Ladany’s “Ten Commandments” on China-watching, and playing around with ChatGPT 4
In 1942, a band of American pilots conducted a daring bombing run over Japan, with the plan to land in airfields set up in China. The mission “succeeded” thanks to the assistance of Chinese civilians who sheltered and guided the pilots — and who suffered immeasurably for their kindness.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s SINOPEC inks a deal to take a share in a major Qatar LNG producer, while China Southern Power Grid expands its presence in South America, and prices for lithium continue to fall amid weak demand for electric vehicles.
Plus, we talk to Zhang Yukun about a major corruption scandal in the shipping industry.
Eight Chinese passengers boarded the Titanic in Southampton, six survived. Their story — largely untold until Steven Schwarkert came across it during his research on Chinese maritime history, and now a documentary produced by James Cameron — opens a window to wide-ranging political issues of the day.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kishore Mahbubani, who served as Singapore’s UN Ambassador and has written extensively on ASEAN and the U.S.-China rift, returns to the show to discuss his recent essay in Foreign Affairs, and to advocate for the pragmatic approach that’s held ASEAN together for over five decades of continuous peace and growing prosperity.
4:36 – Kishore talks about Macron’s state visit to China and the controversy around his comments in media interviews
8:53 – How the Ukraine War has highlighted divisions between the West and the Global South
11:45 – Pragmatism: is this a euphemism for amorality?
15:26 – ASEAN as a template for multipolarity
19:38 – Cultural relativism, moral absolutism, and the shift in the American intelligentsia
24:56 – How does ASEAN handle specific issues of U.S.-China tension?
29:12 – Investment and trade: China and ASEAN vs. U.S and ASEAN — guns and butter
40:04 – The Belt and Road Initiative and American attitudes toward it
44:10 – Kishore’s “three rules” for U.S. engagement with ASEAN
49:49 – China’s recent diplomatic efforts: Saudi-Iran, and the Ukraine War
52:34 – How receptive has the American strategic class been to Kishore’s ideas?
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Kishore: John Rawls, A Theory of Justice
Kaiser: The Silk Roads: A New History of the Worldby Peter Frankopan
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, China’s ‘big three’ airlines post huge losses in 2022, table tennis superstar caught up in extortion scandal, and Huolala operator sets Hong Kong IPO in motion.
In addition, Kelsey Cheng talks about the ongoing price war among Chinese automakers.
China and Japan are talking again, but relations will probably deteriorate over Beijing’s growing military presence in disputed territories, Tokyo’s crackdown on advanced chipmaking gear, and a detained Japanese businessman.
Click here to read the article by Nadya Yeh.
Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
When a million people converged on Tiananmen Square on April 4 to 5 in 1976 to mourn Zhōu Ēnlái 周恩来, authorities used violence to disperse the gathering. Two years later, the central government reassessed the events of those days.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, something different: Kaiser asks over a dozen scholars of various facets of China studies to talk about their work and make some recommendations! You’ll hear from a variety of scholars, from MA students to tenured professors, talking about a bewildering range of fascinating work they’re doing. Enjoy!
3:00 – Kristin Shi-Kupfer — recommendations: this essay (in Chinese) by Teng Biao on Chinese Trump supporters; Han Rongbin’s work on digital society; and Yang Guobin’s work on digital expression on the internet in China.
7:48 – Lev Nachman — recommendation: Ian Rowen, One China, Many Taiwans: The Geopolitics of Cross-Strait Tourism; and the city of Taichung, and especially its night market food on Yizhong Street and the Fang Chia Night market.
9:27 – Lin Zhang — recommendation: Victor Seow, Carbon Technocracy: Energy Regimes in Modern East Asia; and Gary Gertle, American Crucible: Race and Nation in the 20th Century
15:32 – Maura Dykstra — recommendation: Richard von Glahn’s contribution to the Oxford History of Modern China about registration in imperial China
19:00 – Jonathan Elkobi — a Rand Corporation study on economic cooperation between Israel and China; the fusion band Snarky Puppy
22:22 – Seiji Shirane — Seediq Bale (Warriors of the Rainbow)and Lust, Caution
25:18 – Zhu Qian — Rebecca Karl, Staging the World: Chinese Nationalism at the Turn of the 20th Century, and two films: Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness and Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin
31:23– Fabio Lanza — Sarah Mellors Rodriguez, Reproductive Realities in Modern China: Birth Control and Abortion, 1911–2021; and Leopoldina Fortunati, The Arcane of Reproduction: Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital by Leopoldina Fortunati
33:04 – Catherine Tsai —:Hiroko Matsuda’s The Liminality of the Japanese Empire
34:46– Lena Kaufmann — Technology and Gender: Fabrics of Power in Late Imperial Chinaand other works by Francesca Bray
39:05 – Josh Freeman — Works of Uyghur poetry by Ghojimuhemmed Muhemmed, Ekhmetjan Osman, Tahir Hamut Izgil, Perhat Tursun, Dilkhumar Imin, Abide Abbas Nesrin, Erkan Qadir, and Muyesser Abdul’ehed Hendan.
41:32 – Susan McCarthy — Joanna Handlin Smith, The Art of Doing Good: Charity in Late Ming China
49:18 – Brian DeMare — William Hinton, Fanshen
50:47 – Juliet Lu — Maria Repnikova, Chinese Soft Power, and Samuel L. Jackson reading Adam Mansbach’s Go the F–k to Sleep
58:29 – Sabina Knight — Wu Ming-Yi, The Man with the Compound Eyes, translated by Darryl Sterk
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com
New proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress could stop foreign tech companies from operating in the U.S. Everyone’s talking about TikTok — but the implications for Chinese companies are much broader. Not even Tucker Carlson likes it.
Click here to read the article by Eduardo Jaramillo.
Narrated by Cliff Larsen.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If you feel like you have a different personality in Chinese, then you’re not alone. Jared & John talk about this fascinating phenomenon on how many act and feel differently when speaking a 2nd language. Guest interview is with Taha Shlibek from Libya, who left his stable job to learn Chinese and seek a new start.
Links from the episode:
- Cross-Cultural Marital Communication: Sacrifice, Identity, Choice | Sinosplice
The Misadventures of Zhou Haisheng | Breakthrough Level Chinese Graded Reader
As many as 100,000 laborers died in the construction of the Kunming–Haiphong railway, which opened on April 1, 1910. The cost was not worth it.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Chris Marquis, a professor at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, and formerly at Cornell’s business school, about the book he co-authored with Kunyuan Qiao, Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise. In it, they examine how even in China’s private sector, socialization into the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party among some entrepreneurs has left an enduring legacy that is visible in some of the ways Chinese private enterprises conduct business.
3:35 – Motivation for Mao and Markets
5:34 – Enduring elements of Maoism in contemporary Chinese enterprise
12:35 – Variation among “Maoist” entrepreneurs
20:40 – Differentiating superficial and authentic Maoist entrepreneurship
35:04 – Is today’s China ideological or simply nationalistic?
39:17 – Xi’s Maoist revival: real or imagined?
44:30 – Chris’s transition from business and sociology to Chinese politics
47:09 – Chris’s experience as a Thousand Talents recipient
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Chris: The Entrepreneurial State and The Big Con by Mariana Mazzucato
Kaiser: This calendar of lunar phases from theoriginallunarphase.com, and Mongolian salty milk tea, or sūūtei tsai which is easy to make at home
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: TikTok chief defends the app’s independence in U.S. Congressional hearing, Tron founder faces U.S. lawsuit for crypto misconduct, and China Huarong warns of $4 billion loss for 2022.
In addition, Kelsey Cheng joins to talk about the controversy surrounding the plan to relocate the enormous Zhongda textile market in Guangzhou.
This week, a bonus episode to keep you caught up on the week’s biggest China story: Xi Jinping’s two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Maria Repnikova, a Latvian-born native Russian speaker who is also fluent in Chinese and who teaches Chinese politics and communications at Georgia State University, joins the show again to talk about what each side hoped for, what each side got, and the asymmetries of power on conspicuous display in Moscow.
1:53 – Does Beijing look at the Ukraine War and still see the United States, as Maria argued last year?
3:06 – How Xi and Putin spoke to their own domestic audiences, and to each other’s
4:43 – How the Xi-Putin meeting was viewed in the Global South
8:10 – Why was the elephant in the room go mostly unremarked upon?
10:27 – Junior partner, senior partner, and “optionality”
16:27 – Did Putin come away disappointed from the meeting?
18:03 – How did China’s peace framework come off in the West vs. in China?
21:11 – What might the United States have done differently — and what might it still do to prevent China from drifting too close to Russia?
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Maria: Solomon Elusoji, Travelling with Big Brother: A Reporter’s Junket in China
Kaiser: The Polish progressive rock band Riverside, and its latest album ID.Entity
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes Tuvia Gering of Israel’s Institute of National Security Studies, where he focuses on China’s relations with Israel and other countries of the Middle East. Tuvia breaks down the agreement to normalize relations between Riyadh and Tehran, which Beijing brokered during secret talks that were only revealed, along with the fruit they bore, on March 10.
6:05 – How was China able to broker the Saudi-Iran normalization?
17:00 – Notable commitments from Saudi, Iran, and China
25:01 – China’s non-energy interests in and engagement with the Middle East
29:03 – Reactions from world capitals
39:28 – Saudi’s balancing act between U.S. security partnership and engagement with China
49:52 – Implications for China as a mediator in Ukraine and other international conflict zones
52:44 – Overview of China-Israel relations
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Tuvia: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on YouTube
Kaiser: The Venture of Islam by Marshall G. S. Hodgson
Mentioned:
Tuvia’s Discourse Power Substack
The China-Global South Podcast
Tuvia’s interview with retired PLA Colonel Zhou Bo
In the spring of 1926, Nationalists and Communists in China were in a tenuous alliance. While this “First United Front” technically endured until a year later, the beginning of its unraveling can be traced back to a little-remembered event in history, when a warship arrived outside Chiang Kai-shek’s office…
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A reshuffle in the central government’s top brass, Chinese solar wafer giant to build a multimillion-dollar factory in the U.S., and scandal-rocked chip investment ‘Big Fund’ gets a new boss.
In addition, Yukun Zhang tells us about insurers selling retirement community living bundled with insurance products.
China has lifted COVID restrictions and is issuing visas. It’s time to visit China! Jared and John talk about what you need to know about visiting China that has opened back up. Guest interview is with Sophia Xavier from Portugal whose fascination with China led her to study in China and pursue career opportunities in South East Asia.
Links from the episode:
- China Online Visa Application (COVA) | China Consular Affairs
- Chinese on Your Terms | Amazon
- Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Curly-Haired Company | Level 1 Chinese Graded Reader
The first meeting of a new House committee on China on February 28 signaled that Washington is serious about figuring out the future of the U.S.-China relationship.
Click here to read the article by Robert Rust.
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes Taisu Zhang, professor of law at Yale University, who discusses his recent work on the expansion of the administrative state down to the subdistrict and neighborhood level — changes that are far-reaching, and likely permanent. They also discuss a recent essay in Foreign Affairsi n which Taisu argued that Beijing is shifting away from “performance legitimacy” as the foundation of political rule, and more toward legality — not to be confused with the rule of law.
3:29 – Nationalism as legitimacy, and its grounding in economic performance
7:45 – The CCP’s unique approach to “legal legitimacy”
21:28 – Evidence from the Two Meetings, or 兩會 liǎnghuì
35:56 – Chinese Administrative Expansion in the Xi Jinping Era
49:40 – The role of the anti-corruption campaign in expanding local government authority
56:18 – Changes in local governance after COVID
1:01:27 – Who were the dàbái?
1:04:10 – Technology in China’s post-pandemic power structure
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Taisu: The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy by David Graeber; The Rise and Fall of Imperial China: The Social Origins of State Development by Yuhua Wang; Uncertainty in the Empire of Routine: The Administrative Revolution of the Eighteenth-Century Qing State by Maura Dykstra; The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu; and The Lower Yangzi Trilogy by Ge Fei
Kaiser: Kaiser: Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People’s Republicby Mike Chinoy; and the many uses of beeswax
All the great European powers (plus the U.S.) got a slice of China in the late-19th century. All but Italy, that is.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China will create a vast new financial regulator, TikTok unveils a new data security program in Europe, BYD enters the U.K. passenger car market, and Chinese local governments offer sweeteners to potential buyers to boost car sales.
In addition, Kelsey Cheng joins to talk about ByteDance’s Douyin — TikTok’s Chinese cousin — and its aggressive moves into e-commerce and food delivery, areas dominated by giants Alibaba and Meituan.
A second full episode this week for you Sinica listeners! Jude Blanchette joins to talk about the House Select Committee on United States Competition with the Chinese Communist Party, and all that is wrong with it, from its framing of the CCP as an “existential threat” to its focus on the CCP, and how all of this adds up to an embarrassing moral panic that distracts from the serious issues the U.S. confronts when it comes to China.
4:37 – What’s wrong with the Select Committee’s framing of China as an “existential threat,” and why the first hearing was an embarrassment
9:01 – The current moment as a moral panic over China
12:09 – Domestic political drivers of U.S. China policy
15:04 – Why the United States versus the Chinese Communist Party is the wrong framing too
22:46 – Is this more like McCarthyism — or antisemitism?
28:58 – The downstream effects of U.S. tech containment policy toward China
42:01 – The advantage of simplistic, Manichean messaging
46:15 – Prioritizing U.S. issues with China: why Confucius Institutes and TikTok are so far down the to-do list, and what really matters48:59 – And what are the real issues that deserve priority?
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com
Recommendations:
Jude: Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam, from Audible
*Kaiser:* This podcast interview with Angela Rasmussen, the virologist who has been in the front lines fighting back against the resurgent lab leak theory, from the Slate What Next: TBD podcast
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Lulu Chen, who has reported on tech in China for over a decade and is the author of the book Influence Empire: The Inside Story of Tencent and China’s Tech Ambition. It’s a fascinating look at not only Tencent but at the overall internet sector in China, focusing on the travails and the triumphs of some of the most consequential Chinese internet entrepreneurs.
5:31 – Motivation for and background of Influence Empire
10:15 – Ma Huateng and Martin Lau at Tencent
19:56 – How the Chinese internet sector went from copying to innovating
30:59 – Cutthroat company cultures
33:20 – What made Allen Zhang successful?
37:25 – The Tencent-Meituan food delivery coup
45:21 – Tencent’s position in the online game industry
51:58 – Understanding China’s 2020-2022 tech crackdown
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Lulu: The Gay Talese Reader: Portraits and Encounters by Gay Talese
Kaiser:Cunk on Earth on Netflix
In this episode, Clay makes friends with Zhen Ayi, gets a whole ton of apples, quests for water, explains how the whole group buying thing works, and goes through a serious period of darkness.
Works consulted:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/19/my-life-in-shanghais-never-ending-zero-covid-lockdown?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/uavt4t/a_fire_broke_out_in_shanghais_pudong_the/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/apr/04/children-with-covid-in-shanghai-reportedly-separated-from-parents-video?CMP=share_btn_tw
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60893070
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-61023811
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpJPPJwi2Vo
Music credits:
Moss heim
https://soundcloud.com/mossheim-experimental
Lakey inspired
https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired
TDP experimental
https://soundcloud.com/user-99078702
Hattirin
https://soundcloud.com/hattirin
Bary
https://soundcloud.com/bary_is_cool
Ginger pitcher
https://soundcloud.com/gingerpitcherfredfroh
Andri from page fire
https://soundcloud.com/nerdymetalhead202
Purrple Catt
https://soundcloud.com/purrplecat
Jozwyn
https://soundcloud.com/jozwyn
Terri skills
https://soundcloud.com/beatz-by-terri-skillz
Dovi
https://soundcloud.com/dovidodu1
Lofee
https://soundcloud.com/lofeetunes
Artist uknown2
https://soundcloud.com/samdoesntexist
Dr3am
https://soundcloud.com/dr3am-official
dojex
TazLazuli
https://soundcloud.com/tazlazuli
Csus
https://soundcloud.com/csus
Xxiuk
https://soundcloud.com/xxiuk
Jaies
https://soundcloud.com/jaiess
Tri-tachyon
https://soundcloud.com/tri-tachyon
Ye olde experimental junk
https://soundcloud.com/ye-old-experimental-junk
Inaiya
https://soundcloud.com/inaiya
Tristan Trey
https://soundcloud.com/tristan-phipps-1
Do you ever feel like natives speak Chinese too fast? John and Jared talk about the nuances of rate of speech in listening and how to increase your ability to listen to faster speech and even increase your own rate of speaking. Guest interview is with Susan St. Denis who during her teens got hooked on Chinese, never looked back, and became determined to pursue a career connected to China.
Links from the episode:
- Toward Better Tones in Natural Speech
- Shadowing Technique | Steve Kaufmann (YouTube)
- The China Vibe | TikTok
- China-America Student Conference
- My Teacher is a Martian | Level 2 Chinese Graded Reader
Within his country, “the last emperor” of China was one of the most hated figures of his time. But for most of his life, Puyi had no agency, used as a pawn in competing agendas.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In this week’s episode: Huawei spinoff Honor looks to challenge Apple and Samsung in Europe, and TikTok tries to make itself less addictive to teens. Plus, Mercedes pivots to EV battery recycling in China, and, the country’s richest woman succeeds her father as chairperson of property developer giant Country Garden.
In addition, Yukun Zhang joins to discuss how an averted public bus shutdown in the Shangqiu, Henan, illustrates the difficulties that local governments are experiencing with their finances.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy speak with Henry Sanderson, a former AP and Bloomberg reporter who was based in China for many years, about his book Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green — a book that reminds us of the very ugly fact that the metals that are needed to make electric vehicle batteries need to be dug out of the earth, and processed in ways that are anything but environmentally friendly. Henry talks about China’s outsize role in lithium, cobalt, and nickel processing, as well as some promising chemistries that allow for EV batteries without some of the problematic metals.
2:49 – China’s role in the EV battery supply chain
9:36 – Global Chinese investments in lithium mines
14:04 – Is cobalt a necessary evil?
18:56 – Can NGO pressure induce better corporate behavior in EV battery supply chains?
21:28 – How Indonesia used its nickel resources to attract Chinese FDI
26:17 – China’s efforts to innovate around scarce metals
32:08 – China’s metal processing industry: State- or market-driven?
36:06 – Lessons from Europe’s battery industry
40:42 – Electrification of two-wheeled vehicles
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Jeremy: London Review of Books
Henry: The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir by Karen Cheung
Kaiser: Tracking the People’s Daily newsletter by Manoj Kewalramani
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief:
Alibaba posts better-than-expected quarterly profits, GAC seeks more China-made chips to ease foreign dependence, and at least six killed in Inner Mongolia mine collapse.
In addition, Caixin Global reporter Zhang Yukun tells us what we know about the disappearance of well-known deal-maker Bao Fan, the founder and CEO of China Renaissance.
It’s been one year now since Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine, and China has sought to maintain the same difficult, awkward straddle across a difficult year. Did Beijing’s efforts to project the impression that it had distanced itself from Russia in the wake of the Party Congress mean anything? And how should the U.S. manage its expectations of what China can or will do? Evan Feigenbaum, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins us again as he did a year ago. We’re also joined by his colleague Alexander (Sasha) Gabuev, who is a senior fellow at Carnegie, who headed the Carnegie Moscow Center until recently.
4:37 – Are Beijing’s actions surprising?
7:34 – The nature of China-Russia relations
15:45 – How has Beijing concretely supported Russia?
22:07 – Did Beijing know Putin was going to invade?
29:48 – European perspectives on the “No Limits partnership”
37:02 – Beijing’s assessment of Russia’s military performance
39:07 – What Beijing has learned from Russia’s invasion
46:47 – What carrots can the United States offer China?
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Sasha: Writing From Ukraine: Fiction, Poetry and Essays since 1965by Mark Andryczyk
Evan: The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War,1916-1917 by Philip Zelikow
Kaiser: Jessica Chen Weiss on The Ezra Klein Show and The Problem With Jon Stewart; “Avoiding Catastrophe Will Be the True Test of Fractious U.S.-China Relations,” an op-ed in the Financial Times by Jude Blanchette
On a wintry day in 1784, a schooner docked in New York set sail for Guangzhou. This journey halfway around the globe would take half a year; it marked the beginning of the largest trading relationship that the world has ever known.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
When a rapid spread of COVID-19 engulfed Beijing and caused severe delays in package delivery, an army of couriers from other cities were relocated to alleviate the problem. Their bravery has led to a national conversation about privilege and the role of essential workers.
Click here to read the article by Yucheng Tang.
Narrated by Kim Dalrymple.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Sometimes seemingly small changes in study efforts can result in big differences in learning gains. John and Jared are going to give you tips and insights into things you can do to get more out of the time you’re studying Chinese, including flashcards, reading in Chinese, preparing for speaking situations, and learning grammar and vocab. Guest interview is with Marcus Murphy who after deciding to study Chinese in college, ended up spending years in China and today is a Chinese language instructor in Tennessee.
Links from the episode:
- The Prince and the Pauper | Level 1 Chinese Graded Reader
- Summer Chinese Language Camp | University of the South
China is the largest trading partner to Australia and New Zealand, and that’s clearly top of mind for the leaders of both countries, despite pressure from their Western security allies to get tough on Beijing.
Click here to read the article by Nadya Yeh.
Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Breif: Warren Buffet cashes in on BYD as his sell-down continues, Hua Hong Semiconductor reports its 10th straight quarter of record revenue, and ByteDance takes on Meituan by venturing into food delivery.
In addition, we speak with Denise Jia of Caixin-Global about China’s huge appetite for minerals, which is only increasing as the electric vehicle industry continues to expand.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Raffaello Pantucci, co-author of the 2022 book Sinostan: China’s Inadvertent Empire, which examines China’s presence in Central Asia. Based on extensive travel and interviews undertaken both before and after the tragic murder of his co-author, Alexandros Petersen, in 2014, the book is a highly readable if difficult to categorize melange of analysis and anecdote, history and travelogue, and it paints a complex portrait of China’s extensive efforts to build out a network of commercial and cultural ties throughout the pivotal region.
3:48 – Remembering the late Alexandros Petersen
9:35 – Xinjiang’s importance in Beijing’s Central Asia policy
13:36 – Central Asian states’ reactions to Xinjiang internment camps
24:39 – Assessing China’s soft power in Central Asia
37:10 – BRI: strategic calculus or ad-hoc scramble?
43:32 – Evolution of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
49:45 – China’s characterization of terrorism
54:45 – The SCO today and China’s growing security footprint
1:03:03 – China in Afghanistan
1:10:36 – Current status of the BRI
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Raffaello: The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan; The Geographical Pivot of History by Halford Mackinder
Kaiser: Volt Rush by Henry Sanderson
It’s hard to know exactly what happened at the Battle of Red Cliffs some 1,800 years ago. But what is agreed upon is that this monumental battle changed Chinese history — and achieved a mythical status that still endures.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
On February 11, 1958, the People’s Republic of China introduced a new system for rendering the Chinese language, using not characters but the Latin alphabet. The move was revolutionary.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A spat over a wandering balloon upsets U.S.-China relations, Baidu promises its own AI chatbot in March, and Beijing officials warn against NFT and metaverse scams.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global’s Kelsey Cheng about Ant Financial’s progress toward getting back in the good graces of Beijing regulators.
USCBC), about the future outlook of different business sectors in 2023, in part based on his visit to China in late 2022. While Craig is optimistic about the rapid growth of the agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and consumer goods and services sectors, he noted that the aerospace and tech sectors are a different story. They discussed U.S.-China positioning in the tech sector and the recent establishment of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, the first select committee directed against a foreign political party. Craig pointed out that both countries should seek to de-risk rather than de-couple, in order to harness the benefits of interconnection between the world’s two largest economies while managing the risk of interdependence. They concluded with the topic of student exchange, an area they both deemed critical to foster conversation between the U.S. and China.
Two months after President Tsai Ing-wen’s resignation as chairperson, what do we know about the future of Taiwan’s ruling party?
Click here to read the article by Itamar Waksman.
Narrated by Sylvia Franke.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week, we’ve got a short show focused on the Chinese balloon that became the obsessive focus of American attention from Thursday through Sunday, February 5, when an F-22 shot it out of the sky off of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Gerard DiPippo, a senior fellow with the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, joins to discuss the incident and its potential fallout.
We’ll have the transcript for you on the website in a day or so.
Recommendations:
Gerard: The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present, by John Pomfret
Kaiser: Improbable Diplomats: How Ping-Pong Players, Musicians, and Scientists Remade US-China Relationsby Pete Millwood
Do you keep learning new vocab but have trouble using it? Jared and John talk about the vocab dilemma in which many learners find themselves caught and discuss the balance between knowledge and proficiency. Guest interview is with Amy Celico, international political and economic consultant, former US senior trade representative, and a lifelong Chinese learner.
Links from the episode:
- Jekyll and Hyde | Mandarin Companion
- Using ChatGPT to Learn Chinese | Sinosplice
- Steve Kaufmann Interview | Podcast 98
- Amy Celico | Albright Stonebridge Group
Beyond the suffering inflicted on tens of thousands of people, the Hu Weiyong purge fundamentally reshaped Ming government, concentrating power in the person of the emperor.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Top securities regulator rolls out registration-based IPO system for Shenzhen and Shanghai main boards, IMF upgrades China’s GDP forecast, and trucking startup TuSimple denies report of potential U.S. spying probe.
In addition, we speak with Kelly Wang of Caixin Global about China’s efforts to develop a new generation of soccer talent.
This week on Sinica, our live recording from the Rizzoli Bookstore in the Flatiron district of Manhattan with the legendary Ian Johnson, who has covered China for a host of publications spanning 35 years. Ian, who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, offers his analysis of media coverage, shares some pet peeves in the way China is reported, and offers a sneak peek at some of the themes of his forthcoming book.
4:31 – Beijing’s shifting diplomatic messaging
12:10 – U.S. media coverage of China’s COVID-19 policies
14:45 – Structural biases of reporting on/in China
24:05 – Reporting on China through social media
29:46 – Resisting and recasting the blob’s China narrative
39:52 – How think tanks affect China discourse in the U.S.
43:03 – The importance of history to the CCP
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Jeremy: Paul French’s Ultimate China Bookshelf, a new feature at The China Project
Ian: Golden Age by Wáng Xiaǒbō 王小波, translated by Yan Yan; Blue Note jazz LP re-issues
Kaiser: The audiobook of Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy, narrated by Julia Whelan and Edoardo Ballerini
China has had its fair share of severe earthquakes over the centuries, most recently in Sichuan in 2008 and Tangshan in 1976. But the largest in its history happened this week during the Ming dynasty.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
When the National Bureau of Statistics recently revealed that China’s population had shrunk in 2022 for the first time in 60 years, conventional wisdom predicted that China was headed for catastrophe, as its workforce shrank, its pension coffers dried up, and its healthcare system grew overtaxed. Not so fast, says Bert Hofman, who spent 22 years in Asia with the World Bank, focused chiefly on China. Now a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Government at the National University of Singapore, Bert offers a deeply-informed take on the challenges China does face — and how it might address them without suffering economic stagnation.
4:24 – Why population decline isn’t necessarily bad
5:55 – Why are low birth rates a challenge for China?
7:49 – How China can offset the “demographic tax” of population decline
13:40 – Is declining investment such a bad thing for China?
18:27 – Common prosperity and the pension system
23:45 – Challenges and solutions for healthcare reform
27:41 – The logic of beginning with fiscal reform
33:18 – The shortfalls of focusing on raising fertility rates
38:06 – What can China learn from other countries?
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com
Recommendations:
Bert: China Reconnects by Wang Gungwu; The Last of Us on HBO Max
Kaiser: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
So you want to read Chinese literature? John and Jared talk about the unique aspects of Chinese literature that you should know before jumping in. Guest interview is with Christina Duffy, a PHD rowing champion from Ireland turned Chinese learner.
Links from the episode:
- The 6 Best Apps for Reading Chinese | Mandarin Companion
- Interview with Murray James Morrison
- Sherlock Holmes and a Scandal in Shanghai | Level 2 graded reader
- 向歌友们拜年 | 988 DJs
Subways have become a dime a dozen in 21st century Chinese cities, another box the country can tick off on its list of modernizations. But China’s first public subway was a disruptive challenge, both a state secret and urban leveler.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, we welcome back Deborah Seligsohn, assistant professor of political science at Villanova University. Debbi spent October 2022 through early January 2023 in Shanghai and Beijing, experiencing quarantine, testing, and lockdown at firsthand — and witnessing the protests and the sudden reopening. As a close observer of public health issues, she lends valuable perspective to what happened in these critical months.
8:13 – Overview of how zero-COVID impacted different demographics in China
17:54 – Which level of government was held accountable during the zero-COVID protests?
23:03 – Factors that contributed to the breakout of protests
29:05 – Rationale behind the sudden lifting of COVID regulations
38:17 – Assessing Beijing’s failure to effectively expand its medical capacity
45:45 – Efficacy of Chinese vaccines
49:45 – Understanding poor vaccination rate amongst the elderly population
55:45 – Breakdown of China’s COVID situation after the relaxation of zero-COVID measures
1:03:32 – Unpacking the new negative test requirements imposed on Chinese travelers
1:09:56 – Is China under-reporting its death rate?
A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Debbi: two-part interview with Jesse Jenkins from the Volts Podcast, detailing the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS act, and the Infrastructure Bill
Kaiser: Demon Copperhead, the latest novel by Barbara Kingsolver. A coming of age story set in Southern Appalachia.
Qin Gang is carrying on a 33-year-old tradition by making Africa the first official visit of the new year for China’s foreign minister. Qin took office just two weeks ago and is new to African affairs, so this week’s five-nation tour is more about him and his hosts getting to know one another than engaging in substantive policy discussions.
But the tour comes at a critical juncture for China’s engagement on the continent. Chinese lending to African countries is down, great power competition is up and there’s a new foreign policy team in Beijing that appears more focused on the U.S. and Europe than Global South regions including Africa.
Hannah Ryder, CEO of the development consultancy Development Reimagined, isn’t worried. She joins Eric & Cobus this week to explain why she’s optimistic about this year’s prospects for Chinese engagement in Africa.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION:
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On this week’s episode: Roughly two dozen countries put curbs on travelers from China, Alibaba signs deal with Hangzhou government, and Shenzhen plans cash handouts to boost the birthrate.
In addition, Zhang Yukun, finance reporter at Caixin Global, explains how scammers bilked PFM firms in China for millions of yuan.
This week on Sinica, we’re proud to introduce you to Susan St. Denis, who joined The China Project full-time recently after running the China Vibe Official TikTok channel for The China Project for the last several months. Kaiser and Susan talk about what people are getting wrong about TikTok, the challenges of presenting complex issues in this medium, and much more!
1:01 – Introducing The China Project’s official TikTok channel: China Vibe TikTok
08:25 – Challenging the assumption that TikTok content is inherently dumbed down
12:13 – Why Susan’s content was a good fit for The China Project
14:30 – Unique challenges of covering China on TikTok
19:16 – Providing a balanced account within TikTok’s landscape of extreme views on China
21:52 – How different generations view China
28:35 – How to access Susan’s China TikTok content
29:39 – How legitimate are the security and privacy concerns surrounding TikTok?
A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations –
Susan: Eldest Son: Zhou Enlai and the Making of Modern China by Han Suyin; The China America Student Conference (www.iscdc.org)
Kaiser: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford; and an ambivalent endorsement of the Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden.
How did we get the set of Chinese words we have today? John and Jared talk about how the Chinese language has evolved, adapted, innovated, and borrowed to create the language it is today. Guest interview is with Krystal Wu, a heritage Cantonese speaker from the UK who, later in her life, decided to branch out and learn Mandarin Chinese.
Links from the episode:
- Chinese Grammar Wiki | #1 Online grammar resource
- Heavenly Path | Chinese language learning resources
- Heavenly Path Discord | Discord Group
The translator of a recently published collection of Lu Xun’s work makes observations about the man behind China’s literary titan.
Click here to read the article by Eileen J. Cheng.
Narrated by Kim Dalrymple.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, check out the first episode of the latest season of “Strangers in China,” with host Clay Baldo!
The 2022 Shanghai lockdown came to Clay’s neighborhood early and caught him off-guard. Struggling with his mental health, Clay documents how lockdown works on a granular level giving listeners an audio tour of his neighborhood as it plunges into the uncertainty of all the minutiae of day-to-day life living under the control of the apparatuses that shut down an entire city for several months. The boredom, the stress, the terror. He documents clashes with local bureaucracy and the ingenuity of the people of Shanghai who had to live through these dark and strange times. Clay ventures out into a city as it’s about to enter the full city lockdown and gives listeners a sense of what a city looks like before it’s irrevocably changed.
Music credits:
Csus – https://soundcloud.com/csus
Moss Heim- https://soundcloud.com/mossheim-experimental/cutup-test-cycle-7000
Trey – https://soundcloud.com/tristan-phipps-1/trance
Jaies – https://soundcloud.com/jaiess
Bary – https://soundcloud.com/bary_is_cool
Ginger pitcher – https://soundcloud.com/gingerpitcherfredfroh
TDP-Experimental – https://soundcloud.com/user-99078702
Xxiuk – https://soundcloud.com/xxiuk
Lakey Inspired – https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired
TazLazuli – https://soundcloud.com/tazlazuli
Terri skills – https://soundcloud.com/beatz-by-terri-skillz
Lofee – https://soundcloud.com/lofeetunes
Dr3am – https://soundcloud.com/dr3am-official
Purrple Cat – https://soundcloud.com/purrplecat
Ye Old Experimental Junk – https://soundcloud.com/ye-old-experimental-junk
Le gang – https://soundcloud.com/thisislegang
Obani – https://soundcloud.com/obani
Jozwyn – https://soundcloud.com/jozwyn
MCV – https://soundcloud.com/just-chillin-654995634
Works consulted
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60893070
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-12/shanghai-residents-remain-largely-under-lockdown-despite-easing
https://isdp.eu/publication/xi-jinping-and-the-administrative-hierarchy-and-subdivisions-in-china/
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/elizabethperry/files/managed_campaigns_-_proofs.pdf
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1178528.shtml
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1184356.shtml
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/694299
https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=psilr
https://www.smh.com.au/world/pocket-of-poverty-the-new-shanghai-has-left-behind-20121109-293dl.html
https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3187061/shanghais-old-west-gate-neighbourhood-emptied-demolition-and-redevelopment
https://academic.oup.com/columbia-scholarship-online/book/20259/chapter-abstract/179324873?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
The work of Michel Foucault
The 2022 Shanghai lockdown came to Clay’s neighborhood early and caught him off-guard. Struggling with his mental health, Clay documents how lockdown works on a granular level giving listeners an audio tour of his neighborhood as it plunges into the uncertainty of all the minutiae of day-to-day life living under the control of the apparatuses that shut down an entire city for several months. The boredom, the stress, the terror. He documents clashes with local bureaucracy and the ingenuity of the people of Shanghai who had to live through these dark and strange times. Clay ventures out into a city as it’s about to enter the full city lockdown and gives listeners a sense of what a city looks like before it’s irrevocably changed.
Music credits:
Csus – https://soundcloud.com/csus
Moss Heim- https://soundcloud.com/mossheim-experimental/cutup-test-cycle-7000
Trey – https://soundcloud.com/tristan-phipps-1/trance
Jaies – https://soundcloud.com/jaiess
Bary – https://soundcloud.com/bary_is_cool
Ginger pitcher – https://soundcloud.com/gingerpitcherfredfroh
TDP-Experimental – https://soundcloud.com/user-99078702
Xxiuk – https://soundcloud.com/xxiuk
Lakey Inspired – https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired
TazLazuli – https://soundcloud.com/tazlazuli
Terri skills – https://soundcloud.com/beatz-by-terri-skillz
Lofee – https://soundcloud.com/lofeetunes
Dr3am – https://soundcloud.com/dr3am-official
Purrple Cat – https://soundcloud.com/purrplecat
Ye Old Experimental Junk – https://soundcloud.com/ye-old-experimental-junk
Le gang – https://soundcloud.com/thisislegang
Obani – https://soundcloud.com/obani
Jozwyn – https://soundcloud.com/jozwyn
MCV – https://soundcloud.com/just-chillin-654995634
Works consulted
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60893070
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-12/shanghai-residents-remain-largely-under-lockdown-despite-easing
https://isdp.eu/publication/xi-jinping-and-the-administrative-hierarchy-and-subdivisions-in-china/
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/elizabethperry/files/managed_campaigns_-_proofs.pdf
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1178528.shtml
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1184356.shtml
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/694299
https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=psilr
https://www.smh.com.au/world/pocket-of-poverty-the-new-shanghai-has-left-behind-20121109-293dl.html
https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3187061/shanghais-old-west-gate-neighbourhood-emptied-demolition-and-redevelopment
https://academic.oup.com/columbia-scholarship-online/book/20259/chapter-abstract/179324873?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
The work of Michel Foucault
We proudly present Episode 1 of the new season of Strangers in China, part of the Sinica Network from The China Project. In this season, host Clay Baldo provides an intimate look at the lockdown in Shanghai, from the foreboding that preceded it through the harrowing days of the lockdown itself.
Be sure to subscribe to the show, too! Just look up Strangers in China in your podcast app of choice and hit subscribe.
2:21 – A preview of this season of Strangers in China
8:23 – The Shanghai fāngcāng方舱 and emergence of spontaneous mass gatherings
13:28 – Explaining the role of neighborhood committees/ jūwěihuì 居委会 in China
18:39 – The exploration of mental health throughout this podcast
24:21 – Clay’s process in producing the podcast
28:06 – The editorial choice to not dub over Chinese speakers
31:29 – Can the protests like the one that broke out on Urumqi Lu emerge again?
37:15 – Examples of strong group solidarity during the lockdown
43:35 – Clay’s thoughts on the recent loosening of restrictions
A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Clay: 3 Shanghai fashion Instagram accounts to follow – Windowsen (@windowsen), Susu, (@_su.su.su.su). Lexi (@jing_sen_); and the book Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott.
Kaiser: The Long Shipsby Frans Bengtsson
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Rebecca Kuang (who writes under the name R.F. Kuang), the author of the best-selling historical fantasy novel Babel. Set in the 1830s in England, the novel’s Chinese-born protagonist sets out to prevent a war with China over the opium trade. It’s a novel about the industrial revolution, labor activism, revolution, and — surprisingly — language, etymology, and translation.
2:28 – On Rebecca’s own connections to China and her anxieties about losing the Chinese language
8:27 – What historical insights Rebecca hoped her readers would take away from Babel
14:37 – Parallels between the U.K. of the early 19th century and the U.S. of the early 21st
20:26 – Refections on revolution and revolutionaries
25:48 – Silver working: the magic system in Babel and its relation to language
30:37 – Issues with translation theory presented in the book
38:04 – How Rebecca’s background in debate influenced her writing style
45:03 – Rebecca’s forthcoming novel Yellowface
A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Rebecca: The film Banshees of Inisherinand other works by its director, Martin McDonagh, including the dark comedy In Bruges (2008).
Kaiser: The new novel by Cormac McCarthy The Passenger, and a review of it by James Wood in The New Yorker.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Pharmacies told to give out free meds, China to boost the supply of Pfizer’s Paxlovid, Xiaomi slashes staff after a third consecutive down quarter, and ‘Avatar 2’ breathes some life into the tepid Chinese box office.
In addition, Kelsey Cheng joins to discuss China’s weakening exports — and why export growth is weak despite favorable exchange rates.
Chinese trade with Africa is widely expected to break yet another record in 2022, while Chinese lending to countries across the continent fell again. Meantime, African leaders this year also forcefully pushed back against both the U.S. and China to avoid becoming collateral damage in their escalating great power struggle.
It was an eventful year indeed for Africa-China relations. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development and a prominent African international affairs analyst, joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to reflect on the year’s key milestones.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION:
Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @gyude_moore
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:
Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr
JOIN US ON PATREON!
Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!
www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject
This week on Sinica, Jude Blanchette (Freeman Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies) and Ryan Hass (Armacost Chair at the John L. Thornton Center at the Brookings Institute) join Kaiser to discuss their new essay in Foreign Affairs, “The Taiwan Long Game: Why the Best Solution Is No Solution.”
3:05 – Reconceptualizing Taiwan as “a strategic problem with a defense component”
6:00 – Why expanding the scope of the Taiwan issue beyond the military dimension should not be conflated with capitulation
13:34 – Has current U.S. policy abandoned preserving status quo cross-strait relations?
17:27 – Why has China refrained from the use of force thus far?
27:05 – China, U.S., and Taiwan’s heightened sense of urgency
31:22 – How Ukraine alters China’s decision calculus on Taiwan
36:44 – What pertinent challenges should the US be planning for rather than exclusively focusing on the threat of invasion?
43:58 – The issue with democracy vs authoritarianism framing
46:01 – The importance of considering Taiwanese agency when crafting US policy
48:40 – How the U.S. should define its one-China policy
53:19 – Opportunities for a detente between Washington and Beijing
A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Ryan: “How We Would Know When China Is Preparing to Invade Taiwan,” by John Culver; the film White Christmas
Jude: The podcast In the Dark from American Public Media
Kaiser: “A Professor Who Challenges the Washington Consensus on China,” Ian Johnson’s piece in The New Yorker about Jessica Chen Weiss
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis discusses information control with Jeremy Wallace, associate professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Jeremy is the author of the new book Seeking Truth and Hiding Facts: Information, Ideology, and Authoritarian Rule in China.Jeremy discusses how a communist party came to justify itself through GDP statistics and why they have shifted away from this focus recently. Also discussed is how and why cadres falsify data and the techniques researchers use to identify manipulated statistics. Jeremy also reflects on the centralization and personalization of Xi’s power and the recent COVID protests, connecting the contemporary issues he studies with a rich set of historical cases including the Great Leap Forward, the Democracy Wall Movement and the Tian’anmen protests.
The Chinese debt trap narrative was started based on the purported surrender of the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. When Colombo fell behind in its payments to the China Exim Bank for the loan, the story goes, Beijing seized the port as collateral.
Now, six years later, a pair of Sri Lankan researchers, Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala gained access to the original China Exim Bank loan documents for the port and confirmed that the Chinese predatory lending narrative, as it’s been told, just isn’t true.
The pair join Eric & Cobus to discuss their new report that debunks many of the myths surrounding Chinese lending to Sri Lanka, specifically related to the controversial port.
SHOW NOTES:
- The China-Africa Research Initiative: Evolution of Chinese Lending to Sri Lanka Since the mid-2000s: Separating Myth from Reality by Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala: https://bit.ly/3PF1cHr
- The Diplomat: Demystifying China’s role in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring by Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala: https://bit.ly/3v4r3iH
JOIN THE DISCUSSION:
Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @UmeshMoramudali | @ThilinaKalhara
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:
Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr
JOIN US ON PATREON!
Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!
www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Mainlanders rush to Macao for mRNA shot, exit from ‘zero Covid’ spurs air travel revival, and U.S. and Chinese regulators make major progress in audit dispute.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global finance reporter Yukun Zhang about the challenges that the Big Four accounting firms face in China even after the apparent resolution of the longstanding audit dispute.
On December 11, 1936, divisions in the Nationalist camp boiled over. Their brief mutiny against Chiang Kai-shek had momentous consequences for Chinese history, forcing Chiang to ally with the Communists against the Japanese.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
What do you like about learning Chinese? John and Jared talk about all of the reasons they love Chinese! Guest interview is with Jason Brooks, a former language teacher and founder of an AI startup.
Links from the episode:
- Harkness AI | Conversational awareness tool
- Jason Brooks | Linkedin
- Journey to the Center of the Earth | Level 2 Chinese graded reader
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy welcome Diana Choyleva and Dinny McMahon, who recently published a report for the Wilson Center on China’s efforts to internationalize the Renminbi, its currency. Diana Choyleva is chief economist and founder of Enodo Economics, an independent macroeconomic forecasting consultancy she set up in 2016. Dinny McMahon is a former Wall Street Journal reporter and author of the book China’s Great Wall of Debt. Their report is called “China’s Quest for Financial Self-Reliance: How Beijing Plans to Decouple from the Dollar-Based Global Trading and Financial System.”
2:38 – The advantages the U.S. enjoys through the dollar’s global primacy
4:40 – How Beijing sees the dollar’s dominance as a strategic vulnerability
7:11 – Other countries who actively pursued internationalization of their currency
10:07 – International trust deficit regarding China’s currency
13:37 – Right-sizing China’s currency ambitions
15:13 – How China incentives increased demand for the RMB
24:19 – Are we currently at a critical turning point of currency displacement?
36:42 – The role of digital currency in China’s monetary strategy
43:42 – The BRI as a mechanism for expanding the circulation of the RMB
A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.
Recommendations:
Jeremy: This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay; Kay’s Anatomyby Adam Kay
Diana: Picking up dancing as a pastime; China: The Gathering Threat by Constantine Menges
Dinny: Lombard Street by Walter Bagehot
Kaiser: The Amazon miniseries The English
In the wake of widespread protests across China last month, the successes of Taiwan’s democratic protests in 1979 provide an interesting parallel.
Click here to read the article by James Carter.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The death on Wednesday of China’s former leader Jiang Zemin has prompted an outpouring of nostalgia on the internet, with many tributes from young Chinese focusing on the contrast between Jiang’s governing style and flamboyant personality and those of his successors.
Click here to read the article by Zhao Yuanyuan.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Taiwanese party that favors closer ties to Beijing just won 13 of the 21 contested city mayor and county chief seats in Taiwan. The...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Guangzhou eases Covid curbs, UBS economist predicts China to fully reopen in the third quarter of 2023, housing...
The Army-Navy game is one of the most honored traditions in college football. It’s usually played in Philadelphia…but not always. Click here to read the...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Michael J. Mazarr, author of the book Leap of Faith: Hubris, Negligence, and America’s Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis discusses environmental governance in China with Iza Ding, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh...
For the last four decades, the Chinese government has measured its performance almost religiously with one metric: GDP growth. But the GDP God is falling...
We’ve got a special bonus episode this week on the protests over the weekend of November 26th-27th in multiple cities around China. Joining Kaiser and...
Questions are a fundamental function of language. John and Jared talk about how to use asking and responding to questions to maximize your learning gain...
A compassionate monk arrived at an abandoned temple near Hangzhou with the task of making the area safe from tiger attacks. His tactics weren’t groundbreaking...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser & Jeremy welcome Yuan Yang, a reporter for the Financial Times who was until recently covering technology in Beijing. Now based in...
1:04 – As the China Sports Insider Podcast turns 50, are there still reasons to be optimistic about China’s sporting future? 2:46 – China may...
After “U.S. high schoolers” and “shopping in Los Angeles,” pretending to be on an autumnal American farm is the latest “Americore” aesthetic to take over...
John Hu arrived to France in 1722, accompanied by a Jesuit priest and tasked with cataloging and translating a library. He had a knack for...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s property sales remain sluggish despite government efforts, Tencent wins new game license after 17-month drought, and Alibaba...
This week on Sinica, in lieu of the regular show we present a keynote address given by Evan Feigenbaum, VP for studies at the Carnegie...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Ashley Yablon, the former general counsel for the Chinese technology company ZTE. Ashley discusses how...
We all come into language learning with different expectations. John and Jared talk about common expectations many learners have versus the reality of the language...
In November 1928, students marched through the streets of Harbin. When they began forcing their way through police lines, things turned violent. Click here to...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China cuts quarantine time for international travelers, China’s home-grown GPS rival is fitted in almost every new smartphone...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Anne-Marie Slaughter, a leading American public intellectual who serves as president of New America and was Director of...
2:00 – Marathons around the country have been getting postponed or canceled, but Beijing’s big race remains on — for now. 5:54 – China is...
In this excerpt from Destination Peking, abridged and lightly edited for The China Project, author Paul French introduces us to Lev Karakhan, a Bolshevik whose work...
The Empress Dowager Cixi was only 26 when she took over as China’s ruler. She remained on top for the next half-century. How did she...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Chinese mining companies have been ordered to divest from Canadian lithium projects. Plus, Chinese bank moves to recoup...
This week on Sinica, our friends at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs invited us for a live show taping before a small group. Kaiser...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis discusses Chinese tech companies and their global expansion with Guoli Chen, Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, and...
Porta potties, blue fences, and angry old men: What does community lockdown in Beijing look like? Click here to read the article by Anthony Tao...
At 3, the endangered feline became an internet sensation and a star attraction at a zoo that was struggling to make ends meet. Click here...
After nearly 4 years since the first episode, Jared and John celebrate their 100th podcast episode with two special interviews with two special guest interviewers...
With the world watching, 400-some Chinese soldiers defended the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai against hundreds of thousands of Japanese invaders. What’s the real story behind...
This week on Sinica, Evan Osnos, staff writer for The New Yorker, joins hosts Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn to talk about his new piece on...
0:50 Some parallels between the handling of the Hu Jintao and Peng Shuai incidents. 7:17 Following on from Part I, which outlined the top seven...
Yuanmingyuan had already been looted by foreign armies earlier in the month. But European powers wanted to further punish the Qing emperor, and so decided...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Susan Shirk, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Pacific and Research Professor and Chair of...
In August, the Biden administration finally passed a semiconductor subsidy bill. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 achieved rare bipartisan support and promises funding...
You’re learning Chinese, but are you getting better? Chances are you’re improving but it can be hard to notice the progress. John and Jared discuss...
0:40 – It’s Day 8 of quarantine for Mark on his return to Beijing and he’s been preoccupied by the fascinating waste disposal process. 6:00...
Considered a Chinese Robin Hood by his followers and a “common pest” by his enemies — to say nothing of bandit, murderer — Bai Lang...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy are joined by Sue-Lin Wong, who until recently covered China for the Economist and hosted an eight-part podcast...
Financial terms of the settlement, announced in a joint statement from attorneys for both parties on Saturday, were not revealed. Click here to read the...
In October of 1901, General Zeng Qi asked the emperor of China for permission to open a coal mine. So began a century-long rat race...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy were live in London with a very special guest: Carrie Gracie, whose career with the BBC spanned three...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Mona Chung, a bicultural business leader and expert on doing business in and with China. The discussion...
Ironically for a form that takes a specific location as its name, Peking Opera is best understood as a blend of many different regional styles...
According to government data, there are currently more than 33,000 Buddhist temples in China. An increasing number of them find themselves hosting urban youth who...
There are a lot of opinions about how to learn Chinese with some of it being just plain bad! John and Jared share some of...
1:20: The FIFA World Cup is approaching. How much buzz will there be in China? 3:23: Mike Pompeo was in Taiwan this week and Mark...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Minister Xu Xueyuan, Deputy Chief of Mission at the PRC embassy in Washington, D.C. A few words about...
A visual ode to China’s biggest metropolis. Click here to read the article by Neocha. This article was originally published on Neocha and is republished with permission...
0:45: Mark recounts his earthquake experience in Taiwan and highlights how the cluster of former China journalists now based on the island is affecting the...
How did Yuan Chonghuan, who achieved one of China’s greatest military victories and ascended to the highest ranks of government, fall so far from favor...
Pink elephants, fish, genitalia: For young feminists in China, tattoos have become a way to express their womanhood and take back their bodies. Click here...
This week on Sinica, we kick off the new network show, the China-Global South Podcast, with a conversation with the show’s hosts and co-founders of...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis is joined by George Shen from IBM, a tech exec and thought leader in artificial intelligence (AI)...
Photographer Chen Wei’s visions of modern life. Click here to read the article by Neocha. Narrated by Jenny McKenzie. China Stories is published twice weekly...
China’s political structure is simultaneously simple and dense. As we approach the Party Congress on October 16 — a monumental meeting in which Xi Jinping...
Many people study for the HSK exam but will focusing your language learning on your interests and needs be better and faster? Well, yes…maybe! In...
The first Beijing 798 Biennale, in 2009, came during a time of hope that the Chinese government would be more permissive of free expression. But...
Philanthropy in China is in the middle of doing everything everywhere all at once — building a broad-based culture of charitable giving; appealing to a...
As Europe burns and China swelters through a merciless summer, the Paris climate goals are a distant mirage. Determined to double China’s GDP by 2035...
0:45 The (new!) livestream starts with some differences in playing club tennis around the world. 2:37 Both hosts express anxiety about their upcoming returns to...
This week on Sinica, Wall Street Journal reporters Josh Chin and Liza Lin join the program to discuss their new book Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch...
A century ago today, Xi Shangzhen, the first woman employee of a progressive Shanghai newspaper, committed suicide. The case transcended individual tragedy after details of...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes back University of Michigan political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang, who discusses a recent piece in the Journal of Democracy titled “How...
The China Sports Insider Podcast is back after a busy summer and will continue to evolve as Zero COVID continues to dominate the sports industry...
The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill that would ban Chinese investment in U.S. agribusiness, in response to a proposal by China-based Fufeng Group to build...
After footage of a group of men sexually harassing and assaulting a woman in a restaurant went viral, authorities in the city of Tangshan have...
Does a musical background make you better at Chinese? Believe it or not, there is research on this very subject that John and I are...
On August 28, 1928, rising political star Shen Dingyi was gunned down by assassins at a bus stop near his home. No one was ever...
It’s been more than five years since Canadian athleisure brand Lululemon, known for its yoga pants, entered the Chinese market. But one specific product —...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes back the Cornell political scientist Jessica Chen Weiss, who is back in Ithaca after a year spent as a...
Rumors, tweets, and even reports in serious newspapers are suggesting that Premier Li Keqiang is challenging Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule, and may even put an...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Wildfires rage in Sichuan and Chongqing as a heatwave and drought turn forests into tinderboxes and reservoirs evaporate;...
Song Jiaoren is China’s “lost future,” remembered as a democrat who opposed authoritarianism — and not for reneging on promises in the naive hope that...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser and Jeremy welcome back Tom Orlik, Bloomberg’s chief economist and author of the book China: The Bubble that Never...
China, then and now. Click here to read the article by Neocha. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and...
Anyone can learn a language, but in this episode, John and I are going to talk about five qualities of good language learners. Call them...
In the early hours of August 14, 1524, as many as 250 officials of the Ming dynasty staged a protest in the Forbidden City, a...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy welcome Leroy Chiao, a NASA astronaut who flew three shuttle missions and served as commander of the International...
There is significant uncertainty about how companies can deal with the sweeping UFLPA which just went into effect in late June. To understand this policy and how it...
The bittersweet memories of artist Sun Keqin. Click here to read the article by Neocha. Narrated by Cliff Larsen. China Stories is published twice weekly...
A small-scale exhibition entitled “Trash Talk” highlighted the work of a beach cleanup collective in Hong Kong and invited visitors to reflect on their contribution...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s central bank lowers two key interest rates by 10 basis points; China’s Foreign Ministry releases a white...
In the early days of Republican China, the domestic tourism industry was mostly tailored to foreigners who wanted to escape from the cities. This changed...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Ali Wyne, senior analyst at the Eurasia Group’s global macro geopolitics practice and author of the...
The “Taiwan Friendship Bridge” in Costa Rica was originally a gift from the Taiwanese government. There is now a motion to officially remove “Taiwan” from...
Popular perception of Beijing, for those who have never visited, is that it is a drab city of gray concrete and red paint. But perceptions...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Sino-U.S. relations continue to suffer in the aftermath of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial trip to Taiwan;...
The Ultra-Traditional, the “Buddy”, the Know-it-All, and the “Too Nice” are all teacher types that John and Jared are going to break down and you...
In the summer of 1884, French forces, frustrated by Qing refusal to comply with their colonial wishes in Indochina, attempted to demonstrate their power by...
Years of government spending on semiconductors seem to have only led to massively expensive failed projects and chief executives in jail. Read the article by...
In a week dominated by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Kaiser welcomes John Culver, who served as national intelligence officer for East...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Yijing Wang, founder of 2060 Advisory, an impact investing advisory firm based in Hangzhou. Yijing discusses...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a call lasting over two hours ahead of...
On July 26, 1882, the first electric light came on in Shanghai. The city would be China’s only electrified city for the next six years...
This week on Sinica, we offer listeners a sneak preview of one of the new shows coming soon to the Sinica Network: Café & Seda...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing backs down over the use of “quarantine bracelets” after online backlash; Didi served with large fines for...
In this special episode, John and Jared interview game-based learning expert Fred Poole who is a professor at Michigan State University, an avid gamer, and...
Taking its name from an American Civil War reference, operation “Dixie Mission” sent Americans into China’s “rebel” territory in 1944 — where they were enthusiastically...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Silvia Lindtner of the University of Michigan about her book Prototype Nation. In a wide-ranging conversation...
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was a vocal supporter of Taiwan and helped strengthen Japan-Taiwan relations. His death on Friday was officially mourned at...
Mulan may be the household name, but China has a rich history of woman warriors. Qin Liangyu defended the Ming against northern invaders, and was...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Paul Triolo, Senior VP for China and Technology Policy Lead at Dentons Global Advisors ASG, formerly and probably...
Today on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Rory Murphy, vice president of government affairs at the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) to discuss a...
Hong Kong author and screenwriter Ni Kuang was famed for his wuxia and science fiction adventures. His influence also extends to the film industry, where...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A senior executive has left ByteDance, the company behind TikTok after his hardware initiatives were unsuccessful; a knife...
Have you ever had comments in Chinese about your weight, asked how much money you make, or experienced just a general lack of “please” and...
In Urumqi on July 5, 2009, a Uyghur protest against racism and mistreatment turned into a riot, resulting in crowds attacking Han Chinese. The state’s...
The global production of semiconductors will be interdependent for at least the next decade. China and the U.S. may want chip self-sufficiency, but neither will...
In an special interview edition of the show, Mark and Haig speak to Yonina Chan, who helps run the Beijing chapter of the famed Israeli...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Villanova University historian Andrew Liu. Andy published an excellent essay in n+1 magazine in April that captured how...
Two of China’s largest and most important mining ventures in Africa encountered major problems this week. In Guinea, the government shut down the Sino-Australian joint...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Xi Jinping swears in Hong Kong’s new chief executive, John Lee, and says that Hong Kong must be...
A Discussion With the Journalists Behind the BBC Doc “Racism For Sale” The BBC investigative unit Africa Eye turned a powerful spotlight last month on...
For weeks in June 1855, wave after wave of floodwaters laid waste to central China. More than 200,000 people died, while seven million lost their...
A drama focusing on the shifting fortunes of a Chinese family beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, filled with struggle and bittersweet...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Jing Tsu, John M. Schiff Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures & Comparative Literature at Yale University...
Utah has more people learning Chinese as a second language than anywhere else in America and nearly one in five Utah jobs are tied to...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The USTR is still wavering on easing tariffs as Katherine Tai sees tariffs as “leverage” against China; Xi...
How long can you use Chinese before your “brain is full”? John and Jared talk about endurance in Chinese, how to build stamina, and what...
(0:55) Recent podcast guest and F1 driver Zhou Guanyu finally has some good luck, finishing eighth at the Montreal Grand Prix. (1:36) He’s a fun follow on...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Shelley Rigger of Davidson College returns to the show to talk Taiwan. She’s joined by Simona Grano, a sinologist...
We round up the news this week with Zhang Weili’s stunning knockout win in the UFC. How long until she fights for another title (2:26)?...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Art Dicker, a senior attorney at R&P China Lawyers, a full-service local PRC law firm...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s top regulator quashes rumors of a revived Ant Group IPO; the debate over IVF for single women...
What do you do when your dictionary says one thing but native speakers say it differently? John and Jared will talk about how to handle...
Marking the second anniversary of “TWICH.” Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2022/06/08/a-comprehensive-mirror-two-years-of-this-week-in-chinas-history/ Narrated by Elyse Ribbons. China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with James (Jay) Carter, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Jay...
Eileen Gu, the top-rated story from the 2022 Olympics, is back in the headlines once again (1:00). She just announced she will be an ambassador...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A kerfuffle in China over images in textbooks; the chairman and CEO of a financial services company faces...
China’s Zheng Qinwen makes a run at the French Open — beating Simona Halep and Alize Cornet, then becoming the first player in more than...
On May 30, 1626, an imperial armory just west of the Forbidden City exploded with a force rivaling that of the atomic bomb dropped on...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes back Dr. George Hu, a clinical psychologist based in Shanghai, who has a lot to say about the state...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Matt Margulies and Hannah Feldshuh from the US-China Business Council’s Beijing office about a recently USCBC report on...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: USTR Katherine Tai is still not saying whether the Biden administration will lift some tariffs on Chinese goods;...
Jared and John discuss a research paper on learner engagement with vocabulary apps. Whether you’re an independent learner or a teacher, there are plenty of...
The “99-year lease” may be the most bureaucratic of euphemisms for colonization. Those leases followed the arrival of foreign troops and gunboats, but by “negotiating”...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes veteran Asia reporter Demetri Sevastopulo, who covers the U.S.-China relationship for the Financial Times. They discuss some of Demetri’s scoops...
On the show this week, Mark shares his experience on Patrick McEnroe’s podcast (1:02), plus watching live soccer for a change at a Taiwan Mulan...
Yangzhou in the Yangtze River Delta is an ancient city that reached its greatest prominence during the Ming dynasty. When the Qing invaded, it was...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Mark Leonard, founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations and author most recently of The...
With a special guest on the show this week, we rank where F1 rookie Zhou Guanyu sits in China’s sporting landscape today (0:52). The biggest...
Despite competition from rail, road, and river, the through train remained the most comfortable and efficient means of getting between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, bridging...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Ridesharing giant Didi Global says it will not complete a cybersecurity review before its pending delisting from the...
Learning a language is much more than learning vocabulary. This includes understanding and anticipating interactions within a cultural context. John and Jared discuss exactly what...
The story of the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty is a reminder not only of the perils of royalty in the 12th century...
This week on Sinica, Deborah Seligsohn returns to the show to talk about the sad state of U.S.-China scientific collaboration. As the Science Counselor at...
Mark escapes Beijing, leaving the ghost town that PEK airport has become (0:18), while the city of Beijing slips into a lockdown in all but...
A brief history of Chinese-language graffiti. Read the article by Neocha: https://supchina.com/2022/05/03/tagging-along/ This article was originally published on Neocha and is republished with permission. Narrated by Cliff...
Despite mounting bilateral tensions, capital flows may be one area the U.S. and China can find common ground. Read the article by Paul Triolo: https://supchina.com/2022/05/09/why-the-u-s-and-china-might-broker-a-deal-on-u-s-capital-access/...
In this CEO Webinar, we discuss cross-border entrepreneurship with Jeff Ji and Ken Wong of NavPac Advisors, a company that connects businesses in the U.S...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The Beijing leadership doubles down on its controversial “Dynamic Zero-Covid Strategy”; foreign companies feel the pinch from the...
In May 1919, the Chinese capital had been in tumult for nearly a decade. On May 4, protesters gathered at Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly...
With Mark and Haig recording their last face-to-face show before some summer travel (0:36), news is coming through that the World University Games in Chengdu...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined again by Yawei Liu, Senior Director for China at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia; and by Danielle...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing scrambles to control a COVID-19 outbreak in the capital, undertaking mass testing; leading commercial drone maker DJI...
In 2021, Jared and John at Mandarin Companion surveyed over a thousand Chinese learners worldwide. Based on a statistical analysis, they found six main types...
“To use for educational purposes the money that is already allocated for indemnity would create benefit from damage, and gain from loss.” Read the article...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser is joined by Manjari Chatterjee Miller, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on...
It’s a strange time in Beijing right now, with mandatory testing and food flying off the shelves at supermarkets. Sports take a back seat, as...
By 1644, the Ming dynasty’s Chongzhen emperor faced multiple pandemics, invasion, two internal rebellions, persistent drought, widespread famine, and economic collapse. On Coal Hill that...
Africa-China economic relations are dominated by state-to-state interactions, but Chinese private companies are making a unique impact on the continent’s economic transformation. Here’s how. Read...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Marina Rudyak, assistant professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Heidelberg. She offers her unique perspective...
On this episode, feedback from last week’s interview with Rudi Ying (0:50), ESPN’s detailed look at Nets owner Joe Tsai (1:34), the NBA’s (very) rocky road...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Robert Fisch, who has over 40 years of experience working in and with Chinese companies and...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The lockdown in Shanghai continues as residents scramble to find sources of food and officials move against price...
Slang words in Chinese are always evolving, but is it worth it to learn? As always, it depends. Guest interview is with language enthusiast, author...
At a time when legal avenues for women were limited, working as an outlaw was almost obligatory. Zheng Yi Sao proved herself to be a...
The COVID lockdown in China’s biggest city, Shanghai, hasn’t been going exactly according to plan. This week on Sinica, we speak with our business editor...
In a round-up of the week’s news, F1’s Chinese rookie Zhou Guanyu narrowly missed out on the points — again — while there was a...
“If we can’t solve the problem, we need to solve the person who raised the problem,” said one cynical social media user as Weibo censored...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s ambassador to the United Nations calls for an investigation into the killings of civilians in Bucha, in...
In April 1232, a Mongol army 15,000 strong surrounded the Jin dynasty capital of Kaifeng. The siege that ensued lasted more than a year and...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Giuliana Auinger, the Asia Head of Sustainability for French multinational Schneider Electric. They discuss the challenges...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, in a show taped on March 23, Chinese foreign policy expert Yun Sun, director of the China program at...
Last week marked the anniversary of journalist Theodore White’s reporting on the 1942-44 famine in Henan, which helped spur greater relief for people in this...
Learning from native speakers is essential. In this episode, Jared and John will make you aware of ways they can also lead you astray. Guest...
Upon excavation in 1974, Qin Shihuang’s Terracotta Army was immediately recognized as one of the most significant discoveries in modern history. The site is still...
“A performer, a propagandist, and a bunch of entry-level social workers. Together, they put together a black comedy,” a Weibo user wrote. Another person quipped...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Susan Thornton, former Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and a veteran...
Chinese F1 driver Zhou Guanyu just missed out on another points finish (1:33), this time in Saudi Arabia, with the race going ahead despite a...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s ambassador to the United States says that China’s relationship with Russia does have a bottom line; Chinese consumer drone...
Following the Xinhai Revolution, Song Jiaoren embodied China’s hopes for a democratic future. He was destined to become the nascent republic’s first prime minister —...
China’s rise has been accompanied by a growing dependence on the rest of the world for food. Now, in the age of hot wars, cold...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to serial social entrepreneur and eco-activist Sonalie Figueiras. Sonalie is a native of Hong Kong who has...
This week on Sinica: Chén Dìngdìng 陈定定, professor of international relations at Jinan University in Guangzhou, offers his perspective on how Beijing views the war...
On the show this week, Mark and Haig discuss Chinese motorsports driver Zhou Guanyu’s stunning F1 debut and the huge number of people in China...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A Boeing 737 flying from Kunming to Guangzhou plummeted suddenly in mountainous Guangxi with 132 aboard; Biden and...
Do you ever feel like you’re trying to get conversational in Chinese but seem to be stuck in textbooks and classes? In this episode, John...
With the Tibetan New Year just passed, the region begins another year with its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in exile. On this week in...
Here are three key social issues that were brought up at China’s biggest political event of the year. Read the article by Greg James: https://supchina.com/2022/03/14/human-trafficking-and-bad-influences-on-youth-were-hot-topics-at-two-sessions-2022/...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Maria Repnikova, assistant professor of global communications at Georgia State University, who recently published a short book under...
On the show this week, “Beardwatch” is back with a heartfelt apology from Mark to Haig (0:26). What can China take away from its dominance...
Chinese ADRs tumble on American bourses after the SEC announces possible delistings targets over accounting kerfuffle; nickel prices soar after China’s Tsingshan makes a bad...
Some 140,000 Chinese men served in the Allied effort in World War I as part of the Chinese Labour Corps. This Week in China’s History...
Western sanctions on Russia have presented some Chinese companies with an immediate market opportunity. In the coming years, the linkages will grow, stymying future U.S.-led...
Standing in front of muchroom pub in Chengdu, one feels a sense of openness. It all ties into the founders’ goals of fostering a community...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks with China auto industry veteran Robert Yu. In Robert’s 30 plus years in the industry, he spent...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Evan Feigenbaum, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former vice-chairman of...
On the show this week, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons delivered a fiery anti-war message at the Paralympics opening ceremony — but it...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China sets its lowest GDP growth target yet, at around 5.5%; the renminbi surges against the ruble as...
WeChat is the most popular instant messaging platform in China. In this episode, John and I are going to tell you tips and tricks on...
Recent debates over Taiwan’s identity as Chinese, or part of China, focus on the awkward arrangement by which governments in Taipei and Beijing both claim...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Jeff Bader, who served as senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council during the first...
On the show this week, Mark and Haig discuss whether Russian and Belorussian athletes should be allowed to compete in the Paralympics (0:36)? How will...
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed a great deal of support for Russia but only some support for its invasion of Ukraine. Read the article...
The Buddhist monk Xuanzang covered 10,000 miles on foot and horseback, from China to India, and passed through parts of what are today Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan...
Centered around romantic and sexual relationships between men, “danmei” is wildly popular in China. It’s been a hit abroad, too, with three books recently receiving...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with William (Bill) Klein, who served as acting deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from...
In a special Olympics wrap episode, we count down all the top storylines from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, starting with why an Olympic...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A private lender could lose 10 million yuan in Ethereum following a court ruling on crypto loans; Huawei...
If you’re into music, this episode is for you! John and Jared talk about how Chinese songs can help you learn Chinese. Interview is with...
China wins gold #9 with a figure skating pairs win — four years after heartbreak (2:18). Eileen Gu has been living a privileged existence inside...
If Chinese commanders had observed the experiences of French and American forces in Vietnam, they seem to have learned few lessons. Read the article by...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Megan Walsh, journalist, literary critic, and author of the brand-new book The Subplot: What China Is Reading...
How much of a shadow has the Russian doping scandal cast over these Games? (1:16) Could Beijing organizers actually welcome the Kamila Valieva issue because...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Kenneth Jarrett, senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group about how multinationals can deal with the...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing plans to announce sweeping standards on fintech and the digital yuan; Hong Kong steps up the fight...
An update on the Uyghur athlete chosen as one of the two final torchbearers (2:39). The Chinese men’s hockey team had their first test —...
At the end of World War II, more than 100,000 American soldiers were stationed in China, and tens of thousands still remained by 1947. One...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Indiana University political scientist Jason Wu about his work on China’s ideological landscape. With so many...
At the Olympics, it’s all Eileen Gu, all the time (1:06), but she’s not just talking the talk, now she’s walking the walk with her...
China’s tumultuous recent past has had profound effects on Chinese family life that are going to change the country’s future. Read the article by David...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Over 300 positive cases so far within the Olympic closed-loop; the Winter Games fuel a rise in interest...
Do native speakers know the tones? How well do you need to know tones to listen or speak? Jared and John delve into these and...
Before the opening ceremony, Mark predicted that a young Uyghur athlete would be among the final torchbearers. We discuss what happened and why it’s so...
In 1908, Qing customs officials boarded the Japanese steamship Tatsu Maru to seize weapons allegedly earmarked for revolutionaries. The ship’s captain objected. The drawn-out diplomatic...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Jeremy Daum, senior research scholar in law and senior fellow at Yale University’s Paul Tsai China Center. Jeremy...
Not long now until the Olympic cauldron is lit, and already there is no end of stories to talk about. It’s Chinese New Year so...
Much has been made about the Beijing Olympics organizing committee setting up a “closed loop” for the Games. What’s it really like? Our reporter reports...
An extraordinary book by an extraordinary historian. Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2022/01/26/the-death-of-woman-wang-and-the-life-jonathan-spence/ Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet. China Stories are published twice...
Keanu Reeves will appear at the annual benefit concert for Tibet House US, a New York-based nonprofit organization founded at the request of the Dalai...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser welcomes back Rory Truex, who teaches politics and international affairs at Princeton. In a fascinating as-yet-unpublished paper, Rory...
On the show this week: with just eight days to go until the Olympic flame is lit, Mark and Haig talk hockey and Covid complications...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The hardships faced by a migrant worker who tested positive for the Delta variant have sparked widespread sympathy...
Sometimes we forget how easy it can be to practice Chinese. In this episode, Jared and John talk about everyday games, like Uno and charades...
At its height, the Ming dynasty had more than a thousand ocean-going vessels, including large “treasure ships” equipped with luxury cabins and weaponry. At the...
The rise of MiHoYo’s ‘Genshin Impact’ should make people reconsider the viability of China’s culture factory. Read the article by Chang Che: https://supchina.com/2022/01/20/are-video-games-chinas-next-cultural-export/ Narrated by...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser welcomes back Dan Wang, technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, to talk about this year’s annual letter. Dan’s letters...
00:37 – Mark has a new book! 3:50 – Beijing organizers confirm there won’t be e public sale of tickets. So who’ll be invited? Is...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Dan Digre from MISCO a St. Paul Minnesota-based company that produces audio speakers. Over the...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s GDP grew 8.1% in 2021 on low comparisons; flight cancellations continue as several Chinese cities experience Omicron...
On January 15, 1935, a warlord’s palace in the remote mountains of Guizhou was the setting for a meeting that, over the course of three...
As American universities reevaluate the role of Western classical education, Latin and Greek courses are proliferating in China, where students see the Classics as a...
Fried chicken and collectible mystery dolls — what could go wrong with a collaboration between KFC and Pop Mart? A lot, as it turns out...
What we think about China depends in large measure on how we think about China. As a nation of 1.4 billion people in the throes of world-historic change...
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu is poised to take the Beijing Olympics by storm, but a new story from The Wall Street Journal raises questions about her citizenship...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Major layoffs at short video company Kuaishou; India orders Chinese mobile phone giant Xiaomi to pay $90 million...
Jared and John talk about why typing characters leads to better learning outcomes than handwriting. They dispel conventional wisdom backed by science from an academic...
The tactics employed in the movement, which ostensibly targeted corruption among business owners, foreshadowed the Chinese Communist Party’s dark excesses in the decades to come...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with David McCourt, associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Davis. For the last several years, David...
With the Omicron variant rampant worldwide, calls to postpone the Olympics have been growing louder. We discuss why that’s simply not an option for China...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Doug Guthrie, who from 2014 to 2019 led Apple University’s efforts on leadership and organizational development in...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Damien Ma, managing director and co-founder of the Paulson Institute’s think-tank, MacroPolo. Damien discusses MacroPolo’s new forecast of...
First up, we look at the back-and-forth between China and the U.S. on visas for State Department personnel ahead of the Winter Olympics and discuss...
For well over a century, beer has been an important part of the identity of Qingdao, China. But the history of the city’s namesake Tsingtao...
John and Jared have pulled the best stories out of all of the guest interviews of 2021. Get ready to laugh, reflect, and be inspired...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Eileen Guo and Jess Aloe, two members of the three-person team of reporters at the MIT...
On the show this week, as the NHL forbids players from going to the Beijing Olympics (1:06), Mark and Haig discuss the impact on the...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Frank Lavin, former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore who is chairman and founder of Export Now...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: electric vehicle startup Xpeng gets in trouble for abusing facial recognition tech in its showrooms; the stridently nationalistic...
The Donglin scholars of the 17th century were willing to die for their uncompromising virtue and morals. And die they did — until their movement...
Following government moves aimed at ending inequality in education, the Beijing government is trying to make sure the children of the rich don’t get ahead...
The recently-concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting in Dakar, Senegal, generated surprisingly little international press coverage — except for a few stories that seized...
On the show this week, we expose the myth circulating in the NHL about China’s quarantine rules at the Olympics (1:18), explain what’s actually in...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: A possible end to the chip shortage that has crippled auto manufacturing in China; downgrades of a dozen...
In this episode, John and Jared talk about something close to their hearts: reading in Chinese. They discuss the different types of reading, different techniques...
“The answer is obvious,” Wei Jingsheng wrote in a lengthy essay posted to the Democracy Wall just west of Tiananmen Square. “The Chinese people should...
Highlights from our China Stories podcast: Launched in January 2021, it has published nearly 400 narrated pieces from the best English-language media outlets focused on China.
On the show this week, a decision — finally — from the International Ice Hockey Federation: the Chinese men’s team will be playing in the Olympic tournament...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Eduardo Lacerda, vice president of marketing for Danone Waters China (DWC), the Guangzhou-based subsidiary of...
The camp system in Xinjiang — the largest internment of a religious minority since World War II — is the first to employ a comprehensive...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Investors get the jitters over the Omicron variant, rattling aviation stocks; Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi announces its impending...
The film “The Battle at Lake Changjin” depicts a great Chinese victory against an American aggressor. But the real battle was anything but glorious, fought...
This week on the Sinica Podcast, we bring you Part 2 of a conversation with Lizzi Lee, an economist turned China analyst, and Jude Blanchette...
In this week’s episode, the WTA pulls out of China. What does this mean for the ATP, the IOC, and the Olympics? (00:48) Formula One’s...
Chang Pao Cun was a coffee pioneer in China, one of the first people to bring the dark caffeinated beverage to locals. But his story...
At one of China’s leading universities, students are finding ways to protest inaction against sexual harassment despite the authorities trying to shut them down. Read...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Two Chinese nationals have been killed, with 10 held for ransom and two still missing, after an attack...
In this episode, John and Jared respond to a listener question about Cantonese, which leads to a discussion around China’s numerous dialects/languages, which are in...
Confucius could be controversial for Chinese politicians of the Republican Era. So why, in 1926, did Harbin choose to build a Confucius Temple? Read the...
Increasingly, restaurants across China are implementing a system in which diners scan a QR code and self-order from their phones. But is this a convenience...
On the show this week, the Peng Shuai story goes international in a big way (3:10), the financial consequences of sports leagues leaving China (5:11)...
Recent polls conducted by organizations like Gallup and Pew have shown a precipitous decline in U.S. public opinion toward China. But how do the Chinese...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Henry Kissinger weighs in on the Xi-Biden virtual summit; China and the U.S. will ease visa restrictions on...
“There are a number of brothels as well, whose guests are greeted with smiles of welcome, some even soliciting their customers right out on the...
Coming just months after the Chinese government made strict new rules limiting under 18s from playing computer games more than three hours a week, a...
This week on Sinica, a live show taped on November 11 at the fourth annual NEXTChina Conference at the China Institute in New York, featuring...
On a jam-packed show, we discuss the latest drama with the Chinese men’s hockey team – who may still get kicked out of the Olympics...
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Xavier Naville, who candidly writes about his many ups and downs doing business in China in The...
In this episode John and Jared share the proper way to compare similar words, characters, sounds, and grammar points. There’s a time and a place...
Episode 84 of Tech Buzz China features co-host Rui Ma in conversation with Gary Liu, CEO of the South China Morning Post on the hottest...
Shanghai is unlike any other Chinese city, with strands of Japan, Britain, America, and a dozen other places woven into its fabric. This Week in...
This week on the China Sports Insider Podcast, a near-fatal accident at Beijing’s Olympic luge track at a test event leaves a Polish athlete recovering...
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy discuss mental health in China with George Hu, a Shanghai-based clinical psychologist who serves as president of the...
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s Ministry of Commerce assures people that its suggestion that people stock up on staples for the winter was just a routine seasonal reminder; China’s exports climb year-over-year for the 13th straight month; Beijing prepares to introduce punitive measures aimed at “separatists” calling for Taiwan independence; quarantine requirements may soon be dropped for travel between the mainland and Hong Kong; and Merck looks to introduce its new COVID-19 therapeutic to the Chinese market.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global company news editor Kelsey Cheng about what’s different with this year’s Double 11 — November 11 — online shopping extravaganza.
On October 22, 1978, Deng Xiaoping arrived in Japan seeking help to bring China back to normalcy. His visit helped change the world.
Read the article by John Darwin Van Fleet: https://supchina.com/2021/10/21/mr-deng-goes-to-tokyo/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Norman Bethune was a polarizing figure during his lifetime, but for his medical contributions to China between 1937 and 1939, he was bestowed hero status. For decades afterwards, it’s likely no other foreigner enjoyed such a universally positive image.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/11/03/norman-bethunes-last-surgery/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In China, overt depictions of same-sex relationships are banned from mainstream media platforms. But there’s one space where these stories are allowed to be told.
Read the article by Jin Zhao: https://supchina.com/2021/11/04/the-wild-wonderful-queer-world-of-chinese-radio-dramas/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, we present a deep-dive into the worldview of China’s leading Party theorist, Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁. Wang — the only member of the Politburo Standing Committee who has not run a province or provincial-level municipality — is believed to have been the thinker behind ideas as central (and as ideologically distinct) as Jiāng Zémín’s 江泽民 signature “Three Represents,” which brought capitalists into the Chinese Communist Party; Hú Jǐntāo’s 胡锦涛 “Scientific Outlook on Development” that focused on social harmony; and Xí Jìnpíng’s “Chinese Dream” that aimed at the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” While much of Wang’s life since he entered government has been hidden from view, his earlier writings contain many ideas that appear to have shaped Party policy across the tenure of three Party general secretaries over a period of nearly three decades, and offer clues about what still might be in store. Kaiser is joined by Joseph Fewsmith III, an eminent professor of political science at Boston University; the intellectual historian Timothy Cheek, professor of history at the University of British Columbia, whose work has focused on establishment intellectuals in the PRC; and Matthew Johnson, principal and founder of the China-focused consultancy AltaSilva LLC, who has studied and written about Wang extensively.
4:31 – An outline of Wang Huning’s career
8:36 – Wang Huning’s personality and temperament
12:28 – Wang speaks
16:45 – Wang as an example of post-charismatic leadership loyalty
24:02 – Wang’s America Against America
31:04 – Wang Huning’s concepts of cultural security and cultural sovereignty
46:36 – Wang and Document Number Nine
55:39 – Chinese conceptions of democracy
A transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Matt: The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control by Karl Deutsch; and
The Logic of Images in International Relations by Robert Jervis.
Joe: Now that more Americans recognize that China is not becoming “more like us,” they need a deeper understanding of China, and not one just rooted in hostility and militarism.
Tim: In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova.
Kaiser: River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay
Welcome to the China Sports Insider Podcast on the Sinica Network! If it’s about sports and there’s a China angle, we’ll talk about it.
This week: fewer than a hundred days to go to the Beijing Olympics, and foreign athletes have been trickling in for test events. What’s happening? What are they saying? (0:49)
The IOC released their playbook — their game plan for the Olympics. How will visiting media and athletes react to Beijing’s health and safety measures? (6:15)
Then we talk to USA Today’s Dan Wolken. He’s covered four Olympics, and he’s coming to Beijing. What does he make of the playbook? (12:39)
And we end with the saga of China’s men’s national ice hockey team. Their story is getting a lot of attention from foreign media. At the Olympic tournament they’ll be in a group with Canada, USA, and Germany, and there’s a real chance they’ll get blown out. How did we get here? What’s the way out? (34:39)
Update: Since we recorded this, the IIHF has announced that China will not be kicked out of the Olympic tournament.
For more stories read China Sports Insider
Find Mark Dreyer on Twitter
Find Haig Balian on Twitter
Learn about the Olympic playbooks
A warm Sinica welcome to our newest network member, the China Sports Insider Podcast!
If it’s about sports and there’s a China angle, our hosts Mark Dreyer — the China Sports Insider himself — and Haig Balian, the show’s producer, will talk about it.
This week: fewer than a hundred days to go to the Beijing Olympics, and foreign athletes have been trickling in for test events. What’s happening? What are they saying? (7:18)
The IOC released their playbook — their game plan for the Olympics. How will visiting media and athletes react to Beijing’s health and safety measures? (12:42)
Then we talk to USA Today’s Dan Wolken. He’s covered four Olympics, and he’s coming to Beijing. What does he make of the playbook? (19:06)
And we end with the saga of China’s men’s national ice hockey team. Their story is getting a lot of attention from foreign media. At the Olympic tournament they’ll be in a group with Canada, USA, and Germany, and there’s a real chance they’ll get blown out. How did we get here? What’s the way out? (41:06)
Update: Since we recorded this, the IIHF has announced that China will not be kicked out of the Olympic tournament.
For more stories read China Sports Insider
Find Mark Dreyer on Twitter
Find Haig Balian on Twitter
Learn about the Olympic playbooks
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Alison Schonberg, manager of Business Advisory Services at the US-China Business Council. Alison recently authored a report on government procurement in China, and while the topic may sound somewhat dry, it is in fact of enormous consequence for American firms operating in China. Alison discusses how government procurement is designed in China, and ways that governments at different levels and state-owned enterprises are able to execute an implicit “buy Chinese” policy, which in some cases is in violation of international agreements, including terms of China’s WTO accession. Also discussed are the number of ways that American companies are working with local companies and governments to deal with this increasingly restrictive environment.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Boeing’s 737 Max planes look likely to be cleared for landing again in the lucrative China market; China’s Foreign Ministry tells U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop playing the “Taiwan Card;” Beijing reminds its government agencies not to discriminate against foreign-invested enterprises in procurement; steel output shrinks again in keeping with Beijing’s efforts to curb overcapacity and reduce CO2 emissions; and three of China’s leading power generation companies see huge losses on rising coal prices. In addition, we speak with Caixin Global deputy multimedia editor Heather Mowbray about the plight of uninsured gig economy workers in China.
John and Jared talk about three types of research-backed strategies and tips you can employ to improve your listening skills, specifically in the areas where you struggle.
Guest interview is with Gabrielle Barnett from Jamaica, whose quest to learn Chinese has opened doors and taken her around the world, far beyond anything she could have imagined.
Links from the episode:
- Intelligibility of normal speech I: Global and fine-grained acoustic-phonetic talker characteristics (research paper, PDF format)
- Chinese Pronunciation Wiki: Pinyin Chart, Pinyin “Gotchas”
- When a Window is a Door (Sinosplice)
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcasts and they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
Between 2018 and 2019, more than 150 tower running races were held in China. Called “vertical marathoning” in Chinese, the sport of sprinting up skyscrapers has burgeoned in this country of tall buildings.
Read the article by Olli Dieckmann: https://supchina.com/2021/10/14/tower-running-finds-a-foothold-in-china/
Narrated by Cliff Larsen.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
We look back to a case of treason during the early Qing that gives insights into the importance of history and the nature of autocratic power.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/10/27/treason-in-the-early-qing-and-the-curious-consequences/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, we present a talk delivered on October 19 by Kaiser at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, as part of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations China Town Hall. In this 30-minute speech, Kaiser offers his views on Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 “Red New Deal,” discusses the many lenses through which China is viewed, and argues that the changes now afoot in China constitute a major historic shift — and perhaps even the end of the modern period in China’s history.
We’ll be back next week with a conversation about Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁, the Chinese Communist Party’s leading theorist, featuring three leading scholars on modern China’s politics and intellectual history: Timothy Cheek of the University of British Columbia, Joseph Fewsmith III of Boston University, and Matthew Johnson, a historian who now runs a China-focused consultancy but has made Wang Huning a major focus of his work.
A transcript of this episode is available on SupChina.com.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing moves to stabilize coal prices in hopes of addressing shortages that have resulted in power outages and rationing; a Hong Kong real estate billionaire takes a $13 million loss in sell-off of bonds from embattled developer Kaisa; under pressure from regulators, Tencent and Alibaba begin tearing down some of the walls in their respective walled gardens; Huawei wins a big energy storage contract in Saudi Arabia; 13 people have been arrested in connection with the falsification of emissions data in Hebei; and Beijing denies reports that it has tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global companies reporter Manyun Zou about the crackdown on online gaming and its impact on game companies.
In 1633, Zheng Zhilong, one of the Ming dynasty’s leading admirals, commanded a large pirate fleet. His ships were microcosms of globalism, manned by sailors from Africa to Japan. And in this newly interconnected world, he found himself up against a great foreign power: the Dutch.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/10/20/chinas-great-pirate-zheng-zhilong-takes-on-the-dutch/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai recently announced the results of the long-awaited strategic review of the U.S.-China trade relationship, yet many open questions remain. In this episode of China Corner Office, Chris Marquis is joined by Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), and Anna Ashton, vice president of government affairs at the USCBC, to discuss the state of the U.S.-China trade policy and what to expect in the future. In addition to reviewing the ongoing issues of tariffs and the phase one commitments, Craig and Anna reflect on how many events this fall such as the U.S.-China virtual summit, G20 meeting, APEC, and COP26 should provide further clarity to the U.S.-China relationship. Overall, the conversation takes a big-picture view of U.S.-China relations and how the Biden administration’s plans intersect with congressional priorities and also the strategies of our EU allies.
This week on Sinica: Did the Trump-era tariffs have their intended effects? In other words, did they prompt companies to pull up stakes in China and re-shore jobs to the United States? Kaiser chats with two political scientists, Samantha Vortherms of UC Irvine and Jack Zhang, director of the University of Kansas’s Trade War Lab, about the paper they recently published with the intention of answering that question. The paper is called “Political Risk and Firm Exit: Evidence from the US-China Trade War.” They share their findings and explore the paper’s policy implications.
4:16 – Sam and Jack offer their thoughts on U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai’s recent speech on U.S.-China trade
10:05 – Distinguishing between tariffs and other aspects of the trade war
13:46 – Previously, on the U.S.-China Trade War: a brief recap of the trade war to date
18:35 – The Foreign Invested Enterprises in China dataset
23:14 – A summary of the paper’s findings: tariffs did not increase the likelihood of firms exiting
47:15 – What explains the relative reticence of affected firms when it comes to voicing opposition to tariffs?
55:36 – What would you tell Katherine Tai and Gina Raimondo if they were your captive audience?
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Sam: The podcast Invisibilia, and specifically, a recent episode called “International Friend of Mystery.”
Jack: The Masters of Chinese Economics and Political Affairs (MCEPA) degree program at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, and Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke (part of the Ibis series).
Kaiser: A Song for Arbonne, a semi-historical fantasy novel by Guy Gavriel Kay.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s central bank rebukes Evergrande but tries to allay concerns over contagion from its massive debt crisis; prices soar in China for lithium, a key component of batteries for electric vehicles; European businesses ask for clarity in power policy amid shortfalls and rationing; the U.N. Biodiversity Conference wraps up in Kunming, Yunnan, with a pledge by over 100 nations to commit to protecting biodiversity; and Microsoft shutters LinkedIn in China.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global podcast producer Nandini Venkata about the end of after-school tutoring in China as experienced by parents.
Listening is one of the biggest challenges for Chinese learners. In this two part series, John and Jared talk about the most complicating factors to understanding spoken Chinese. You’ll become aware of these and be able to pinpoint where you may be struggling.
Guest interview is with Marc Dupont, a lobbyist from Canada whose personal quest has kept him learning Chinese for over 20 years.
Links from the episode:
- Chris Max interview episode: #28 A Method to Remember Thousands of Characters
- Robin MacPherson interview episode: #62 Make your language learning learner-centric
- Robin MacPherson: Learning One Foreign Language Completely Changed My Life
- The Prince and the Pauper – Mandarin Companion level 1 graded reader
- Mandarin Companion Memes
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcastsand they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
A rural county in Hunan Province has made a plan to encourage local women to stay in the area and look for love amongst its many bachelors. But commenters are worried that the authorities could eventually restrict women’s ability to move away.
Read the article by Jiayun Feng: https://supchina.com/2021/10/07/hunan-county-implores-local-women-to-stay-and-marry-as-rural-bachelor-crisis-worsens/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
On October 16, 1964, “Miss Qiu” exploded atop a 102-meter-tall “dressing table” in Xinjiang. And just like that, China became a nuclear-weapon state.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/10/13/the-story-of-chinas-first-atomic-bomb/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Shelley Rigger, Brown professor of political science at Davidson College and author of the new book The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China’s Economic Rise. Shelley recounts Taiwan’s rise as an export-led powerhouse and one of the Asian Tigers, and explains the wave of Taiwanese SMEs (small and medium enterprises) that transformed China into the factory to the world. She also opens a window on world-class Taiwanese companies like Foxconn, which employs some 15 million people in China and assembles some of Apple’s most iconic and consequential products, and TSMC, the world’s most valuable semiconductor company, and discusses how the island’s business relationship with China has complicated politics in Taiwan.
4:34 – The story of Chen Tian-fu, Umbrella King of Taiwan
9:27 – Explaining the psychological distance between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese
19:08 – The conditions that created the Taiwan manufacturing boom
33:42 – Why Taiwan manufacturing moved to the Mainland
48:36 – The vulnerability of Taishang on the Chinese mainland
53:03 – Moving up the value chain: Foxconn and TSMC
1:07:31 – Beyond business: the impact of Taiwan on Chinese cultural life
1:13:52 – Taiwan influence on Chinese institutions
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com
Recommendations:
Shelley: Giri/Haji, a joint BBC-Japanese crime drama on Netflix.
Kaiser: Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, Crossroads
Finding a living god on the Inner Mongolian steppes.
Read the article by Mads Vesterager Nielsen: https://supchina.com/2021/10/01/the-forbidden-dance-of-the-hutuktu/
Narrated by: Cliff Larsen.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Food delivery giant Meituan has been fined over half a billion dollars by China’s antitrust regulator; Beijing dangles unprecedented access to its enormous domestic market if it’s allowed to join the CPTPP; concerns over contagion from the Evergrande crisis loom; box office rebounds dramatically over Golden Week with the release of a big-budget war epic; and China’s Vice Premier Liú Hè 刘鹤 meets virtually with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in what could signal a truce in the ongoing trade war.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global financial news reporter Yukun Zhang about the causes of China’s current power shortages.
The Chinese and Dutch in Java (now part of Indonesia) co-existed as long as the sugar economy thrived. But once global prices fell, troubles arose, culminating in a conflict that left more than 10,000 Chinese dead.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/10/06/the-1740-batavia-massacre-of-ethnic-chinese-in-java/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
When the Peace Corps pulled out of China early last year, it marked the end of a 27-year program that existed only thanks to the efforts of high-level American and Chinese diplomats. Could the program — with its ideals of U.S.-China cooperation — ever be restored?
Read the article by Daniel Schoolenberg: https://supchina.com/2021/09/30/the-inside-story-of-the-peace-corps-in-china/
Narrated by: Cliff Larsen.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Michael Davidson, a leading scholar on China’s environmental policy, who holds joint appointments at UC San Diego as an assistant professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and the Jacobs School of Engineering. Michael unpacks recent announcements out of Beijing, including Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 decision to cease all funding for coal-fired power plants outside of China, and explains the linkage between China’s push for non-fossil energy and the recent power shortages that have affected 20 provinces. He also explains China’s new emissions trading scheme, or ETS, and discusses what China still needs to do to meet the ambitious targets set by Xi Jinping last year: reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
3:26 – Xi Jinping’s announced end to funding for coal-fired generators outside China at UNGA
12:00 – China’s recent power outages and their relationship to emissions reduction
19:32 – The basics of China’s new emissions trading scheme
38:37 – Coercive environmentalism, command-and-control, and market instruments
47:15 – Can U.S.-China competition result in a “race to the top” in emissions reduction?
54:24 – GHG reduction and the Red New Deal
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Michael: The Chair, a Netflix show starring Sandra Oh.
Kaiser: Bewilderment, the new novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory, Richard Powers
Mentioned in the show: Valerie Karplus’s paper on China’s ETS; New York Times Magazine piece on The Many Saints of Newark, a Sopranos prequel.
While trade tensions between the U.S. and China continue to fester at the national level, there is significant variation in how those effects are being felt across U.S. states. In every state, there is a unique ecosystem that supports trade with China and other countries that track to the national situation to varying degrees. This episode examines on how firms in Michigan have continued to do business with China in recent years. Joining Chris Marquis is Mark Becker, Director of International Supply at Cherry Central Co-Op, a Michigan-based organization that buys and processes fruit from small farmers across the U.S. and Canada, much of which is exported to China. Mark also discusses how the trade tensions have affected his business, how Cherry Central positions and markets its products in China, how it is dealing with the global shipping crisis, and also how it takes advantage of state-based trade promotion resources. On this last topic, also joining the episode are three leaders from U.S. federal- and state-level organizations that provide export assistance to U.S. businesses, providing details on the variety of training, advocacy, market intelligence and networking services their organizations provide, as well as in some cases financial support of U.S. businesses international expansion efforts.
John and Jared use research to address issues related to watching movies in Chinese, with and without Chinese subtitles. Find out what the academics say and stick around for the practical advice!
Guest interview is with Jeremy Bai, a translator, author, and ENNIE-winning game designer who turned his fascination with Chinese martial arts into a career of translating Chinese novels for a living.
Links from the episode:
- Factors Influencing the Use of Captions by Foreign Language Learners: An Eye‐Tracking Study, Paula Winke, Susan Gass, Tetyana Sydorenko (2013, The Modern Language Journal)
- To Live / 活着 (IMDb)
- Mandarin Companion Memes on Instagram
- Mandarin Companion Meme on Facebook
- Mandarin Companion Memes on Twitter
- The Garlic Hangover (Sinosplice)
- Jeremy Bai website
- Deathblade/Jeremy Bai YouTube channel
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcastsand they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
This Week in China’s History looks back to this other Opium War possession of Britain, not Hong Kong but the island of Zhoushan.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/09/29/zhoushan-britains-forgotten-and-first-colony-in-china/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week, Kaiser chats with Manfred Elfstrom, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, Philosophy, and Political Science at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Manfred’s new book, Workers and Change in China: Resistance, Repression, Responsiveness, examines the state’s dynamic approach to handling labor actions — petitions, protests, strikes, and the like — and how it has blended compromise and coercion to address the demands of workers. The book makes an important contribution to a growing body of literature that seeks a deeper understanding of authoritarian governance in China and more generally among autocratic regimes.
3:27 – How the book’s argument fits into the broader literature on authoritarian governance
9:32 – The book’s geographic focus: The Pearl River Delta and the Yangzi River Delta
22:12 – Repression and responsiveness
32:39 – Why repression and responsiveness undercut one another
43:58 – The bureaucratic incentive to handle labor unrest well
50:28 – Labor issues, common prosperity, and the “Red New Deal”
55:58 – The Jasic protests and the crackdown on the Peking University Marxist study group
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com
Recommendations:
Manfred: Elizabeth Perry’s book Anyuan: Mining China’s Revolutionary Tradition; and James Green’s The Devil Is Here in These Hills: West Virginia’s Coal Miners and their Battle for Freedom.
Kaiser: The Ezra Klein Show, and particularly the episode featuring Adam Tooze, “Economics Needs to Reckon with What it Doesn’t Know.”
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou returns to China; Huawei budget smartphone brand Honor recovers market share; Beijing cracks down hard on cryptocurrencies, effectively banning all crypto activity; embattled conglomerate HNA’s chairman and CEO both detained in China; questions emerge over banks with exposure to Evergrande; and multiple Chinese provinces suffer power shortfalls, including blackouts, and may face rationing.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global podcast producer Nandini Venkata about exploding lithium batteries, back in the news in China after two e-bike batteries caught fire — one causing a deadly apartment fire.
Jiang Zemin, who succeeded Deng Xiaoping and was the first PRC leader who was not of the Long March generation, proved to be more formidable than anyone anticipated.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/09/22/jiang-zemin-and-the-prcs-first-orderly-transfer-of-power/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser welcomes former Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton to discuss a recently published audit of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), the annual set of high-level meetings with Chinese officials that were convened during the Obama administration by the U.S. Departments of State and the Treasury. The audit’s two lead authors, representing the two organizations behind the audit, the National Committee on U.S. Foreign Policy and the American Friends Service Committee, also join the conversation. Rorry Daniels is the Deputy Project Director at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy’s Forum on Asia-Pacific Security, where she organizes research and Track II discussions on security issues and conflict mediation in the Asia-Pacific. Daniel Jasper is the Public Education and Advocacy Coordinator, Asia, for the American Friends Service Committee, where his work focuses on China and North Korea. Susan, Rorry, and Dan make a strong case that, contrary to an emerging bipartisan consensus in Washington that engagement with China was a failure, the policy of engagement actually bore substantial fruit.
6:12 – The SED and the S&ED — why the ampersand matters
10:37 – The rationale behind the S&ED
16:15 – In the room at the S&ED meetings
30:12 – Critiques of the S&ED process
36:47 – The mechanics of the S&ED audit
44:13 – Five major accomplishments of the S&ED
1:01:38 – Other surprising U.S. gains from the S&ED
1:10:51 – How could the process be improved?
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Rorry: The Good Place (a TV show by Michael Schur) and the eponymous podcast hosted by Tara Brach.
Dan: Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise, by Thich Nhat Hanh, and The China Hustle, a documentary on China-focused short sellers, by Jed Rothstein.
Susan: The Incredible Dr. Pol, a reality show about a veterinarian on National Geographic; Hidden Forces, a podcast hosted by Demetri Kofinas; and China and Japan: Facing History, the last book by the great scholar Ezra Vogel.
Kaiser: Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury, by Evan Osnos, especially in audiobook form, read by the author, and Grand Tamasha, a podcast about current affairs in India, hosted by Milan Vaishnav.
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks with Roberto Guidetti, CEO of Hong Kong-based food and beverage brand Vitasoy. They discuss how the company stands at the intersection of three seemingly inexorable trends: the growing acceptance of plant-based food products, sustainable business, and the China market. He reflects on how the global movement for plant-based protein is growing in China, and how Vitasoy’s different soymilk and tofu products are tailored to different markets. Roberto also discusses how the company has embraced sustainable business practices in the last decade, from the farmers that grow the soybeans to how the products are packaged and distributed. Finally, while Italian by birth, Roberto has worked in the Greater China region for over 20 years, including stints at P&G and Coca-Cola. He discusses how his diverse experiences in China have been shaped by this unique background and offers advice based on his experience for people interested in doing business in China.
How do Chinese people feel about a foreigner with a potty mouth in Chinese? Are curse words worth learning? John and Jared talk about swearing in Chinese and what you should be aware of.
Guest interview is with Ashleigh Au, who combined her language skills and life experiences to create career opportunities that otherwise would have been unobtainable.
Links from the episode:
- Swearing in a foreign language is the first step to fluency… [Note: Clickbait title]
- Profanity: Types by Purpose (Wikipedia)
- Mandarin Chinese Profanity (Wikipedia) — WARNING: this includes graphic stuff!
- Ashleigh Au at Ou & Company
- Educating Girls of Rural China
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcasts and they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: U.S.-China tensions rise over Taipei’s move to change the name of its representative office in the U.S.; Apple offers its latest smartphone at a price it hopes will grow its share in China; Stanford faculty call for an end to the U.S. Department of Justice’s controversial “China Initiative” over ethnic and racial profiling; the chairman of embattled Evergrande puts an expensive Hong Kong home up for sale; and Chinese internet companies fall in line when ordered by Beijing to promote “positive content.”
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global financial news reporter Lin Jinbing about a bad land deal in Korea by Huarong, one of China’s four major distressed debt management companies.
A state-produced TV series chronicling the May Fourth Movement and the founding of the Chinese Communist Party is an unexpected critical success.
Read the article by Brian Wu: https://supchina.com/2021/09/14/age-of-awakening-chinese-revolutionary-drama/
Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Though not as well remembered as Nixon’s trip or ping-pong diplomacy, the “music diplomacy” carried out by the Philadelphia Orchestra was a key aspect in China’s attempt to re-engage with the world as the Cultural Revolution wound down.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/09/15/in-1973-the-philadelphia-orchestra-visited-china/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy welcome Lizzi Lee (李其 Lǐ Qi), SupChina contributor and host of the excellent Chinese-language YouTube channel Wall Street Today, and Jude Blanchette, Freeman Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to talk about the spate of regulatory actions, new rules, and Party-led initiatives that, taken together, we at SupChina have started calling the “Red New Deal.” Can these be understood as different facets of a larger, overarching program to remake China’s economy and society? Or are they better understood as distinct moves by different bureaucracies within the Party-state that happen to coincide in time? Listen in as we try to sort through what it all means.
11:42 – Lizzi’s contrarian take on whether the new regulation adds up to something bigger
15:00 – The logic of the political calendar in China
22:56 – What did the response to the Li Guangman viral post mean?
33:14 – Kevin Rudd’s take on what it all means – the “red thread”
43:32 – No, this isn’t the Cultural Revolution
53:00 – Is this a return to true communism?
57:34 – Is Xi Jinping China’s biggest tiger mom?
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations
Jeremy: NüVoices Podcast: Barabara Demick on Eat the Buddha, the final NüVoices episode on SupChina; and the Vice video on YouTube, How China’s Queer Youth Built An Underground Ballroom Scene.
Lizzi: Desmond Shum’s book Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today’s China.
Jude: The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System by Milovan Djilas.
Kaiser: Shutdown: How COVID Shook the World Economy by Adam Tooze; Reservation Dogs (TV show from FX).
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Major Chinese tech companies are ordered to do more to protect gig workers; Xi Jinping and Joe Biden speak by phone for the second time since Biden’s inauguration; Germany’s ambassador to China, Jan Hecker, dies tragically after just two weeks on the job; Fujian health authorities mobilize after new COVID-19 cases emerge in the South China province; and a court rules that China’s search engines cannot bury negative search results.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global podcast producer Nandini Venkata about real estate behemoth Evergrande Group’s struggle to deal with its mountain of debt.
The attitudes that shaped the Open Door Notes remain visible in the ways the two nations view one another: China bristling at affronts to its sovereignty, America imagining itself as able to transcend the rivalries and arrangements of other nations.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/09/08/u-s-china-trade-was-never-intended-to-be-fair/
Narrated by: John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Barbara Demick is the author of Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town (2020), Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2009), and Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo neighborhood (1996). She spent 12 years as bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times in Beijing and Seoul and previously reported from the Middle East and Balkans for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Barbara has won many awards for her work, including the Samuel Johnson prize (now the Baillie Gifford prize) for non-fiction in the UK, the Overseas Press Club’s human rights reporting award, the George Polk Award, the Robert F Kennedy Award, and Stanford University’s Shorenstein Award for Asia coverage. Her North Korea book was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. She was a press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Bagehot fellow in business journalism at Columbia University, and a visiting professor of journalism at Princeton University. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from Yale College, and now lives in New York City.
Barbara joins NuVoices board member Sophia Yan to discuss her most recent book, Eat the Buddha, which tells the story of Ngaba, a town high on a Tibetan plateau that is one of the most hidden corners of the world, and near-impossible for foreigners to visit. Through the rich tales of those linked to this town, Barbara illuminates decades of intertwined Tibetan and Chinese history, and explores what it means to be Tibetan today — to preserve a culture, faith and language despite all odds. Barbara talks about navigating reporting on China, despite the challenges, imparts sage writing advice, and previews her next book in the works.
Recommendations:
Sophia: Read Barbara’s books! Eat the Buddha; Nothing to Envy; Logavina Street. Also this fascinating New Yorker article from May that I just read (the issues take forever to arrive abroad) about cutting-edge research on using electricity to regenerate limbs.
Barbara: The Ministry for the Future, a science fiction book set in the near future about people trying to save the world from the ravages of climate change. I was reading it as the New York City subways flooded from the tail of Hurricane Ida.
Evan Osnos’ forthcomingWildland: The Making of America’s Fury, about how America is tearing itself apart with political polarization.
Yes, I know you’d say not exactly soothing bedtime reading. More cheerful listening to podcaster Mike Duncan’s Hero of Two Worlds about the Marquis de Lafayette.
Self-Care Suggestions:
Sophia: Not looking at your phone and emails/messages the minute you wake up! Try setting a timeframe – say half an hour – or perhaps until your morning routine is over (ie brushing teeth, washing face, making/having breakfast. Look out the window, enjoy your coffee/tea/Oatly/delivered jianbing! Then…. thumb scroll!
Barbara: I’d say read before bed (don’t watch Netflix or other streaming late at night) and turn off the lights before midnight. Researchers say if you don’t get enough sleep in middle age, you increase your chances of dementia.
PHOTO of Barbara with yak – taken in taken in Golog/Qinghai province (courtesy of Barbara)
Last month, the National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR) published a report for the Carnegie Corporation of New York titled “American International Relations and Security Programs Focused on China: A Survey of the Field.” This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with the report’s lead author, Rosie Levine, and with Jan Berris, long-serving vice president of the NCUSCR, who celebrates her 50th year with the National Committee this month. The report surveyed academic institutions, NGOs, and think tanks about the state of the field of American China studies at a time when relations between the U.S. and China are at their lowest in the five decades since the opening to China began under Nixon. Rosie and Jan review their findings and reflect on the challenges that the NCUSCR faces in these difficult days.
1:53: The mysterious and tragic disappearance of Rye and Caraway Triscuits
13:30: Growing demand for China-related content
18:35: Choked-off information flows out of China, fears over detention and the Two Michaels
27:35: The impact of the U.S. political environment on China discourse and scholarship
34:22: The singular focus on national security in U.S. discourse on China
48:22: How the National Committee is weathering the storm
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations
Jan: Going back to summer camp, going off the grid, and re-reading Hemingway
Rosie: “Why does it cost so much to build thins in America?” from Vox; a Freakomics interview with Pete Buttigieg and Elaine Chao, the current and former Secretaries of Transportation.
Kaiser: Ezra Klein’s recent interview with Robert Wright on Afghanistan, China, and U.S. foreign policy; and the 1975 Steven Spielberg film Jaws, which is the favorite film of Jude Blanchette, interviewed recently in The Wire China.
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks to Cheng Li of the Brookings Institute about his recent book Middle Class Shanghai. They discuss the influence of this important gateway to China that anchors the vibrant Yangtze delta economy and is home to one of China’s two stock exchanges. Cheng offers many insights about China’s society and culture — exemplified by Shanghai’s middle class — and how they shape the country’s economics and politics. This includes topics such as the influence of returnees, the vibrant art scene in Shanghai, and the influence of those who have lived and worked in Shanghai on China’s central government. Overall, Cheng advocates that American policymakers should not lose sight of the dynamism in present-day China and that understanding and engaging with the diversity of the Chinese population can contribute to improving U.S. relations with China.
In 1885, a mob of about 150 people attacked random Chinese people on the streets of Rock Springs, Wyoming, killing more than two dozen and laying waste to the local Chinatown. And then came the outrageous diplomatic response.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/09/01/rock-springs-massacre-a-chinatown-burns-in-the-american-west/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Chinese online game companies wonder whether new rules may mean it’s game over soon; the entertainment sector is ordered to rid itself of unethical or unpatriotic celebs, and take “sissy men” off the air; ride-hailing companies are ordered to clean up their act; global warming pow-wow between John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua in Tianjin; and President Xi Jinping wants to establish a Beijing-based stock exchange for small- and mid-size companies.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global podcast producer Nandini Venkata about ByteDance’s decision to end the practice of six-day work weeks every other week — and what this may mean for the tech sector.
Reading a Chinese newspaper is a common goal for many learners, but is it the right goal for you? John and Jared talk about what you need to know about the news in Chinese, how to get started, and the options available to you.
Guest interview is with Michael Berry, a professor at UCLA who specializes in Chinese literature, cinema, and pop culture.
Links from the episode:
- The Chairman’s Bao (simplified news stories)
- ARC: Advanced Readings in Chinese (free Substack newsletter)
- Michael Berry professor at UCLA
- Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City – translated by Michael Berry
- Key Word of the Month: 减负 (jiǎn fù)
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcasts and they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
One of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics got a boost this week when the NHL announced its players would play in the ice hockey tournament. Why is that a big deal?
China’s group includes powerhouses Canada, the USA, and Germany. Will they score a goal?
With just five months to go until the start of the Olympics, there are still a lot of questions. Will spectators be allowed into any of the venues? Will athletes be forced to quarantine?
The Winter Sports Expo, Asia’s largest, is taking place in Shougang, site of the aerials competition and home to Beijing’s Olympic organizing committee. Haig was there.
Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek held nine private meetings in Chongqing, brokered by an American diplomat, following the conclusion of the Second World War. The two were civil to one another, even as each likely knew that a resumption of fighting was inevitable.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/08/25/the-last-meeting-of-mao-zedong-and-chiang-kai-shek/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Contrary to media reports, Sino-foreign higher education partnerships are doing just fine.
Read the article by John Darwin Van Fleet: https://supchina.com/2021/08/29/misleading-headlines-about-chinas-education-sector-miss-the-real-story/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If corruption is a drag on economic growth, why does China appear to have undergone some of its fastest growth during its periods of deepest corruption? This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Yuen Yuen Ang, an associate professor of political science at the University of Michigan, about her book China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption, which sets out to explain this apparent contradiction. The author highlights the inadequacies of existing measures of corruption, suggests her own alternative means of measuring it, and explains how the prevalence of one particular form of corruption — what she calls “access money” — is something China has in common with the United States in the age of robber barons.
5:00: A typology of corruption, and how drugs are a useful analogy
10:05: Why all corruption is ultimately bad for a country
20:25: Is the “revolving door” in the U.S. equivalent to access money corruption?
27:44: The relationship between corruption and regime type
41:45: Profit-sharing with Chinese characteristics
59:37: Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive: are officials spared because of performance, or patronage?
A transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations
Yuen Yuen: The documentary film Generation Wealth.
Kaiser: The Netflix miniseries The Chair and the podcast Chinese Whispers by Cindy Yu.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s UN ambassador calls on the WHO to investigate Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina for alleged “lab leaks,” apparently in reaction to U.S. allegations of a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; the epidemiologist known as “China’s Dr. Fauci” has been cleared of academic fraud allegations; China’s infamous “996” work hours are declared illegal by a Chinese court; AI facial recognition giant SenseTime applies for an IPO that could weigh in at $2 billion; and Beijing seeks to allay fears of massive income redistribution.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global financial news reporter Guo Yingzhe about “Special-purpose acquisition companies,” or SPACs, and why they may be targeted by Hong Kong securities regulators.
U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry will be in China next week to pressure the government to renounce all future financing of coal power plants around the world. Although China generally does not respond well to foreign demands like this, Beijing may have already acceded to Kerry’s request.
So far this year, China hasn’t financed a single overseas coal project. This is the first time that’s happened in more than a decade and appears to be part of a growing trend to focus its development finance initiatives on greener, cleaner projects that are smaller and less risky financially.
Christoph Nedopil, director of the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University, is among the world’s leading experts in tracking Chinese sustainable energy finance, particularly in Belt and Road countries. He joins Eric & Cobus from Shanghai to discuss the findings from his latest BRI investment report for H1 2021.
In 1967, one of the great breaches of diplomatic immunity took place during this week in Beijing.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/08/18/burning-the-british-mission-in-beijing/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with William (Bill) Overholt, senior research fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a veteran China-watcher whose career has run the gamut from investment banking to academia to the leading think tanks. Bill recently weighed in on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to place Esquel, a leading textile manufacturer headquartered in Hong Kong, on its entity list of companies alleged to be using forced labor from Xinjiang, lamenting that “it’s quite possible that the U.S. government has imposed sanctions on the world’s most socially responsible company and one that has been particularly beneficial to the Uyghurs.” Bill also discusses recent essays on other problems in American China policy.
7:17: First impressions of Esquel, its technology, and its working conditions for Uyghurs
21:47: Targeted sanctions vs. blanket sanctions
35:06: Lack of China expertise in the highest ranks of the Biden administration’s foreign policy team
44:43: Why the United States should return to an economic strategy
A transcript of this episode is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Bill: Newsletters and podcasts from SupChina; articles from The Wire China; and the article “The Chinese Debt Trap is a Myth” published in The Atlantic, by Deborah Brautigam and Meg Rithmire.
Kaiser: The novel The Lions of al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay.
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis has an in-depth discussion with Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council about the USCBC’s just-released member survey. They discuss how while U.S.-China tensions are the top concern for American companies, and geopolitical and policy challenges are dampening optimism, virtually all surveyed companies remain profitable in China, and almost half have plans to increase resource commitments in China over the next year. Another important aspect of the discussion was Craig’s detailed portrayal of how the Chinese government continues to skew the playing field to favor Chinese firms in areas such as industrial policy, intellectual property, standards-setting, and government procurement.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The White House announced retired career diplomat Nicholas Burns as President Biden’s latest nomination for U.S. ambassador to China; China’s top transport authority called on ride-hailing firms to cap the commissions they take from drivers and disclose them publicly; and according to Xinhua, China’s top leaders have pledged to better control “reasonably adjusting excessive” income and encouraged high-earning groups and enterprises to give back to society.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global company news reporter Kelsey Cheng about how a photo taken by a Caixin photographer launched a debate about non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
John and Jared answer a listener’s question about the rivalry between China’s two most famous cities: Shanghai and Beijing. They discuss culture, history, and language, and even provide one additional view from a mystery correspondent!
The guest interview is with William White, a professional simultaneous interpreter in Chinese with decades of experience and stories.
Links from the episode:
- “What are the differences between Shanghai and Beijing?” (Quora.com)
- “Shanghai vs. Beijing” (Sinosplice.com)
- “Beijing vs. Shanghai” (Versus.com)
- Heaven is high and the emperor is far away (Wikipedia)
- ARC: Advanced Readings in Chinese (Substack)
- Yangshuo County (Wikipedia)
- The China in Africa Podcast
- Bio of interpreter William White
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcasts and they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
Prior to 1862, there had been no formal relations between China and Japan since the 1500s. When Japan sent a delegation to stay in Shanghai for two months, the encounter between cultures was nearly as stark as the first encounters between Westerners and China.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/08/11/the-start-of-modern-sino-japanese-relations/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Lotus Ruan conducts research and writes at The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Her work focuses on the roles of government and private actors in shaping internet governance agendas and digital rights. Her writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, and Tech in Asia.
On this episode, Lotus joins DC chapter member Rui Zhong to talk about her research on Chinese app privacy, Apple’s “Chinese operations equilibrium,” and why China’s technology policy process is so challenging to navigate.
Recommendations:
Lotus: The Taiwanese television series The Making of an Ordinary Woman.
Rui: The video game Hades (Supergiant Games).
Self-care suggestions:
Lotus: Reconnecting with friends.
Rui: Omni Foundation classical guitar concerts.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with the Columbia historian Adam Tooze, who returns to the program a year after his first appearance. A prolific writer and wide-ranging public intellectual, Adam was trained as a Germanist and has focused, in his writings, largely on economic history. His books include The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy, The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916–1931, and Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crisis Changed the World. In July, Adam published an ambitious essay titled “Why there is no solution to our age of crisis without China” in The New Statesman, in which he lays out a brief history of China from the crisis of the Qing Empire in the 19th century through China’s “Century of Humiliation” up to the project of national rejuvenation, which has been the focus of Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 time in office. Adam talks about why he feels it’s important to occasionally venture outside one’s own field of specialization, as he did in writing on China as a non-specialist; the folly of two oft-cited historical analogies, comparing China with both Wilhelmine and Hitlerian Germany; the importance of comparative history in making sense of contemporary international relations; and America’s difficulty, when it comes to China, in accepting pluralism from anything but a position of dominance.
16:02: What we get wrong about the Thucydides Trap and other historical analogies
21:17: Why the modern P.R.C. is not a mature fascist state
28:58: The iterative nature of China’s economic modernization
46:59: China as a civilization vs. China as a nation state
A transcript of this episode is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Adam: Stalingrad, by Vasily Grossman.
Kaiser: The Spanish-language television series The Legend of El Cid.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing banned primary and middle schools in the capital from using overseas textbooks; the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a national crackdown on illegal surveillance, resulting in tracking down 25,000 illegal webcams’ access permissions and confiscating 1,500 sets of covert listening devices; and China’s medical beauty industry is subjected to regulatory scrutiny on financial and medical risks.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global financial reporter Tang Ziyi about China’s carbon market.
A lot of major developments this week in the China-Africa space following Zambia’s landslide election victory for opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and new debt repayment challenges in Kenya for the embattled Standard Gauge Railway.
Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, has been closely following these events and joins Eric & Cobus from Washington to also reflect on how what happened in Kabul might impact U.S. foreign policy towards Africa.
In many countries in Africa, Asia, and throughout the Global South there’s often a large discrepancy between perceptions of China in civil society and among governing elites. This phenomenon has been on full display recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where public anger surged in response to numerous videos circulating on social media that show the maltreatment of local mine workers by Chinese managers and reveal evidence of environmental violations by Chinese mining companies. Meantime, the President and Prime Minister studiously avoid these controversies as they work to attract more Chinese investment to the DRC.
But does civil society hostility towards China have any measurable impact on a country’s policies towards Beijing? Charles Dunst, an associate in the global macro practice at the Eurasia Group, argues that it might and leaders in Global South countries should be concerned. Charles joins Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss his new article in World Politics Review on the subject.
This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy chat with Peter Martin, a correspondent for Bloomberg based in Washington, D.C., about his book, China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy. This highly readable and informative book tells the story of China’s diplomatic corps from its creation ex nihilo under the guidance of Zhōu Ēnlái 周恩来 during the Communist Party’s years in Yan’an in the 1930s and 1940s through the foundation of the P.R.C., the vicissitudes of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and the period of reform and opening up to the current, more assertive, and often pugilistic present under Xí Jìnpíng 习近平. Peter also offers his take on last week’s interview on Sinica with Ambassador Huáng Píng 黄屏, the consul general of China’s New York consulate.
7:48: The centrality of the national humiliation narrative to the institutional foundations of China’s Foreign Ministry
15:02: The contributions and diplomatic styles of prominent contemporaries such as Qián Qíchēn 钱其琛, Dài Bǐngguó 戴秉国, Yáng Jiéchí 杨洁篪, and Wáng Yì 王毅
24:46: The rise of Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhào Lìjiān 赵立坚
47:28: Understanding Chinese diplomacy’s hard turn amidst a culture of discipline
A transcript of this episode is available on SupChina.com.
Recommendations:
Jeremy: Hummingbird feeders with homemade sugar water nectar.
Peter: The podcast series Dolly Parton’s America.
Kaiser: The movie The Green Knight, based on the Arthurian legend, directed by David Lowery.
This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks with Jay Foreman, the president and CEO of Basic Fun!, a global toy company based in Florida, and Craig Allen, the president of the US-China Business Council. Basic Fun! has well-known brands, including K’NEX, Playhut, Tonka, and Care Bears, most of which are produced in China. The episode centers on several of the lessons Jay has learned in over 100 trips to visit factory partners in China since 1989. For instance, despite rising labor costs, Jay finds Chinese production to still be quite cost-effective as a result of the flexibility and creativity of Chinese manufacturers. Jay and Craig also reflect on how manufacturing in China has changed in the last 30 years, discuss the importance of intellectual property protections in Chinese supply chains, and provide a number of illustrations of how factory and working conditions in China have improved over time.
China’s ties with Zimbabwe are either going off the rails or are among the strongest most dynamic in Africa depending on who you listen to. Mounting civil society anger towards Chinese companies and their apparent disregard for local labor and environmental standards is becoming a huge problem. But at the same time, Chinese banks and enterprises are making huge investments in Zim’s energy, mining and telecommunications infrastructure that’s bringing badly needed jobs to this embattled country.
Prolific Mataruse, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, closely follows Chinese economic trends in Zimbabwe. He recently contributed two chapters on the subject to a new China-Zim Economic Handbook published by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his findings.
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: After Beijing announced strict new rules, China’s biggest private education companies said they are no longer offering Chinese students tutoring services led by staff who are not in China; Chinese gaming companies’ shares plunged due to a looming clampdown on the gaming sector after another state media report condemned gaming addiction; and Foxconn will buy a semiconductor factory from Taiwanese memory chip supplier Macronix International for $91 million.
In addition, we speak with Caixin Global podcast producer Nandini Venkata about the shocking allegations against an Alibaba manager.
China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, traces its founding to a 1927 rebellion designed largely as a last-ditch effort to boost morale after a purge by the Kuomintang had killed at least 90% of the members of the Chinese Communist Party.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/08/04/the-nanchang-uprising-and-the-birth-of-the-pla/
Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
John and Jared are going to revisit and unpack this classic question posed by Dr. David Moser three decades ago and identify what is hard about Chinese, what is easier now, and whether Chinese really is harder than other languages.
The guest interview is with Sarah Kutulakos, a lifetime Chinese learner and the executive director at the Canada China Business Council.
Links from the episode:
- Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard, by Dr. David Moser
- Why Learning Chinese Is Hard (Sinosplice)
- The Princess Bride: “Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” (YouTube)
- YCLC Episode #8: Tones, Music, and Confidence, with Dr. David Moser
- YCLC Episode #39: The Future of Learning Chinese, with Terry Waltz
- The Monkey’s Paw (Mandarin Companion Level 1 Graded Reader)
- The Simpsons: The Monkey’s Paw (YouTube)
Thanks for listening to the podcast! Please write John and Jared a review on Apple Podcasts and they’ll give you a shout-out! They are also taking questions from listeners. If you have a question, reach them at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow them on Facebook and catch their latest Chinese-learning memes on Instagram.
The Tokyo Games wrapped up with a flurry of gold for the USA. That means China comes in second in the official medal table. Should China be disappointed?
China won seven weightlifting gold in Tokyo. There’s news out today that the IOC may drop the event in Paris. What does that mean for China?
A new Axios poll finds that over 50% of Americans think China shouldn’t be allowed to host the Winter Games in 2022 . Expect more stories like this in the coming months.
For more stories read China Sports Insider
Find Mark Dreyer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DreyerChina
Find Haig Balian at Twitter at https://twitter.com/haigbalian
Chinese diplomats around the world are comprised of a mix of reclusive bureaucrats who strenuously avoid public engagement and a new generation of assertive, sometimes even downright aggressive so-called “Wolf Warriors” who wage combat with Beijing’s critics.
Why they behave the way they do is a mystery to most outsiders.
But a new book by Bloomberg journalist Peter Martin, “China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy,” provides some fascinating insights on the people and principles that have shaped Chinese diplomacy since the 1950s. Peter joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss how current Chinese diplomatic practices are firmly rooted in the past.
Launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2018, the China Initiative is a government program gone rogue. Will it be shut down after the suspensions of half a dozen investigations ended without prosecution or any evidence of wrongdoing?
Read the article by Yiwen Lu: https://supchina.com/2021/07/26/a-scientists-future-hangs-in-the-balance-after-another-failure-of-the-china-initiative/
China Stories are published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This week on Sinica, we’re pleased to present a conversation with Ambassador Huang Ping, a veteran Chinese diplomat who has been consul general of China’s New York Consulate since November 2018. He formerly served as China’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, and as consul general of China’s Chicago Consulate. The interview, recorded on July 22, covers a range of topics in U.S.-China relations from human rights to Taiwan, and from COVID-19 to China’s so-called “wolf warrior diplomacy.”
13:22: What Americans should understand about the Communist Party of China
38:15: Evaluating the Biden administration’s position on China
41:25: The American perspective on Taiwan
46:20: The impact of the pandemic on Chinese people
50:54: Beijing’s policies on Xinjiang
A transcript of this episode is available on SupChina.com.
All week long we’ve been saying that the USA will top the official standings. Now we’re not so sure. Su Bingtian came out of nowhere to win his heat with a time of 9.83, a new Asian record. What does that mean for athletics in China? Two cases put the IOC’s Rule 50 to the test. And the Chinese Basketball Association has suspended its games as part of an effort to control a new outbreak of Covid. Did we mention that Beijing 2022 is six months away?
For more stories read China Sports Insider
Find Mark Dreyer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DreyerChina
Find Haig Balian at Twitter at https://twitter.com/haigbalian