In the past few weeks, China’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean have been making headlines. Newsweek published an exclusive story about plans to create a Chinese-run special economic zone on the island of Antigua that will have a port, a dedicated airline, its own customs and immigration procedures, and be able to issue passports. An international crypto services zone will offer opportunities to participate in cryptocurrency operations from mining to dealing. The Americas Quarterly...
May 14, 2024•31 min•Ep. 76
The Biden administration maintains that China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and the power to do so. One part of China’s economic statecraft toolkit involves state-directed investments through high profile projects in the Belt and Road Initiative which are funded by loans through Chinese development banks. But the role and impact of Chinese companies that provide equity funding for FDI often receive less attention. Does Chinese foreign direct investme...
Apr 30, 2024•29 min•Ep. 75
When Hong Kong was handed over to China by the United Kingdom 1997, the city was given a mini-Constitution called the “Basic Law.” Article 23 of the Basic Law states that Hong Kong shall enact laws of its own to prohibit various national security offenses. The law did not pass, however, and was scrapped after mass protests in 2003. And in 2020, the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) imposed a separate national security law on Hong Kong, citing the city’s delay in acting o...
Apr 16, 2024•25 min•Ep. 74
In the past decade, policy toward China has hardened on both sides of the Atlantic. Governments and publics across Europe and in the United States view Xi Jinping as implementing more repressive policies domestically and more aggressive policies abroad. The US and most capitals in Europe see Beijing as seeking to revise the international order in ways that would be disadvantageous to democracies. They agree on the need for de-risking and to preserve the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Yet, desp...
Apr 02, 2024•34 min•Ep. 73
On a previous episode of the China Global Podcast, we discussed Beijing’s position on the conflict in Gaza during the early days following Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Today, we discuss one of the conflict’s spillover effects– the attacks on cargo and trade ships transiting the Red Sea by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shia group governing parts of Yemen. While the Chinese-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran was as the beginning of a “wave of reconciliation” in t...
Mar 19, 2024•33 min•Ep. 72
On February 1st 2021, the Tatmadaw, or Myanmar military began a coup d’etat against the democratically-elected government, which was led by the National League for Democracy (or NLD) just before elected officials from the November 2020 elections could be sworn in. Since then, Myanmar has been largely controlled by a military junta, who continue to struggle against multiple ethnically-aligned armies dispersed throughout the country. Some countries in the region have refused to recognize the junta...
Mar 05, 2024•34 min•Ep. 71
Many books about US-China strategic competition have been published in recent years. This episode will focus on Facing China: The Prospect for War and Peace , which examines various flashpoints in the Indo-Pacific that could result in military conflict. There are several reasons why this book stands out: First, it includes an examination of debates within China about China’s national interests; Second, it focuses not only on the challenges of major wars, but also on China’s gray-zone strategy of...
Feb 20, 2024•22 min•Ep. 70
On December 27 and 28, 2023, the Communist Party of China held the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs. This was the sixth such meeting – the first one was held way back in 1971. This Foreign Affairs Work Conference was the third held under Xi Jinping’s leadership, with earlier meetings held in 2014 and 2018. Xi delivered a major speech at the Work Conference, which marks the most comprehensive expression yet of his more activist approach to PRC diplomacy. The speech provides ...
Feb 06, 2024•31 min•Ep. 69
On January 13, 2024, voters in Taiwan elected the DPP’s Lai Ching-te the next president of Taiwan. Lai won 40% of the votes–a plurality, but not a majority. In his acceptance speech, Lai pledged to safeguard Taiwan from continuing threats and intimidation from China. He also said that he has an important responsibility to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and reiterated a statement that the current president, Tsai Ing-wen, made 8 years ago: that he would act in accordance with th...
Jan 23, 2024•30 min•Ep. 68
This episode covers the role of US and Chinese domestic politics in the US-China relationship. There are many drivers of US-China strategic competition, and domestic politics is among them, and has become increasingly important, though it has not been well researched and analyzed in recent years. One reason for the lack of analysis on Chinese politics is that since Xi Jinping became China’s top leader in 2012, domestic politics in China has become even more of black box than previously. Bonnie i...
Jan 09, 2024•32 min•Ep. 67
This podcast episode is a joint and cross-over episode between the CSIS ChinaPower Podcast and the German Marshall Fund’s China Global Podcast. We are joined by Bonnie Glaser, Jessica Chen Weiss, and Thomas Christensen to discuss their recently released article titled “Taiwan and the True Sources of Deterrence.” The authors underline the article’s key point, that assurances, alongside threats, are an integral part of effective deterrence. They emphasize that in order for deterrence to work, the ...
Dec 12, 2023•41 min•Ep. 66
Early next month, the European Union and China are set to hold the 24th bilateral summit. The last EU-China summit was held via video conference in April 2022. It took place against the background of China’s countermeasures to EU sanctions on human rights, Chinese economic coercion and trade measures against the single market, and most importantly, Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and Beijing’s unwillingness to condemn the invasion. Earlier this year, the European Council reaffirmed ...
Nov 21, 2023•31 min•Ep. 65
On the morning of October 07, 2023, Hamas launched an unprovoked attack from the Gaza Strip, indiscriminately killing more than 1,400 Israeli and foreign nationals. Over 200 civilians, including women and children, were taken to Gaza as hostages. IN response to this attack, as well as subsequent attacks launched from Lebanon and Syria, Israel began an unprecedented bombing campaign of Gaza and targeted Hezbollah and Syrian government military positions. The conflict is unlikely to end soon and m...
Nov 07, 2023•28 min•Ep. 64
On August 1, 2017, China official opened its first overseas military base in the East African nation of Djibouti. The base, constructed to provide logistical support to the Chinese navy’s counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, marked a major step toward Xi Jinping’s goal of constructing a world class military by the middle of the century. The US Defense Department has just released its annual China Military Power Report, and that says that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) probably ...
Oct 24, 2023•27 min•Ep. 63
On this episode of the China Global podcast, the relationship between the Philippines and China, and some of the flashpoints therein (especially in the maritime realm), will be discussed. Since taking office in June 2022, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has pursued a strategy of “being a friend to all and an enemy to none.” He has tried to maintain close economic ties with China, signing 14 cooperation agreements when he visited Beijing last January, including an updated Belt and Road ...
Oct 10, 2023•33 min•Ep. 62
In late August, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources released its new “standard map ,” which includes not only Taiwan, but also parts of the maritime zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It also includes land that China disputes with India—and even some Russian territory. To publicize the map and China’s claims, Beijing launched a “national map awareness publicity week,” as it has for map releases in recent years. China’s map release is an annual event, which can ...
Sep 26, 2023•33 min•Ep. 61
In 2001, Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill coined the term “BRIC” to describe the fast-growing economies that he predicted would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050. The BRIC countries he was referring to were Brazil, Russia, India, and China. After a series of high-level meetings that included officials from the four countries, the BRIC grouping was founded in 2009. The following year, South Africa joined, and the name became “BRICS”. Last month, the fifteenth BRICS summit was he...
Sep 12, 2023•31 min•Ep. 60
Earlier this summer, there was an unexpected shakeup in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force. Commander Li Yuchao was removed along with his deputy Liu Guangbin and a former deputy Zhang Zhenzhong. All three men are reportedly under investigation for disciplinary violations by the Central Military Commission’s anti-corruption unit. Xi Jinping appointed Wang Houbin, former deputy commander of the navy, as head of the Rocket Force, and Xu Xiesheng, from the air force as political commis...
Aug 29, 2023•33 min•Ep. 59
Technology is the focus of the intensifying competition between the United States and China, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the core. China views AI as a means to gain a strategic advantage over the United States and its allies. It intends to use AI to build a world-class military. Beijing also views AI as an enabler of surveillance and repression that can help to bolster its illiberal model of governance. China’s national AI strategy calls for a vast expansion of AI in manufacturing, go...
Aug 15, 2023•30 min•Ep. 58
Critical minerals are non-fuel minerals or mineral materials essential to the economic or national security of the U.S. They have no viable substitutes yet face a high risk of supply chain disruption. Critical minerals are used for many different purposes, including the production of advanced electronics, weapons systems, manufacturing equipment, and cutting-edge medical devices. They are indispensable for the transition to low-carbon energy sources. Last year, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior...
Aug 02, 2023•35 min•Ep. 57
Summary A new Foreign Relations Law took effect in China on July 1, 2023 that formalizes Chinese Communist Party leadership in all foreign policy matters. It puts China’s security and development interests and global rise at the center of its engagement with the world. The new law has been widely interpreted as providing a legal basis for Beijing’s struggle against what it says is a strategy of containment by the United States and its allies, and against foreign interference and sanctions, as we...
Jul 18, 2023•25 min•Ep. 56
Relations between the United States and China have slid to their lowest point since the 1970s. After President Biden and Xi Jinping met in November 2022, they instructed their senior officials to initiate a process to stabilize the relationship. Before much headway could be made, however, China sent a surveillance balloon to the west coast of the United States that ended up loitering over sensitive military sites and then flew across the entire country before being shot down by the US. Secretary...
Jul 04, 2023•33 min•Ep. 55
On June 3, 2023, there was a near-collision between a US and a PRC destroyer in the Taiwan Strait. According to a statement issued by US Indo-Pacific Command, a US Navy destroyer, the USS Chung-Hoon, and a Canadian warship were conducting a routine south to north Taiwan Strait transit through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply. The Luyang III, a People’s Liberation Army destroyer, overtook the Chung-Hoon on her port side and crossed her bow at 150 yards. The US wa...
Jun 20, 2023•25 min•Ep. 54
[01:50] Switzerland’s Policy toward China Today [03:48] Changes in Swiss-Chinese Relations [06:03] Switzerland’s 2021 China Strategy [08:17] Areas of Economic Cooperation [11:05] Switzerland’s Relationship with Taiwan [14:45] Switzerland’s One China Policy [17:32] Contending with Human Rights Issues [18:55] Huawei’s Presence in Switzerland [20:56] China’s Influence in Switzerland [23:42] Forecast of Swiss-Chinese Relations
Jun 06, 2023•27 min•Ep. 53
Timestamps [01:30] Sinocentric Order in the Digital Sphere [06:51] China’s Digital Silk Road [09:35] Global Rise of Chinese Digital Platforms [11:57] The Strength of Chinese Digital Platforms [14:04] The Digital Sector and Government Partnership [16:53] Dominance of Western Digital Platforms [19:08] Pros and Cons of Banning TikTok [21:08] Chinese Crackdown of the Digital Sector [23:27] Looking Forward in the Digital Space
May 23, 2023•29 min•Ep. 52
Timestamps [02:01] China and International Bailout Activities [04:33] China and the G20 Common Framework [07:34] Debt Service Suspension Initiative [09:42] Definition of a “Haircut” in Finance [10:00] IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings [12:37] Beijing’s Demands for Write-Downs [16:18] Japan, India, and France Establishing a Creditors Committee [18:43] Chinese Participation in the Paris Club [22:08] Role of Geopolitical Competition in Debt Relief...
May 09, 2023•27 min•Ep. 51
Timestamps [02:14] China’s Implementation of Industrial Policy [05:20] Industrial Policy to Achieve Foreign Policy Objectives [08:02] Influence of Strategic Competition on Industrial Policy [10:42] Efficacy of Chinese Industrial Policies [14:17] Semiconductor Subsidies and Export Controls [19:06] Chinese Countermeasures to Export Controls [22:39] Assessment of U.S. Policy [25:58] Forecast of Competition on Advanced Technologies [29:50] Balance of Centralization and Adaptation...
Apr 25, 2023•32 min•Ep. 50
Time Stamps [01:39] Background of The Decoding China Dictionary [04:30] Democracy with Chinese Characteristics [06:34] Differing Interpretations of International Law [08:32] Freedom of Religion Versus Freedom of Religious Belief [10:28] Foreign Aid and China as a Developing Country [12:01] Security in Chinese Parlance [13:55] Transparency and its Uses in China [16:19] Historic Revisionism and Domestic Policy [18:39] Historic Revisionism and Foreign Policy [19:44] Promotion of Chinese Interpretat...
Apr 11, 2023•26 min•Ep. 49
[02:10] Chinese Government Awareness of Illicit Domestic Narcotics [05:30] China’s Scheduling of Fentanyl in 2019 [06:40] Difference Between Scheduling and Banning [09:50] Lack of Cooperation Between China and Mexico [14:18] Chinese Counternarcotics Cooperation in Southeast Asia [19:04] Possible Steps for China [22:56] A Looming Fentanyl Crisis in China? [25:43] Multilateral Approach to Counternarcotics
Mar 28, 2023•28 min•Ep. 48
[02:16] The 14 Grievances [05:56] Canberra's New Rhetoric [07:54] Self-Censorship [11:12] Decision Making Tightrope [13:00] Darwin Port Lease [14:00] Foreign Investment Review Board [18:00] AUKUS Announcement in Washington [20:13] Australia and the Quad [23:19] Within the Albanese Government [27:05] Australia on Taiwan [31:21] America's China Policy
Mar 14, 2023•37 min•Ep. 47
