Sinica Podcast

This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Jonathan Chatwin, author of a new book about Deng Xiaoping's "Southern Tour" of early 1992 — a pivotal event that renewed a commitment to economic reforms after they'd stalled following 1989, and seized the initiative from conservatives in the Chinese leadership. The book is called The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future.2:10 – Why Jonathan focused on the Southern Tour, and the narratives surrounding it in China7:19 – How the events of ’89 influenced Deng’s thinking 11:08 – How the political fates of Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang affected Deng’s planning 14:31 – The reformers’ path to victory from the second half of ’89 to January of ’9220:32 – Deng’s vision of opportunity in the face of communism’s apparent global retreat24:53 – How Deng’s personal experiences shaped his policy decisions 27:07 – The strategic signaling and risky timing of the Southern Tour 34:07 – The influence of the Chinese horoscope, and “The Story of Spring”37:33 – Shenzhen speed 40:57 – What Jonathan learned about Deng Xiaoping 45:00 – Jonathan’s recommendations for learning more about Deng Xiaoping and the post-Mao era 46:18 – Xi Jinping, the “end” [not sure how to phrase] of Deng’s reform and opening era, and the [parallels with the?] Chinese economic situation today RecommendationsJonathan: China’s Hidden Century, edited by Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell, produced to accompany the British Museum’s exhibition by that name; and the app Voice Dream, a text-to-speech reader Kaiser: Andrea Wulf’s Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self, a book about the group of German Romantics gathered in Jena, Germany See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser is joined by old friend Ed Lanfranco, who lived in Beijing from 1988 to 2009. An inveterate packrat, Ed managed to accumulate an incredible trove of documents, maps, photos, and ephemera from his years there and from the decades and even centuries before his arrival. Ed talks about his collection, and invites scholars interested in his material to get in touch!2:46 – Ed’s time in China and saving ephemera 11:47 – Ed’s favorite old Chinese brands 14:41 – Ed’s map collection 19:34 – The Tiananmen incident of 1976, Ed’s collection of unpublished photographs from the Panjiayuan Antique Market, and a leaflet from April 7th, 1976 30:40 – Ed’s patriotic music record collection 33:28 – Ed’s U.S.-China collection 38:00 – The story behind Ed’s U.S.-China panda button from 2002 43:18 – Ed’s Tiananmen ’89 story and collection of leaflets and files 50:56 – The Underground City of Beijing tour 53:50 – Ed’s SARS 2003 epidemic experience and artifactsRecommendations:Ed: Roger Garside’s Coming Alive: China After Mao; Lin Yutang’s works, especially My Country and My People and The Importance of LivingKaiser: The Rochester-based progressive metal trio Haishen’s new album, Awaken the Endless Deep See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, I'm delighted to welcome — my brother! Jay Kuo is a Broadway writer & producer, and the man behind the terrific U.S. politics-focused Substack newsletter The Status Kuo. In a previous life, from 1996 to 2000, he was also really active in Beijing's gay community, just at the time when homosexuality was being decriminalized and was stepping out of the shadows. We talk about how it all took off. Jay also puts on his other hat to talk about how China figures into American politics with the election less than five months away, and about the legal standing of the TikTok divest-or-ban law.4:54 – The gay community in Beijing in the ‘90s, and the Half-and-Half bar in Sanlitun 16:06 – How the gay community in Beijing changed after two major rulings 27:33 – The end of the “golden era” for the gay community in China36:26 – Progress and its drivers and obstacles42:28 – Jay’s “China priors”50:41 – The issue of China in the upcoming U.S. presidential election  57:08 – The TikTok ban bill Recommendations: Jay: The TV series Manhunt (2024), available on Apple TVKaiser: The TV series The Sympathizer (2024), available on HBO; the audiobook of The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, narrated by François Chau See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, I chat with Sulmaan Wasif Khan, professor of history and international relations at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, about his book The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between, which comes on May 14.4:28 — The Cairo Agreement6:59 — General George Marshall, George Kennan, and the change in the idea of American trusteeship of Taiwan?17:08 — The debate over the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu23:55 — Mao’s evolving interest in Taiwan27:49 — The averted crisis of 196232:06 — Peng Ming-min and the Taiwan independence movement37:14 — What changed in 1971?42:51 — The legacy of Chiang Ching-kuo45:14 — The story of Lee Teng-hui52:37 — The change within the Kuomintang1:00:11 — Why Taiwan has become “sacred” for China1:10:26 — Sulmaan’s own narrative shift1:13:26 — Chen Shui-bian and the threat of independence referendums1:17:53 — The Sunflower Movement1:25:21 — The causal direction of Taiwan’s importance in the U.S.-China relationship1:28:32 — Why the status quo shifted1:30:51 — Drawing parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine1:33:26 — Sulmaan’s sources for his book1:35:38 — Agency versus structure1:39:29 — Feedback (so far) on the new book and what’s next for SulmaanRecommendations:Sulmaan: Emily Wilson’s translation of The Iliad Kaiser: The “My China Priors” series (and other essays), available on the Sinica Substack; Angus Stewart’s essay, “Alien Bless You: A Review of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, veteran reporter Jane Perlez, who served as bureau chief for the New York Times in Beijing until 2019, joins to discuss her new podcast series Face-Off, which explores different facets of the U.S.-China relationship. We also talk about the state of Western journalism in China in the wake of tit-for-tat expulsions of reporters from the U.S. and China that took place during the Trump administration, and the challenges of covering China well without people on the ground in country.5:16 – How Jane Perlez got into podcasting7:59 – The challenge of understanding Xi Jinping12:44 – The Face-Off podcast and appealing to a general audience19:00 – Face-Off’s interview with Zhao Tong on the nuclear issue; the importance of quality diplomacy; and debating the efficacy of the S&ED 30:48 – The pleasure of meeting Yo-Yo Ma 36:52 – The state of Western journalists in China, and how the situation may eventually play out 48:44 – The difficulty of covering China from the outside 53:52 – What’s next for Jane Perlez and the Face-Off podcastRecommendations:Jane: Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary BassKaiser: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Iza Ding, associate professor of political science at Northwestern University and author of The Performative State: Public Scrutiny and Environmental Governance in China, joins to share her ideas on how American academia has framed and problematized authoritarianism, especially when it comes to China. A deep and subtle thinker, she offers thought-provoking critiques of some of the assumptions that have become nearly axiomatic in political science and other social sciences in their approach to understanding politics in China.3:13 – Iza Ding’s concept of “authoritarian teleology”15:31 – The concept of authoritarian resilience 19:58 – The question of regime legitimacy 24:09 – The question of whether authoritarianism is an ideology 26:24 – The China model? 30:58 – Finding a balance between generalizability and the sui generis, and striving toward cognitive empathy and “Verstehen” 42:04 – The state of area studies and avoiding essentialism 49:32 – Iza Ding’s advice on how to become a better writer Recommendations:Iza: The Wife of Bath: A Biography by Marion Turner — the story of Alison, the Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales Kaiser: the guitarist Kent Nishimura, especially his recordings of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by The Police, and “Hey Nineteen” by Steely Dan See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, I'm delighted to welcome Dá Wēi (达巍), one of China’s foremost scholars of China’s foreign relations and especially relations with the U.S. Da Wei is the director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and is a professor in the department of International Relations at the School of Social Science at Tsinghua. Before September 2017, Professor Da served as the Director of the Institute of American Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a leading think tank in Beijing. He was at CICIR for more than two decades and directed the Institute of American Studies from 2013 to 2017.We discuss the state of Chinese understanding of the United States: how China’s strategic class assesses the state of the relationship, what brought it to this point, and what the future might hold.2:52 – American attitudes toward the U.S.-China relationship5:32 – The focus of academic think tanks and strategic communities in the U.S. versus China 11:13 – The Chinese strategic community’s understanding of American domestic politics with respect to the upcoming U.S. presidential election  15:08 – The Chinese strategic community’s understanding of why and how the current state of relations developed, and why China changed its trajectory  23:12 – The Chinese strategic community’s perspectives on American policy: Do they see a difference between the parties?27:02 – Da Wei’s concept of “Sullivanism” 33:41 – The question of mutual misunderstanding 38:37 – The role and influence of China’s think tanks in the policymaking process43:29 – The idea of cognitive empathy — aka strageic empathy, or intellectual empathy — and how it could aid mutual understanding and the policymaking process52:30 – The Chinese perspective on Russia and the war in Ukraine 57:37 – The Chinese perspective on China’s other international relations and the global context of the U.S.-China relationship 1:04:19 The issue of Taiwan and the question of the “status quo” 1:13:52 The importance of building people-to-people ties 1:16:51 – Da Wei's personal anecdote about an experience that influenced his understanding the U.S.-China relationshipRecommendations:Da Wei:  Lust for Life by Irving Stone — a biography of Vincent van Gogh; Pablo Casals’s recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites; the films Cinema Paradiso (1988) and Forrest Gump (1994).  Kaiser: The Sopranos (1999-2007) TV series and The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco, written by Allen Rucker with recipes by Michele Scicolone. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, a discussion of Netflix's adaptation of Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem (or more accurately, Remembrance of Earth's Past). Joining me to chat about the big-budget show is Cindy Yu, host of The Spectator’s “Chinese Whispers” podcast, one of the very best China-focused podcasts; and Christopher T. Fan, who teaches English, Asian American Studies, and East Asian Studies at U.C. Irvine and is a co-founder of Hyphen magazine. Cindy and Chris both wrote reviews of the show and a bunch of other folks answered the call and contributed their thoughts as well. 6:46 – 3 Body Problem as Chinese IP and audience reception 14:44 – The pros and cons of a more faithful adaptation, comparisons with Tencent’s adaptation, [and the Netflix production (process) (? Or keep it separate, 20:17)]23:44 – How the show portrays its Chinese characters and China and audience responses38:14 – Allegorical interpretations and real-world (political?) connections 48:11 – What to look forward to in (possible?) future seasons 51:14 – Chenchen Zhang’s humanity/autocracy binary and the 工业党 gōngyè dǎng 57:02 A win for Chinese soft power? Recommendations:Cindy: The Overstory by Richard Powers Chris: Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed ParkKaiser: Kaiser: Run and Hide by Pankaj Mishra; other novels by Pankaj Mishra, including Age of Anger: A History of the Present and From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia; and other novels by Richard Powers, including Galatea 2.2, Operation Wandering Soul, and The Gold Bug Variations See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica: I wandered the halls at the Association for Asian Studies Conference in Seattle and talked to 14 participants and asked them all the same question: What has become clear to you about our field recently? The fantastic diversity of areas of inquiry and of perspectives was really energizing. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!02:25 Michael Davidson from UC San Diego on working towards climate change goals04:22 Timothy Cheek from University of British Columbia on the importance of continuing to study China despite political tensions 06:51 Chen Zifeng from LSE on Chinese propaganda that surrounds everyday life 11:08 Clyde Yicheng Wang (Wang Yicheng) from Washington and Lee University on Chinese propaganda and its spread into social media 16:57 Jeff Wasserstrom from UC Irvine on connections between events in China and the world18:26 Ian Johnson from CFR on researching China from afar and the importance of online databases 21:01 Daniel Leese from the University of Freiburg on the work of digitizing Chinese sources 24:06 Tyler Harlan from Loyola Marymount University on opportunities for cooperation in the environmental field 25:41 Abby Newman from the University of Chicago Center for East Asian Studies on the importance of spaces for conversation within the field27:55 Sophie Loy-Wilson from the University of Sydney on studying violence and war in Asia with more sympathy 33:45 Joe Dennis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the changes he has witnessed in Chinese studies at the university level 36:49 Ed Pulford from the University of Manchester on China’s differing perspective on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 39:49 Emily Matson from Georgetown University on the importance of Marxist and Mao thought in analyzing modern Chinese history and World War II42:14 Jan Berris from the National Committee on United States-China Relations on redirecting the U.S. government’s focus Recommendation: The musical, poetic, and comedic work of Elle Cordova (formerly Reina Del Cid), on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook; and the Led Zeppelin tribute band "Presence," fronted by singer Tamar Boursalian. (Alas, the band, which is new, has no online presence. See them if you're in Seattle!)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, I speak with veteran China analysts Thomas Fingar and David M. Lampton — Mike Lampton — about a paper they published in the Winter 2024 edition of the Washington Quarterly. It's an excellent overview of how and why the bilateral relationship took such a bad turn roughly 15 years ago, citing mistakes both sides made and the reasons why China shifted around that time from one of its two basic behavioral modes — more open, tolerant, and simpatico in its foreign policy — to the other mode, which is both more internally repressive and externally assertive.Thomas Fingar is Shorenstein APARC Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He was Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. He served as the first deputy director of national intelligence for analysis and as chairman of the National Intelligence Council — and he’s the author of many books, including most recently From Mandate to Blueprint: Lessons from Intelligence Reform.Mike Lampton is Professor Emeritus and former Hyman Professor and Director of SAIS-China and China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute. Mike was also formerly President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.05:04 – The problem with the use of the term "autocracy" to describe China's system09:18 – Analysis of the motivation behind China's actions, questioning the assumption that all decisions are solely for perpetuating the Communist Party's power.10:25 – Rethinking Xi Jinping's personal influence over China's policy decisions: the checks on his power within the Chinese political system.15:58 – Critique of deterministic theories in political science regarding state behavior, particularly concerning China's foreign policy and domestic policy actions.19:13 – The importance of avoiding oversimplified and deterministic explanations for Chinese behavior on the global stage.23:43 – Discussion on the perception of China as an unstoppable juggernaut and the consequences of such a view for international relations and domestic policies in the U.S.24:41 – Analysis of the notion that China seeks to recreate an imperial tribute system in its foreign relations and regional strategy.28:09 – Introduction of the concept of two strategic constellations that have historically guided China's policy focus: national/regime security and economic/social development.33:11 – Exploration of factors leading to China's shift from prioritizing economic and social development to focusing more on national and regime security.37:38 – Examination of the internal and external dynamics contributing to China's policy shifts and the impact of globalization on societal and political tensions.48:47 – Reflection on the post-9/11 period as a time of relatively smooth U.S.-China relations and speculation on the role of international crises in shaping bilateral dynamics.52:59 – Discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the U.S. and China to adjust their policies and rhetoric to manage tensions and avoid further exacerbating the bilateral relationship.Recommendations: Tom: The novels of Mick Herron (author of Slow Horses); the novels of Alan Furst, including Night Soldiers and The Polish Officer.Mike: Philip Taubman, In the Nation’s Service (a biography of George Schultz); and Liz Cheney, Oath and HonorKaiser: The Magician, by Colm Tóibín — an unconventional novelized biography of Thomas MannSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, a show taped in Salzburg, Austria, at the Salzburg Global Seminar with Kerry Brown of King's College, London, on the prolific author's latest book, China Incorporated: The Politics of a World Where China is Number One.05:22 – Chinese worldview and historical perceptions07:51 – The unease with China's rise10:42 – Chinese exceptionalism vs. Western universalism17:30 – Parallels between American domestic unease and perceptions of China22:27 – Discussion on China's competing belief system33:56 – China's raw form of capitalism40:36 – What the West wants from China46:10 – The internet as a reflection of Chinese power and limitations51:17 – China's syncretism and its impact today55:00 – The narrative of Chinese success and its PR challenges1:05:32 – Revising Western narratives on China's developmentA complete transcript of this podcast is available at sinica.substack.com. Join the community on Substack and get not only the transcript but lots of other writing and audio to boot!Recommendations: Kerry: Civilization and Capitalism by Fernand BraudelKaiser: Empire of Silver: A New Monetary History of China by Jin Xu; and re-reading Hilary Mantel's masterful Wolf Hall trilogy (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, and The Mirror and the Light)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Historian Rana Mitter joins Sinica this week in a show taped live in Salzburg, Austria at the Salzburg Global Seminar, in which he discusses efforts by Party ideologists to create a Confucian-Marxist synthesis that can serve as an enduring foundation for a modern Chinese worldview in the self-proclaimed “new era.”01:28 – Is China a revisionist power?02:16 – Right-sizing China's global ambitions09:27 — How China utilizes historical narratives to support political ends10:43 – Marxism and China's Historical Understanding17:07 – China's "New Era" and Party history28:38 – The Confucian-Marxist Synthesis 56:58 – China's ability to reinvent itself1:02:15 – What’s the next big question?A complete transcript is available at the Sinica Substack.Recommendations: Rana: Eliza Clark, Boy PartsKaiser: Anthony Kaldellis, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, the winners of the 2023 Schwarzman Capstone Showcase. Two individuals and one team were selected as the best research projects after review of their projects and presentation of their findings. Their work is first-rate — and if you don’t factor in the very young age of the Schwarzman Scholars in competition. You’ll meet Shawn Haq, who won for his work on U.S. and Chinese expert perspectives on Taiwan; Corbin Duncan, who looked at the impact of the One Child Policy on the economic and social circumstances of only children in China; and the duo of Kelly Wu and Manthan Shah, part of a larger team that studied decarbonization efforts in Shandong province in steel, aluminum, chemical, and cement production. All three of these research efforts yielded fascinating insights.2:15 – Introducing the Schwarzman Capstone Showcase: topics, judges, and process4:41 – Self-introductions from Shawn Haq, Corbin Duncan, Kelly Wu, and Manthan Shah15:07 – Shawn Haq: U.S.-China Expert Perspectives on Cross-Straits Relations29:09 – Corbin Duncan: Only Children and Contemporary China48:12 – Kelly Wu and Manthan Shah: Decarbonization of Shandong Province’s Materials SectorSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, a special taping of an online event I moderated on February 22, just two days shy of the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The session was titled “The Ukrainian Factor in China’s Strategy,” and it was organized by the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists, and featured that organization’s chairperson, Vita Golod; Bartosz Kowalski, senior analyst at the Center for Asian Affairs at the University of Lodz; Lü Xiaoyu of Peking University’s School of International Studies; and Klaus Larres, distinguished professor of history and international affairs, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Please support Sinica by becoming a subscriber at sinica.substack.com. Please note that I have discontinued Patreon, and ask all supporters to help out over on Substack. 2:42 – Introducing the guests6:19 – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi12:19 – What do Ukraine and its allies want from China?16:59 – What inducements might Ukraine’s Western allies offer China?21:51 – How has China’s position changed over the course of the last two years?29:52 – The space for expression of pro-Ukraine voices in China32:08 – Ukrainian and Chinese popular opinion 36:44 – Does the diplomacy of sanctimony work on a realist power?48:00 – China’s 12-Point Position51:48 – Does Russian economic dependency on China translate into leverage?54:04 – The overlap between China’s 12 points and Zelenskyy’s 10 points57:42 – How reliable is America as a partner in this election year?1:08:53  – How will this war end? What compromises are the sides willing to make?1:21:32 – Lü Xiaoyu’s trip to Ukraine and his meeting with President ZelenskyyThere’s a complete transcript to this episode available at sinica.substack.com.Sorry, no recommendations this week, but here’s one from me: The new remake of James Clavell’s epic novel Shògun, which is out on Hulu and FX. It’s pretty mind-blowing!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica I'm delighted to bring you a live conversation with writer Peter Hessler, recorded at Duke University's Nasher Auditorium in Durham, North Carolina on November 10, 2023. The event was sponsored by the Duke Middle East Studies Center and the Asian Pacific Studies Institute, and was titled "Modern Revolutions in Ancient Civilizations."Peter, known for both his trilogy of books written in China — Rivertown, Oracle Bones, and Country Driving — as well as for his reporting for The New Yorker, talks about how his years in China gave him perspective when living in Cairo and writing about Egypt during the Arab Spring. His book on Egypt, The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution, was made richer for me by the comparisons and contrasts with China threading throughout.Special thanks to Griffin Orlando of the Middle East Study Center and Alex Nickley from the Asia Pacific Studies Institute, and Ralph Litzinger from Duke Anthropology.6:27 – What Peter’s China experience brought to his writing on China — and vice-versa9:45 – Contrasting the Chinese and Egyptian revolutions18:37 – Revolution in thinking in Egypt and China35:49 – Peter on his approach to the craft of reporting and writing51:47 – Peter’s work in China as a longitudinal cohort study — and what it reveals so far58:03 – A preview of Peter’s forthcoming book, Other RiversRecommendations:Peter: Gerald Durrell, My Family and Other Animals is one of the booksKaiser: Kenneth W. Harl’s book Empires of the Steppes: A History of the Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilization.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sinica is proud to present historian James Carter's column "This Week in China's History," one of the most popular offerings from the late great China Project. I'm delighted to be able to bring this back and to narrate it. You can expect a new column every other week, and we'll be publishing on Fridays.This week, Jay looks at the last Qing emperor, Puyi's, abdication in February 1912, marking the end not only of the Qing Empire but of imperial Chinese history. Please enjoy!The music on this episode is from the song "Between the Mountains and the Sea" (山海间) by my old band, Chunqiu. This song was written and performed by Yang Meng.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sinica is back, and on this first post-China Project show, Kaiser chats with TCP’s ex-editor-in-chief and Sinica’s co-founder and former co-host, Jeremy Goldkorn. They chat about the Beijing that was, their theories as to why things changed as they did, and share some of their favorite precepts for understanding contemporary China.03:15 – What’s new with Sinica in the post-TCP era04:34 – Jeremy reflects on the history of Sinica and of The China Project20:25 – Jeremy’s characterization of how his approach to China differs from Kaiser’s25:01 – How our China experiences shaped our perspectives26:44 – Jeremy’s long, fraught relationship with the media biz in China36:47 – What brought on the end of the golden years of liberalization in China?47:45 – How China changed our politics1:08:44 – Jeremy’s reveals (some of) his big plans1:10:15 – Gen X China-watchers and what made them specialRecommendations: Jeremy: The Ghosts of Evolution by Connie BarlowKaiser: Ma in All Caps by Jay Kuo (the audiobook version, read by Kaiser); and the Captain Alatriste novels by Arturo Pérez-ReverteSupport Sinica by subscribing to the new Substack at https://sinica.substack.com, or on Patreon — same content — at https://Patreon.com/Sinica.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, a live recording from New York on the eve of the 2023 NEXTChina Conference. Jeremy Goldkorn joins Kaiser as co-host, with guests Maria Repnikova of Georgia State University, who specializes in Chinese soft power in Africa and on Sino-Russian relations, and Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Global South Project and co-host of the excellent China Global South Podcast and China in Africa Podcast. This show is unedited to preserve the live feel!Recommendations: Jeremy: Empire podcast William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, about how empires rise, fall, and shape the world around usMaria: A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan ThrallEric: Eat Bitter, a documentary by Ningyi Sun, a filmmaker from China, and Pascale Appora Gnekindy, from the Central African RepublicKaiser: Wellness, an ambitious novel by Nathan Hill about a Gen X couple in Wicker Park, Chicago; and the NOVA documentary Inside China's Tech Boom, of which Kaiser is correspondent, narrator, and co-producer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, we're running an interview with Jeffrey Bader from early last year. We learned on Monday morning that Jeff had died, and we dedicate this interview to his memory.___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 years of the Obama presidency, until 2011. Now a senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institute, Jeff was deeply involved in U.S.-China affairs at the State Department from his first posting to Beijing back in 1981 continuously for the next 21 years, through 2002. He later served as U.S. ambassador to Namibia and was tapped to head Asian Affairs at the NSC after Obama took office. Jeff is the author of a fascinating book on Obama’s China policy, Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asia Strategy. In this conversation, he offers a candid critique of the Biden China policy to date.Note that this conversation was taped in mid-February — before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and before the Department of Justice announced the end of the “China Initiative.”Note that this conversation was taped in mid-February — before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and before the Department of Justice announced the end of the “China Initiative.”3:23 – How viewing China over 40 years of rapid development has shaped the way Jeff thinks about China8:54 – Jeff Bader’s critique of the Biden administration’s China policy19:40 – Is it important to have a China strategy?24:55 – Right-sizing China’s ambitions: Is Rush Doshi right?31:17 – Defining China’s legitimate interests38:31 – Has China already concluded that the U.S., irrespective of who is in power, seeks to thwart China’s rise?43:16 – How can China participate in the rules-based international order?47:52 – Is it still possible for Biden to change his tune on China?52:57 – How much room does Biden have politically? Can he exploit to electorate’s partisan divide on China?59:54 – What is the “low-hanging fruit” that Biden could pluck to signal a lowering of temperature?1:12:09 – Jeff Bader’s precepts for better understanding of — and better policy toward — ChinaRecommendationsJeff: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, a book by Stephen Platt about the Taiping Civil War focusing on Hong Rengan.Kaiser: Re-recommending two previous guests’ recommendations: Iaian McGilchrists’s The Master and his Emissary recommended by Anthea Roberts; and Unfabling the East: The Enlightenment’s Encounter with Asia by Jurgen Osterhammel, recommended by Dan Wang.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, a live recording from October 10 in Chicago, Kaiser asks Chang-Tai Hsieh of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, Damien Ma of the Paulson Institute’s think tank MacroPolo, and our own Lizzi Lee, host of The Signal with Lizzi Lee, to right-size the peril that the Chinese economy now faces from slow consumer demand, high youth unemployment, a troubled real estate sector, and high levels of local government debt. This event was co-sponsored by the University of Chicago’s Becker-Friedman Institute, the Paulson Institute, and The China Project. 06:32 – What is the current state of the Chinese economy?11:14 – The origins of China’s crisis in comparison to crises from 1990 in Japan and 2008 in the U.S.14:25 – Real estate sector’s role in the crisis and possible solutions22:51 – The significance of able management during times of crisis. Is this a crisis of confidence or expectations?29:34 – The question of the general direction of the Chinese economy 43:33 – What does an actual debt crisis look like in China?48:00 – The right  U.S. policy towards China in light of current affairsThe complete transcript of the show is now in the main podcast page for the episode!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast: a lecture by Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute, delivered last year to D.C.-based Faith & Law at their Friday Forum. The lecture, titled "Is Our Foreign Policy Good? American Moral Absolutism and the China Challenge," is a powerful and thought-provoking talk. Kaiser follows up with a long conversation with Robert about the themes raised in the talk, and then some. Enjoy.03:04 – A talk by Robert Daly from June 24th, 2022, given at Faith & Law’s Friday Forum45:49 – What is lacking in the mainstream dialogue about American policies on China-related issues?49:37 – Over-willingness to turn towards a military approach in the U.S.-China relationship in recent years1:00:48 – The missionary aspect of the American approach in dealing with China1:05:02 – The differences and commonalities between Chinese and American exceptionalism1:17:42 – Are we in a state of Cold War with China?1:23:54 – The question of moral standing in light of whataboutism1:27:08 – Comparing American intentions with Chinese realities and the issue of moral absolutism1:44:50 – What a “Just Cold War” would involve?1:51:34 – Can the U.S. imagine a world in which it is not a hegemonic power?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations: Robert: The House of Sixty Fathers (a Newbury Award-winning book) by Meindert DeJong with illustrations by the late Maurice SendakKaiser: Wolf Hall: A Novel by Hilary MantelAnda Union (Inner Mongolian band)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Jason McLure, a correspondent for a new investigative reporting outfit called The Examination, and reporter Jude Chan, who writes for Initium Media. The two worked with two other reporters on a fascinating expose, funded by the Pulitzer Center, of China's tobacco monopoly, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (or China Tobacco), and how it has managed to be both the biggest seller of tobacco in the world — and also the effective regulator of tobacco laws in China.06:41 – The origins and mission of The Examination 09:24 – An overview of the tobacco industry in China 12:17 – What is the true power China Tobacco holds in the Chinese tobacco industry?14:34 – The history and inner workings of China Tobacco20:30 – China Tobacco - a manufacturer or a regulator?28:42 – The current situation of anti-smoking advocacy in China31:47 – The role of smoking in the Chinese culture and the gender discrepancy within the custom of smoking39:09 – How does China Tobacco manage to prevent the implementation of smoking bans in Chinese cities?48:07 – What was the reason behind the faltering of promising initiatives regarding smoking control?55:33 – The approach of Chinese youth towards the unequal fight with China Tobacco?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Jude: Zhang Chunqiao: 1949 and Beyond by Zheng ZhongJason: Top Boy (British crime drama on Netflix)Kaiser: The music of Florence Price, and especially Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 3 recorded by the Philadelphia OrchestraSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1950 concert tour of China by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1973, Kaiser chats with Matías Tarnopolsky, the orchestra’s president and chief executive; Alison Friedman, executive and creative director of Carolina Performing Arts; and virtuoso guzheng player and composer Wu Fei about the legacy of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China tour, their continuing connection with China, and their concert performances in Chapel Hill, performed to the day on the two closing nights of that historic tour 50 years ago.07:00 – The China connection in the overall identity of the Philadelphia Orchestra11:32 – 缘分 [yuánfèn] and the serendipity of the commemorative concert in Chapel Hill14:19 – What can we learn from the original Philadelphia Orchestra members?19:49 – Has the interest in the China-U.S. culture exchange started to fall off in recent years?25:04 – Music as the common ground in the light of worsening relations with China28:02 – “What’s the orchestra of today?” - as the leading theme for the commemorative concert 31:10 – The significance of Beethoven’s Symphony No.6 to the orchestra’s history in China33:41 – The inspiration for Hello Gold Mountain and its connection to the Jewish history in China A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Matias: Soave sia il vento (the trio from Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte)Alison: Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (podcast)Shanir Blumenkranz’s musicFei: Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (avant-garde metal band)Kaiser: Good Harvest 大丰收 (restaurant) Matteo Mancuso (Sicilian guitar virtuoso)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran journalist Ian Johnson, now a senior China fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Kaiser to discuss his new book, Sparks" China's Underground HIstorians and their Battle for the Future. Profiling both prominent and lesser-known individuals working to expose dark truths about some of the grimmest periods of the PRC's history, including the Great Leap Forward famine and the violence of the Cultural Revolution, Johnson argues that the efforts of China's "counter-historians" have managed to survive the stepped-up efforts of Xi Jinping to control the historical narrative completely.03:27 – Is the obsessive control of historical narratives a particularly Chinese phenomenon?07:19 – The life of Ai Xiaoming and the creation of a collective memory as one of the main themes in the book21:46 – The story of Jiang Xue, citizen journalist25:22 – Journalistic stubbornness of Tan Hecheng28:39 – Cheng Hongguo and the Zhiwuzhi salon30:26 – Common traits shared by many Chinese regime critics37:17 – Is there a link between dissent in China and Christianity?39:53 – Historical nihilism and sensitive topics for the Chinese Communist Party47:08 – Are counter-historians especially noteworthy because they’re exceptional, or representative?57:36 – The most important insight the book adds to our understanding of regime critics in ChinaA complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Ian: The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas by Gal BeckermanUnofficial Chinese Archives Kaiser: Death in Venice and Other Tales by Thomas Mann, translated by Joachim NeugroschelSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser speaks with Representative Rick Larsen of the Washington 2nd District, the co-founder and continuously serving Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan U.S.-China Working Group. Last month, he published a white paper outlining his recommendations for how the U.S. can more effectively compete. That paper and its recommendations are the focus of this week's show.02:35 – The origins of the U.S.-China Working Group04:44 – Updated version of the white paper: new priorities and recommendations in response to the new reality07:42 – What is the danger of bifurcating the world into blocs in Biden's administration?11:16 – Four guiding principles behind a four-point strategy.16:09 – Five issue areas mainly affected by the four-point strategy: national security, development, diplomacy, technology, and education.18:38 – What should be the approach we take toward China’s Belt & Road Initiative?29:40 – The ideas for changes in education investment in the U.S. and the role of China34:08 – The response to the paper from the members of Congress as well as the general public 37:53 – Is there a bigger change happening regarding the relations with China?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations: Rep. Larsen: Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David MaranissKaiser: The Driftless Area (a topographical and cultural region in the Midwestern United States)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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, first signed in 1979 shortly after the normalization of U.S.-China relations under Jimmy Carter and 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.03:45 – The origins of the STA and the reasons for establishing it07:34 – Criticisms against the agreement — the question of IP theft and PLA’s engagement17:53 – What is the real reason behind such a strong opposition towards the agreement?22:23 – How have the dynamics between China and the U.S. contribution to the STA changed over the years?30:36 – The consequences of ending the scientific relationship with China on the example of the terminated space exploration cooperation 35:23 – Which specific projects would be put on hold in case of lack of renewal of scientific cooperation with China?41:23 – Other scenarios for cooperation in the area of AI in the possible absence of the STA50:10 – Are there parts of the agreement that should be enhanced or improved?53:50 – What’s the chance for a renewal of the agreement after the six-month extension?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.comRecommendations:Debbi: Abortion Opponents Are Targeting a Signature G.O.P. Public-Health Initiative by Peter Slevin (in The New Yorker)Karen: Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity by Daren Acemoglu and Simon JohnsonKaiser: King’s War (Chinese TV series 《楚汉传奇》Chǔhàn chuánqí on NetflixSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why they Might Lead to its Decline. This ambitious and thought-provoking book is bound to stir up quite a bit of controversy. It’s a long conversation — but worth the listen!A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 interstitial music by Chunqiu (Spring & Autumn).The columns:Not just a metaphor: Dragons of imperial China show us how people lived (1517)The ‘Empress of China’ and the beginning of U.S.-China trade (1784)The rise of Empress Dowager Cixi (1861)In the 7th century, a Chinese coup of Shakespearean proportions (626)Titanic’s six Chinese survivors tell a story that goes far beyond a shipwreck (1912)The problem with Mao’s ‘continuous’ revolution (1967)The Battle of Red Cliffs and the blurring of fact and fiction (208-209)The music: snippets fromThe HuntsmanThe Last Page (intro)The SubcelestialA Call from AfarBetween the Mountains and the SeaBorn of the StormBorn of the Storm (again)A New DayThe Last Page (outro)All these tracks and more are available on Spotify here or on YouTube here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 20 years. Lyle offers his perspectives on an extensive wargaming exercise focusing on a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan, conducted under the auspices of CSIS (the Center for Strategic and International Studies) and published in January of this year — the first such exercise whose findings were made public. He offers insight into the real value of the exercise, as well as some of its shortcomings.01:03 – The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan – the first large-scale publicly available wargame conducted by CSIS04:05 – The history of wargaming and its significance09:09 – What is the value of wargaming?13:12 – The physical setup of the wargames and the role of dice and technology in contingency17:49 – The assumptions that go into the game22:05 – How much agency do the players have?24:16 – How are the decisions of other countries factored in the wargame?26:11 – Pros and cons of the CSIS wargame31:57 – Thoughts on the possibility of nuclear escalation38:43 – A take on the report’s assumptions and conclusions47:37 – Will we get a warning?A complete transcript of this episode is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:CSIS Report: The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of TaiwanLyle: Yin Yu Tang in Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MassachusettsKaiser: The Story of Civilization [Volumes 1 to 11] by Will & Ariel DurantOur Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume 1 by Will DurantMentioned:Meeting China Halfway: How to Defuse the Emerging US-China Rivalry by Lyle J. GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 China. The veteran China tech watcher, who is now Senior VP for China and Technology Policy Lead at Dentons Global Advisors ASG, is Just back from a trip to China during which he spoke with numerous companies working in the space, Paul offers a great overview of what various companies are doing, and how they’re responding to U.S. restrictions on the export of key hardware needed for large AI training and modeling.03:38 – The Chinese AI community’s reaction to the unveiling of ChatGPT by OpenAI08:14 – What drives China’s National AI Development strategy?14:31 – Chinese AI researchers and their perspectives on regulation21:28 – Is there a lot of investor money going into Generative AI startups?24:25 – U.S. policy on China’s AI development35:53 – What will China’s Generative AI look like?44:14– Companies involved in Chinese AI51:31 – The changing availability of innovative AI scientists in China55:10 – How will decoupling effect AI competition?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Paul: The Alignment Problem by Brian ChristianA Lonesome Dove trilogy by Larry McMurtryBlood Meridian by Cormac McCarthyKaiser: The Righteous Gemstones on HBOJustified: City Prime Evil on Hulu TSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 of Contemporary China. He's gathered a great group including Yawei Liu, whose U.S.-China Perception Monitor under the Carter Center is the co-sponsor for Neysun's series, as well as Anna Ashton of the Eurasia Group, Robert Daly of the Kissinger Institute, Rorry Daniels of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and Ian Johnson of the Council on Foreign Relations. Enjoy this in-depth exploration of the state of U.S.-China relations — as well as the opening segment on the fate of ex-PRC Foreign Minister Qin Gang.No transcript this week, but enjoy the show!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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, former national intelligence officer for East Asia in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) under the Obama administration. Both were members of the Council on Foreign Relations’s task force on U.S.-Taiwan policy, which produced a report titled “U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era: Responding to a More Assertive China.” Both also wrote dissents, included in the report, about some of its findings and recommendations. They discuss what they think the report got right — and what it got wrong.01:01 – Introduction to the CFR’s report U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era: Responding to a More Assertive China05:09 – The mechanics of producing the report06:46 – Areas of common consensus among participants08:48 – What is the significance of the PLA’s centennial in 2027 in view of the CFR task force?10:54 – Is the report too focused on the military at the expense of political, diplomatic, and economic considerations?14:22 – Taiwanese perspectives in the report16:36 – Strategic ambiguity and President Biden’s “gaffes” as a new baseline for U.S. declaratory policy20:48 – The issue of deterrence: American and Chinese approaches25:48 – What has the United States done to move the status quo in terms of the Taiwan issue?41:06 – Is there evidence yet of Chinese preparation for a military action against Taiwan?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Maggie: Fever: The Hunt for Covid’s Origin by John Sudworth (podcast)Paul: Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan Kennan: A life between Worlds by Frank Costigliola Kaiser: The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline by Yasheng HuangSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 has a well-deserved reputation as a debunker of myths and misperceptions about China. This time, he takes on the much-discussed “overseas police stations,” and examines how they are — and aren’t — related to China’s transnational repression.01:03 – The overview of the investigation on Chinese overseas police stations06:19 – The disparity between the press release and the actual charges against the investigated Chinese individuals08:48 – The functions of so-called Chinese secret police stations in the U.S.11:10 – What was wrong with the report written by Safeguard Defenders?16:57 – What is being national in the aforementioned policies?19:22 – Evidence of a link between physical presence with transnational repression or repatriation of criminals26:29 – Is the media narrative regarding popular myths about China slowly changing?30:22 – Other governments’ views on and actions towards Chinese police stations31:38 – Tactics used on the return of alleged criminals to China34:11 – An update on the topic of draft regulations on Generative AIA complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Jeremy: I’m a Virgo, a television show on Amazon Prime.Kaiser: A perfect family dinner for the summer: An easy recipe for spicy salmon/tunaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 of the pandemic. Neysun talks about the importance of in-person, face-to-face scholarly exchange, and despite concerns over the more restrictive political space in China, sounds a hopeful note about what the restoration of in-person exchange might mean for the future of U.S.-China relations.05:02 – Neysun Mahboubi’s YouTube-based initiatives on the U.S.-China relations10:15 – The changes in Beijing in recent years13:49 – The recently observed growing reticence of Chinese people to speak up, and the third-rail topics16:50 – The effect of Chinese administrative handling of the pandemic on people’s trust25:01 – What is the view of Chinese liberal intellectuals on the role of the U.S. in the worsening U.S.-China relations?28:29 – Have the Biden administration’s recent efforts to thaw the U.S.-China relations been well received by the Chinese side?32:48 – The future of scholarly exchanges from China and the U.S. in light of the pandemic and escalating political tensions40:13 – The Ukraine War from the perspective of Chinese intellectualsA complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Neysun: To Live, directed by Zhang YimouKaiser: The Status Kuo, an American politics substack by Jay KuoMentioned: To Live: A Novel by Yu Hua (translated by Michael Berry)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 a New American Security who researches China's military strategy, defense innovation, and emerging technologies. Elsa joins the show to discuss China’s push for Military-Civil Fusion, debunking some of the myths about the program that U.S. pundits and policymakers have imbibed.03:54 – Did the concept of Military-Civil Fusion start with the leadership of Xi Jinping?06:48 What were the barriers to MCF’s successful implementation before Xi’s leadership?09:50 – The comparison between attempts and successes of MCF in China and the U.S.15:39 – Areas of focus of China’s MCF. Which areas offer the most significant possibility for success?20:17 – A look at the perceived legal obligation of Chinese companies to participate in MCF24:59 – The collaboration between Chinese and American researchers in light of MCF31:00 – The awareness of Chinese policy-makers of the sensitivities associated with MCF by other nations34:56 – Does MCF have the same place of prominence in the Biden administration that it did in the Trump’ administration?37:20 – How should we approach the policy of MCF?42:27 – Is the U.S. trying to “out-China” China?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Elsa: Translation State by Ann LeckieKaiser: A recipe for making homemade nuomi cha / genmai cha — green tea with roasted glutinous riceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, where he also serves as an assistant professor of practice in Asian Studies in the School of Foreign Service. Dennis was the National Security Council's director for China from 2004-2005, and then served as the NSC special assistant to the president and senior director for East Asian affairs from 2005 to 2009. From 2009 to 2015 Dennis served as the senior editor of the President’s Daily Brief, the worldwide intelligence update produced under the auspices of the director of national intelligence. He also served from 2015 to 2016 as the CIA’s deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific. Who better to give an informed take on Secretary Blinken's diplomatic mission?Today is a public U.S. holiday so we'll get the transcript and podcast page with show notes up later in the week. Look for it on the TheChinaProject.com website.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism, a wide-ranging, ambitious, and accessible book that explains the unique Chinese political economy, emphasizing both its successes to date and how it must change to meet the challenges to come.01:01 – An overview of the book The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism by Keyu Jin09:22 – Is the criticism about being pro-China justified?14:25 – The element of culture in the Chinese economy27:56 – What is the mayor economy and what are its pros and cons?38:00 – The power of the Chinese state to affect changes in the macroeconomy42:52 – The modern state-owned enterprise and its purpose47:39 – China’s financial system – the disparity between China’s GDP growth and its abyssmal stock market52:07 – The current situation with the real estate market: Is the bubble going to pop?1:02:03 – Pros and cons of the growth of the shadow banking sector in China1:06:32 – The position of China in the global trading system1:13:52 – How does China respond to technology restrictions in key areas such as semiconductor manufacturing?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Keyu: When the Facts Change: Essays, 1995-2010 by Tony JudtKaiser: 1776 (Musical)Mentioned:The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism by Keyu JinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with David Ownby, the University of Montreal historian who runs the excellent ReadingTheChinaDream.com website — a trove of translations of writings by mainstream Chinese intellectuals. David talks about the website’s mission and about tells about his recent three-week trip to Beijing and Shanghai, in which he met with many of the people he translates on his site. Many of them are profoundly disillusioned with the leadership’s handling of the end of Zero-COVID, he found.03:38 – Genesis of the project Reading the Chinese Dream09:32 – The choice of intellectuals being translated14:11 – An overview of common ideological denominators for the New Confucians, the Liberals, and the New Left.24:19 – The emerging groups as a direct response to certain phenomena happening in the West25:58 – How did we fail to understand the intellectual life in China?30:30 – An overview of David’s recent trip to China35:12 – How does the post-COVID reality in China affect Chinese intellectuals?45:34 – Are we observing a turning point in the intellectual community and its relationship with the Chinese government?47:41 – The attitudes of Chinese intellectuals towards the U.S.56:04 – Will the negativity currently observed among Chinese intellectuals a temporary or enduring issue?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:David: Ties by Domenico Starnone, translated by Jhumpa LahiriKaiser: The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy by Peter H. WilsonMentioned:Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa LahiriSimplicissimus by Johann GrimmelshausenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 history, structure, and significance of this Asian answer to the Munich Security Conference, James, who joined the Institute for International Strategic Studies in 2018, offers a great sneak-peek and a curtain raiser on the three-day event, which will bring ministers and secretaries of defense together from all over the region and beyond.05:54 – What are the differences between the Munich Security Conference and the Shangri-La Dialogue?10:21 – Notable past Shangri-La Dialogues14:42 – Who are the guests of this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue?19:53 – The programming of the Shangri-La Dialogue26:48 – The Chinese participation in the event and the background of China-US and Sino-Japanese relations34:16 – European delegations in recent years attending the event and the challenges they face37:42 – The connotation of Indo-Pacific as opposed to the Asia-Pacific41:17 – The dynamics on the axis China-India-US and a multipolar vision for Southeast Asia52:33 – The current intentions for the bilateral relationship between the United States and China?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:James: The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark; and The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life by John le CarréKaiser:  A Perfect Spy: A Novel by John le Carré Mentioned:The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age by James CrabtreeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 America to China, and to share his views on the state of higher education in China and the U.S，03:12 – Wissenschaft and the German contribution to the creation of the modern research university06:30 – The decreasing number of Chinese students willing to study in the U.S. and the defunding of American public universities12:17 – What is the current state of higher education in China?18:19 – Continuities between the old imperial civil service examination system and the current higher education system in China23:08 – The state of Chinese universities before the Cultural Revolution29:23 – How China revived higher education on the model of American universities in the early years of Reform and Opening33:00 – Why does China maintain the gaokao examination despite its great unpopularity?41:38 – Differences between the two leading universities in China: Peking University and Tsinghua University44:00 – Institutional entrepreneurship at Tsinghua University50:01 – The origins of Nanjing University and how it evolved over the years57:21 – The importance of governance and management in the example of the University of Hong Kong1:05:23 – What is the future of the joint programs between American and Chinese universities? A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Bill:Made in Hong Kong: Transpacific Networks and a New History of Globalization by Peter E. HamiltonThe Dean of Shandong: The Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University by Daniel A. BellThe Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be by Wendy Fischman and Howard Gardner9,000 Years of Wine: A World History by Rod PhillipsRed Mandarin Dress: An Inspector Chen Novel by Qiu XiaolongKaiser: Adventures of Horatio Hornblower by Entertainment RadioMentioned: Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China by William C. KirbySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Compliance Officer (and later Managing Director for Europe and the U.S.) for the expert network Capvision. Capvision, as listeners may well be aware, was the Shanghai-based company whose offices in China were raided by Chinese law enforcement, resulting in the detention of two experts for allegedly passing on military secrets to foreign companies. Does this signal a major crackdown on consultancies? And what are the implications for foreign businesses in China? Bob shares his insights — and things are more complicated than you might think.03:39 – Background information on Capvision10:29 – The national security concerns in the Capvision case.12:27 – Is there a connection between the case of Capvision with the previous cases of Bain and Mintz?20:13 – Is there changing optics for Western companies doing business in China?22:13 – The possible connection between the Capvision case and the Espionage Law32:22 – The context of bigger changes in the past three years in China in light of achieving government goals.34:34 – The inner workings of a compliance officer in expert networks36:44 – Media outlets’ misconceptions and a lack of diligent research regarding the Capvision case A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Bob:  Energy and Civilization: A History by Vaclav SmilKaiser: Mr. Bungle’s debut album Mr. BungleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kendra Schaefer, a partner specializing in technology at China-focused consultancy Trivium, and Jeremy Daum, Senior Research Scholar in Law and Senior Fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center. discuss the new draft regulations published in April by the Cyberspace Administration of China that will, when passed, govern generative AI in China. Will it choke off innovation, or create conditions for the safe development of this world-changing technology?04:36 – What is the difference between deep synthesis internet services and generative AI?06:17 – Areas affected by the set of newest regulations: recommendation algorithms, deep fakes11:15 – Major national regulations governing generative AI in China vs. in the West.15:35 – The question of the privacy policy in China18:25 – How far along are the tech companies when it comes to truly applying generative AI?24:16 – Main areas of concern about ChatGPT raised in China and the US. What are the government and companies doing to deal with these issues?28:04 – Is the idea to label AI-generated content sufficient?38:28 – Requirements and concerns for training data for generative AI. Questions of accuracy and authenticity.47:21 – Will the generative AI stay in the social media landscape, or spread toward the industrial sector?50:12 – To what extent will export restrictions affect the development of generative AI in China?A transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.comRecommendations:Kendra: Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth KaraJeremy: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine ChanKaiser: The Earth Transformed: An Untold History by Peter Frankopan; Belafonte: At Carnegie Hall by Harry Belafonte; and Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall (Live) by Harry BelafonteSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 is now building a hundred kilometers southwest of Beijing: Xiong’an. Andrew breaks down why he sees it as an urban manifestation of the fundamental ideas embodied in Xi Jinping’s ideological vision for China.02:02 - Xiong’an New Area as a bold vision for China07:36 - Planned stages for the development of Xiong’an. Milestones in 2035 and 2050.12:03 - Cities as expressions of political ideas15:32 - Different facets of the Xiong’an as the legacy of Xi Jinping20:03 - The elements of ecological civilization intended to be built into the new city27:41 - Technologies employed with the intention of making Xiong’an a smart city31:56 - The idea of incentivizing the digital yuan into the city of Xiong’an34:55 - Xiong’an as an expression of Chineseness40:05 - How is Xiong’an discussed in the English-language press outside of China?47:59 - Approaches to technology and nature in Western and Chinese discourses. The  concept of techno-naturalism.A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.comRecommendations:Andrew:  The Institutional Foundation of Economic Development by Shiping TangKaiser:  Five Families by Selwyn RaabMentioned:Andrew’s article on Xiong’an:  Chinas techno-natural utopia: A deep dive into Xiong’anShanghai Future: Modernity Remade by Anna GreenspanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 climate20:45 – The unmet need for climate finance globally, and what China’s PbOC is doing right27:54 – Should we roll our eyes when China speaks of “ecological civilization”?31:57 – Embracing the JEDI approach in addressing climate change35:30 – 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 needed45:15 – Addressing hard-to-abate sectors like agrifood50:30 – Balancing cooperation and competition between the U.S. and China on climateA complete transcript of this episode is available at TheChinaProject.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Jeremy and I 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 project11:15 – Editorial decisions: What was included, and what wasn’t16:13 – The big takeaways for Mike on finishing this project25:13 – The role of contingency and the observer effect32:52 – How Tiananmen really made CNN and changed the future of cable news36:30 – 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 biases52:54 – 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 FriedmanJeremy: From the Jewish Provinces: Selected Stories by Fradl Shtok, translated by Jordan Finkin and Allison SchachterKaiser: Father's Laszlo Ladany's "Ten Commandments" on China-watching, and playing around with ChatGPT 4See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 interviews8:53 – How the Ukraine War has highlighted divisions between the West and the Global South11:45 – Pragmatism: is this a euphemism for amorality?15:26 – ASEAN as a template for multipolarity19:38 – Cultural relativism, moral absolutism, and the shift in the American intelligentsia24:56 – 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 butter40:04 – The Belt and Road Initiative and American attitudes toward it44:10 – Kishore’s “three rules” for U.S. engagement with ASEAN49:49 – China’s recent diplomatic efforts: Saudi-Iran, and the Ukraine War52:34 – 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 JusticeKaiser: The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter FrankopanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Century15:32 – Maura Dykstra — recommendation: Richard von Glahn's contribution to the Oxford History of Modern China about registration in imperial China19:00 – Jonathan Elkobi — a Rand Corporation study on economic cooperation between Israel and China; the fusion band Snarky Puppy22:22 – Seiji Shirane — Seediq Bale (Warriors of the Rainbow) and Lust, Caution25:18 – 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 Sin31:23– 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 Empire34:46– Lena Kaufmann — Technology and Gender: Fabrics of Power in Late Imperial China and other works by Francesca Bray39:05 – 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 China49:18 – Brian DeMare — William Hinton, Fanshen50:47 – 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 SterkA complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Markets5:34 – Enduring elements of Maoism in contemporary Chinese enterprise12:35 – Variation among “Maoist” entrepreneurs20:40 – Differentiating superficial and authentic Maoist entrepreneurship35:04 – 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 politics47:09 – Chris’s experience as a Thousand Talents recipientA complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Chris: The Entrepreneurial State and The Big Con by Mariana MazzucatoKaiser: This calendar of lunar phases from theoriginallunarphase.com, and Mongolian salty milk tea, or sūūtei tsai which is easy to make at homeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 China25:01 – China’s non-energy interests in and engagement with the Middle East29:03 – Reactions from world capitals39:28 – Saudi’s balancing act between U.S. security partnership and engagement with China49:52 – Implications for China as a mediator in Ukraine and other international conflict zones52:44 – Overview of China-Israel relationsA complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Tuvia:  King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on YouTubeKaiser: The Venture of Islam by Marshall G. S. HodgsonMentioned:Tuvia's Discourse Power SubstackThe China-Global South PodcastTuvia’s interview with retired PLA Colonel Zhou BoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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’s4:43 – How the Xi-Putin meeting was viewed in the Global South8:10 – 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.EntitySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.