The China Project
144 episodes — Page 1 of 3
Live from New York: China and the Global South, with Maria Repnikova and Eric Olander
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...
Mandarin reboot: How to get back into learning after taking a break
So you want to get back into learning Chinese after taking a break. John and Jared give you tips on how to get back into...
[Podcast] Toddler mauling in China prompts crackdown on dogs, rekindles debate over pet etiquette
In the aftermath of an off-leash Rottweiler’s attack of a two-year-old in China last week, officials in several counties have enacted sweeping measures against stray...
[Podcast] How China is attempting to change nature conservation
China is undergoing a great experiment — tightly controlled and driven by big data — that it hopes will offer an alternative way of protecting...
In Memoriam: Jeffrey A. Bader, from February 2022
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...
Assessing the impact of Chinese media influence in Africa
China’s media presence in Africa is far more pervasive today than it was a decade ago, but not in the conventional way. Very few people...
[Podcast] Los Angeles Chinatown, 1871: The forgotten mass lynching
In October 1871, 10% of the Chinese population in Los Angeles was wiped out in a senseless spasm of violence. Click here to read the...
[Podcast] A young Deng Xiaoping in France
In the early years of the Chinese republic, progressives looked west for political inspiration. This was how Deng Xiaoping — who would eventually lead China...
Africa’s strong presence at China’s Belt & Road Forum
Five of the 24 heads of state who attended this week’s Belt and Road Forum in Beijing were from African countries, highlighting the prominent role...
Live from Chicago: Decoding China — China’s economic miracle interrupted?
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...
China’s dominance of the EV battery metal supply chain
Chilean President Gabriel Boric oversaw the signing of a $233 million lithium deal with Chinese mining giant Tsingshan Holding Group, the latest investment that solidifies...
Reframing the 10 worst Chinese learning tips
There is no shortage of advice on how to learn a language, but in this episode, hosts John and Jared not only talk about 10...
The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 248: China’s clean car exports surge
Four are arrested in India on alleged links to a Vivo money-laundering investigation, Golden Week tourism revenues top pre-pandemic levels, but just barely, and China...
[Podcast] Double 10: The Wuchang Uprising and the end of the Qing
Had any of the earlier uprisings against the Qing achieved their goals, 1911 would be just another year. But the 1911 Revolution succeeded, and catalyzed...
Zimbabwe’s elite share their views on China: What a new survey reveals
Across Africa, public opinion about China has been quite positive overall with favorability ratings surpassing those of other major powers, including the United States. But...
Robert Daly of the Kissinger Institute on the morality of U.S. China policy
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 &...
Michael Pettis explains how China’s changing economy will impact the world
China’s economy emerged from the pandemic much weaker than before. Unemployment is up, exports are down and a burgeoning property crisis is having a devastating...
China Tobacco: How China’s tobacco monopoly also has ensured that China keeps smoking
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...
The future of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America
There’s growing anxiety in the United States over China’s expanding presence in the Latin America-Caribbean (LAC) region. Last week, a Congressional subcommittee held another breathless...
[Podcast] Niche brands are on the rise as young Chinese consumers seek their own style
The rise of Chinese niche luxury brands. Click here to read the article by Capucine Cogné. Narrated by Sarah Kutulakos. China Stories is published twice...
Fluency now: The power of extensive reading
Jared Turner and John Pasden discuss the impact of extensive reading on language learning by sharing stories from research that illustrate the impact it has...
The Philadelphia Orchestra commemorates the 50th anniversary of its groundbreaking China tour
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...
Africa at the intersection of three megatrends: China, climate, and debt
Dramatic scenes this week in Italy where 7,000 people, mostly from Africa, came ashore after making the dangerous trek across the Mediterranean. It was a...
[Podcast] ‘One of the most troubling social policies of modern times’
China enacted its one-child policy in 1980. It was met with wildly divergent opinions, and resulted in suffering and trauma on a scale that family...
How China’s economic slowdown impacts developing countries
The Chinese economy is in trouble. Exports, manufacturing output, and investment are all down. Unemployment, particularly among young people is up. Provincial debt is now...
The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 247: Corporate America’s optimism about China is fading
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: U.S. firms reported falling optimism for their China operations amid concerns over Sino-U.S. tensions, but many are still...
Ian Johnson on “Sparks,” his new book on China’s underground historians
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...
Chinese lending to Africa plunges to 20-year low
Chinese lending to African countries plunged to below a billion dollars in 2022, the lowest level in two decades, according to new data from the...
[Podcast] The origins of World War II in Asia
The Mukden Incident — when explosives detonated along the route of the South Manchurian Railway near Shenyang — was a pretext for Japanese aggression in...
The downward spiral of China-India relations
There was a glimmer of hope last month that China and India would pull back from their increasingly contentious standoff when military commanders concluded talks...
The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 246: The EU announces a probe into Chinese EV subsidies, and the Chinese gov denies reports of an iPhone ban
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: The EU says it will launch an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles in a bid to...
WEEK IN REVIEW: AU in G20 and the new “Chinese Savior” narrative in Africa
The Chinese Foreign Ministry was among the first major governments this week to welcome the African Union as the newest member of the G20. The...
U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA) on his new U.S.-China policy white paper
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...
[Podcast] Lin Biao flew too close to the sun. But why did he really fall?
Lin Biao was a principal architect of the cult of Mao Zedong. It would lead to his undoing. Click here to read the article by...
[Podcast] Sushi restaurants in China left scrambling after Fukushima-linked seafood ban
Beijing’s ban on Japanese seafood, coupled with rising animosity toward all things Japanese, have sent sushi restaurants in China searching for alternative supplies and, in...
BRI @ 10: Lessons from Cambodia about Chinese investment
China’s Belt and Road Initiative marked its 10th anniversary this month, prompting a lot of discussion about what’s next for Beijing’s controversial development agenda. While...
[Podcast] China’s other half: Wilderness
China is known for its megacities, but 42% of it is wilderness — the barren and primitive, but also pockets of spectacular biodiversity. As the...
[Podcast] Lean Lui’s critical look at bullying culture
“Being bullied in school is something that can happen to anyone,” Lui shares. “The subjects in my photos are meant to simply be symbolic. The...
The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 245: China’s appetite for luxury is back
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: China’s retail sales growth may have been weak in the first half of the year, but spending on...
[Podcast] A Shanghai bookseller gets kidnapped — and brings out the copyright police
In the early 20th century, Chessboard Street in Shanghai was the heart of the Chinese publishing industry. This is where our story begins: when Li...
The case for the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement
This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Karen Hao, a reporter recently with the Wall Street Journal whose previous work with the MIT Technology Review has been featured on Sinica; and by Deborah Seligsohn, assistant professor of political science at Villanova University, who has been on the show many times just in the last three years. Both Karen and Deborah have written persuasively about the importance of renewing the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement which was renewed, for the most part, every five years without much fuss — until this year. Karen and Debbi make clear what has been accomplished under the agreement’s auspices, and why GOP concerns are largely misplaced.
Why boosting Africa-Southeast Asian trade & investment makes so much sense
There’s been a surge of activity in Africa-ASEAN relations in recent weeks highlighted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s recent African tour and the Singapore-Africa Business...
[Podcast] How Crocs made a comeback in China this summer
In an otherwise restrained era for Chinese youth, the return of brightly colored, highly customizable rubber clogs allows for both escape and self-expression. Click here...
[Podcast] Once banned, Mandarin learning in Indonesia on the rise amid improving ties with China
Indonesia suspended diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China from 1967 to 1990 and restricted Chinese-language lessons and literature. But the two countries now...
Knowledge vs. proficiency (Episode 12 replay)
John and Jared discuss 5 principles to optimize your note-taking for language learning to maximize your learning gains. Guest interview is with Nick Anderson, a...
The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, ep. 244: China’s sweeping property rescue
This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Beijing launches a sweeping policy package to rescue the property market, China extends income tax breaks for foreigners...
China’s indispensable role in Africa’s railway renaissance
Over the past 20 years, tens of thousands of kilometers of new railway lines have been built across Africa – much of it constructed and...
The Rise and Fall of the EAST: MIT’s Yasheng Huang on his new book
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...
[Podcast] The ‘near miracle’ that was China’s first modern treaty with a European state
The Treaty of Nerchinsk established a border between Manchu China and Romanov Russia. It was negotiated in a remote region between two sides that distrusted...
China and the politics of global climate diplomacy
The failure of G20 countries last month to agree on a plan to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 highlights a key problem in the...