The US-China Podcast
253 episodes - English - Latest episode: 24 days ago - ★★★★★ - 14 ratingsThis series features brief discussions with leading China experts on a range of issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including domestic politics, foreign policy, economics, security, culture, the environment, and areas of global concern. For more interviews, videos, and links to events, visit our website: www.ncuscr.org.
The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages understanding of China and the United States among citizens of both countries.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Ambassador Robert Blackwill on Implementing Grand Strategy Toward China
February 26, 2020 16:42 - 16 minutes - 22.8 MBIn this podcast, Ambassador Robert Blackwill sits down with NCUSCR President Steve Orlins to discuss his recent report, "Implementing Grand Strategy Toward China: Twenty-Two U.S. Policy Prescriptions," published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in January, 2020. Ambassador Blackwill shares how his report has been received by both critics and proponents of engagement with China, and expands on his analysis of China's increasingly assertive international presence. On February 13, 20...
Mark Frazier on Writing Comparative History in Shanghai and Mumbai
December 27, 2019 17:27 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBMark Frazier, author of The Power of Place: Contentious Politics in Twentieth-Century Shanghai and Bombay, talks to NCUSCR Vice President Jan Berris about his new book and the two cities that form its comparative poles. Mr. Frazier discusses the history of contentious politics in Shanghai and Mumbai, both of which were national economic, cultural, and political hubs of their respective countries throughout the twentieth century. He also reflects on his experiences conducting research, worki...
Jeffrey Wasserstrom on the Ground in Hong Kong
December 12, 2019 21:14 - 57 minutes - 79.6 MBDemonstrations that started peacefully in Hong Kong more than six months ago have grown increasingly confrontational. On December 10, Professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom of the University of California, Irvine, called in from Hong Kong to deliver his thoughts and observations from the ground to a National Committee teleconference. A long time analyst of protest in pre-1949 China and different parts of the PRC in recent decades, he traveled to Hong Kong in early December, after having last been th...
Jude Blanchette on Neo-Maoism and Civil Society in Contemporary China
October 23, 2019 14:18 - 12 minutes - 16.8 MBIn this podcast interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, Jude D. Blanchette discusses his new book China’s New Red Guards: The Return of Radicalism and the Rebirth of Mao Zedong. Mr. Blanchette shares his inspiration for choosing a topic not focused on in Western literature, and relates his personal experiences conducting research in China. Mr. Blanchette surveys the potential for a resurgence of Neo-Maoism as an active movement, examines the role previously played by Bo Xilai, form...
Admiral Philip S. Davidson on the Complexities, Contradictions, and Conundrums of the U.S.-China Relationship
October 10, 2019 18:58 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MBAdmiral Philip Davidson provides an assessment of the U.S.-China relationship, highlighting the complexities, comparing the contradictions, and describing the conundrums facing the United States at a time during which it seems clearer than ever that security and economics are inextricably linked as bilateral competition grows. In this interview, conducted by National Committee President Stephen Orlins, Admiral Davidson draws on his experience at the helm of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to delve...
Winston Lord on Working with Henry Kissinger
June 13, 2019 20:50 - 11 minutes - 7.71 MBIn this podcast interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, Ambassador Winston Lord discusses his new book Kissinger on Kissinger: Reflections on Diplomacy, Grand Strategy, and Leadership. Ambassador Lord talks about what it was like to work with Dr. Kissinger, his memories of Nixon's visit to China, and what lessons from his and Dr. Kissinger's experiences can be applied to today's competitive relationship with China. Winston Lord has had a long and varied career in and out of gov...
David P. Willard on the Impact of Policymaking on Bilateral Investment
April 29, 2019 19:59 - 12 minutes - 8.56 MBIn this interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, founder and CEO of 52 Capital Partners David P. Willard discusses how his work in mergers and acquisitions is affected by macroeconomic policies in the United States and China and gives his perspective on where the economic relationship between the two countries is heading. Mr. Willard spoke at a National Committee event on April 25, 2019. Learn more: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/future-us-china-economic-relations David P. Willard is t...
Dr. Weijian Shan on Life in the Gobi Desert During the Cultural Revolution
February 01, 2019 20:55 - 7 minutes - 5.38 MBIn this interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, Dr. Weijian Shan discusses his new autobiography, Out of the Gobi, about his experience during the Cultural Revolution as a manual laborer in the Gobi Desert. He explains what prompted him to write the book and why learning about the Cultural Revolution is essential to understanding China. Dr. Shan gave a talk to the National Committee about his book on January 28. Learn more: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/out-gobi Dr. Weijian S...
Peggy Blumenthal on Chinese Students in the United States
January 25, 2019 15:37 - 7 minutes - 5.37 MBAs the attendance of Chinese students at U.S. institutions of higher education comes under greater scrutiny, Peggy Blumenthal of the Institute for International Education explains the history of Chinese students in the United States, their impact on American institutions, why they come, and how new visa policies may affect their enrollment. Peggy Blumenthal is senior counselor to the president at the Institute for International Education (IIE), where she has served since 1984 and was ...
Barbara Finamore on the Evolution of China's Response to Climate Change
November 30, 2018 21:31 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBBarbara Finamore, author of the new book Will China Save the Planet?, talks to Jan Berris, National Commitee Vice President, about China's path to becoming a responsible stakeholder on environmental issues.
Rongbin Han on the Internet in China
November 30, 2018 16:54 - 21 minutes - 15.7 MBIn this interview, Professor Rongbin Han discusses his new book, Contesting Cyberspace in China, with Senior Director for Education Programs Margot Landman. He talks about his experiences a university student in China at the dawn of the Internet, the Internet's relation to democracy as well as illiberal discourse, and the role of the "50-Cent Army" on Chinese social media.
Benjamin Shobert on How U.S. Domestic Issues Have Influenced China Policy
November 05, 2018 20:55 - 11 minutes - 8.58 MBIn this interview, Benjamin Shobert discusses his new book Blaming China: It Might Feel Good but it Won't Fix America's Economy with National Committee President Stephen Orlins. He talks about the changes in the U.S. political atmosphere that inspired him to write the book, and where he sees the bilateral relationship heading.
Rory Truex and Benjamin Liebman on the Obstacles China Scholars Face
October 25, 2018 13:43 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBIn this conversation, Professors Benjamin Liebman and Rory Truex, both fellows in the National Committee's Public Intellectuals Program, discuss the findings of Truex's recent study, co-authored with Professor Sheena Greitens, on American China scholars' repressive experiences in China.
Pieter Bottelier on the Development of China's Economic Policy
October 19, 2018 20:52 - 13 minutes - 9.73 MBIn this interview, Pieter Bottelier discusses his new book Economic Policy Making in China (1949-2016): The Role of Economists with National Committee President Steve Orlins. Bottelier talks about the history behind China's current economic policy and where he thinks it's headed.
Ji Li on Chinese Businesses Operating in the U.S.
October 04, 2018 17:58 - 11 minutes - 7.8 MBIn this interview, Dr. Ji Li discusses his new book The Clash of Capitalisms? Chinese Companies in the United States with National Committee President Stephen Orlins. Professor Li talks about his research methodologies and findings on Chinese companies' compliance with U.S. regulatory institutions. Dr. Ji Li is professor of law at Rutgers University and a member of the associate faculty of the division of global affairs. Professor Li received his Ph.D. in political science from Northwe...
Stephen Platt on What Led to the Opium War
July 16, 2018 19:38 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBIn this interview, author Stephen R. Platt discusses his new book Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age with Senior Director for Education Programs Margot Landman, describing his process behind writing the book and the historical context that led to the war.
Daniel Kurtz-Phelan on George Marshall's Mission as Mediator in the Chinese Civil War
June 26, 2018 15:09 - 9 minutes - 6.15 MBIn this interview with National Committee President Stephen Orlins, Foreign Affairs Executive Editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan discusses his new book, The China Mission: George Marshall's Unfinished War. He talks about George Marshall's efforts to make peace between the Nationalists and Communists in China after World War II, the fascinating figures at the center of the story, and if Marshall's mission was futile to begin with. Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, who became executive editor of Foreign Affairs ...
Peggy Blumenthal and David Zweig on the Impact of Chinese Students on American Universities
June 06, 2018 17:59 - 17 minutes - 13.5 MBIn this interview with Senior Director for Education Programs Margot Landman, IIE's Peggy Blumenthal and Professor David Zweig discuss their research into the impact Chinese students have on American universities and their prospects upon returning to China. Peggy Blumenthal, Senior Counselor to the President, Institute of International Education (IIE). After 20 years of service at the Institute of International Education, Ms. Blumenthal became its chief operating officer in 2005, shift...
Scott Seligman on the Triple Murder that Changed American Criminal Justice
May 29, 2018 15:51 - 14 minutes - 10.2 MBIn this interview with Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman, author Scott Seligman discusses his new book, The Third Degree: The Triple Murder that Shook Washington and Changed American Criminal Justice.
Denise Ho on the Role of Exhibitions During the Cultural Revolution
May 10, 2018 15:15 - 16 minutes - 12.4 MBIn this interview with Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman, Denise Ho, author of Curating Revolution: Politics on Display in Mao's China, discusses the "participatory propaganda" of exhibitions during the Cultural Revolution.
Natalie Lichtenstein on Establishing the AIIB
May 08, 2018 16:54 - 12 minutes - 9.52 MBIn conversation with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, former AIIB General Counsel Natalie Lichtenstein discusses the process behind drafting the bank's charter. Natalie Lichtenstein is a U.S. lawyer who has specialized in legal issues at international financial institutions, and legal development in China, since the 1970s. She was the inaugural general counsel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the principal drafter of the AIIB Charter. Her work for AIIB drew on her 30-ye...
Gary Liu on Reinventing Hong Kong's Paper of Record
May 01, 2018 15:41 - 13 minutes - 10 MBIn conversation with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, South China Morning Post CEO Gary Liu talks about the opportunity to transform the SCMP into a digital media brand, the challenges of running a newspaper in the current media landscape, and retaining SCMP's unique editorial voice.
Diana Fu on Labor Activism in China
April 11, 2018 13:42 - 13 minutes - 9.25 MBIn a conversation with fellow University of Toronto professor Sida Liu, Diana Fu discusses her new book, Mobilizing Without the Masses: Contention and Control in China. Dr. Diana Fu is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto and an affiliate of the Munk School of Global Affairs Asian Institute. Her research examines the relationship between popular contention, state power, and civil society in contemporary China.
Dr. Szu-chien Hsu on the Threats to Taiwan's Democracy
March 29, 2018 15:48 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBIn this interview with National Committee Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman, Dr. Szu-chien Hsu discusses his work as the president of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD). He talks about why he believes in the mission of TFD, how democratic values are being threatened worldwide, and his research findings on the political activism of Taiwan's youth. Dr. Szu-chien Hsu is president of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD), as well as an associate research fellow...
Carl Minzner on the Breakdown of China's Reform Era Norms
March 16, 2018 15:35 - 12 minutes - 9.2 MBIn this interview, professor Carl Minzner discusses his new book, End of an Era: How China’s Authoritarian Revival is Undermining its Rise with National Committee President Stephen Orlins. He talks about what inspired him to write the book, how norms established in the Reform Era are breaking down, and whether the Chinese government's actions have historical precedent in other countries. Carl Minzner is an expert in Chinese law and governance. He has written extensively on these topics in ...
Roseann Lake on the "Leftover Women" of China
March 08, 2018 21:46 - 17 minutes - 12.6 MBIn this interview, journalist Roseann Lake discusses her new book, Leftover in China: The Women Shaping the World’s Next Superpower with National Committee Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman. She talks about how she originally became interested in the topic, her research process, and the social barriers that created the “leftover women” phenomenon. Roseann Lake is now The Economist's Cuba correspondent. She was previously based in Beijing, where she spent five years wo...
Amb. Jeffrey Bader: An Overview of Recent Developments in U.S.-China Relations
March 07, 2018 14:45 - 15 minutes - 2.95 MBOn Sunday, February 25, 2018, the world learned that the Chinese Constitution would be amended to allow the president and vice president to stay in office beyond two terms (ten years) – the limit established in the 1982 constitutional revision. On Thursday, March 1, President Trump announced that the United States would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Although the tariffs apply to products from all over the world, many assume that they...
David Denoon: China's Foreign Policy in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America
March 02, 2018 15:39 - 13 minutes - 9.25 MBIn this podcast interview with National Committee President Stephen Orlins, Professor David Denoon discusses Chinese and American interests in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America, adding another dimension to the study of the bilateral relationship. Much has been written about the dynamics that have traditionally defined U.S.-China relations. But as China adopts a more activist foreign policy and increasingly seeks investment opportunities around the world, new theatres of coop...
Ann Lee: Will China's Economy Collapse?
February 23, 2018 17:57 - 13 minutes - 9.98 MBBetween ballooning debt to GDP ratios, overinvestment in the property market, and industrial overcapacity, the uneven structure of China’s economic growth provides plenty of reasons for concern. Yet so far, China’s unique blend of state-led and laissez-faire capitalism has proved remarkably strong, defying numerous predictions of imminent economic catastrophe. In a new book, Will China’s Economy Collapse? New York University Adjunct Professor Ann Lee addresses key questions that China watche...
Bin Xu: Sichuan Earthquake and Civic Engagement in China
February 23, 2018 17:55 - 18 minutes - 13.5 MBOn May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake rocked central Sichuan, killing 87,000 people and leaving five million homeless in the second worst natural disaster in China’s modern history (the first was the Tangshan earthquake of 1976). As news of the event spread, hundreds of thousands of volunteers poured into Sichuan from all over China to help wherever they were needed. Many cooked, cleaned, and cared for survivors, but the sudden explosion of civic engagement also led to more politically orien...
Jennifer Lin: Shanghai Faithful – A Chinese Christian Family
February 01, 2018 17:51 - 17 minutes - 12.6 MBAfter the United States and China established diplomatic relations in 1979, those who had left China around 1949 were able to visit family members who had remained in China. Three decades of separation gave rise to many unanswered questions on both sides. One such question inspired young journalist Jennifer Lin: “Do you have any idea what happened to us?” she was asked at a family reunion in Shanghai in 1979. She then embarked on a 30-year quest to uncover her family history. The daughter of...
Scott Tong: A Village With My Name
February 01, 2018 17:50 - 16 minutes - 12.7 MBChina’s rapid economic growth that has accompanied its “Reform and Opening” over the last four decades is the subject of millions of pages of discussion and analysis. Yet it is rarely contextualized within the long arc of China’s quest for modernity stretching back at least to the mid-19th century. Long before Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, enterprising Chinese engaged the outside world through trade, education, and other mediums, laying the foundation for China’s modernization. From this perspect...
Mary Gallagher: Authoritarian Legality in China
February 01, 2018 17:49 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBOver the last three and a half decades, China’s rise has largely been underpinned by two great transitions: from socialism to capitalism, and from agriculture to industry. The workplace and the institutions that govern it have served as the critical link that enabled these transitions to take place. As these processes continue, the interests of the central government and Chinese workers have converged upon improved working conditions and formalization of employment. Workers have naturally so...
Michael Meyer: The Road to the Sleeping Dragon
December 14, 2017 16:11 - 17 minutes - 13.1 MBIn his third book on China, acclaimed reporter and travel writer Michael Meyer provides an account of his 22 years of engagement with the country. Beginning with his arrival as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Sichuan in 1995, The Road to Sleeping Dragon: Learning China from the Ground Up recounts how he came to understand the country that looms so large on today’s global stage. By sharing his deeply personal journey over two decades, the book offers a unique perspective on China’s culture a...
Pan Guang: China and the Middle East
December 08, 2017 19:37 - 13 minutes - 13.5 MBIn recent years, China has taken an increasingly active role in global affairs. From the managers of state owned enterprises to political and military leaders, Chinese have looked abroad, including to the resource rich Middle East. What does Chinese engagement mean for the region? What opportunities and challenges does the Belt and Road Initiative bring? Dr. Pan Guang, professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Vice President of Chinese Association for Middle East Studies and di...
Robert Gottlieb & Simon Ng: U.S.-China Urban Environmental Change
December 08, 2017 19:35 - 19 minutes - 13 MBOver the past four decades, global cities have emerged in both the United States and China, including Hong Kong. In the process, they have absorbed their local environments and expanded their commercial networks around the world. As the urban landscapes and global reach of Chinese and American cities have grown, so have their environmental footprints. Challenging issues of air and water quality, water supply, transportation, land use, and food have accompanied rapid urban growth. In many cas...
Maria Repnikova on Media Politics in China
November 09, 2017 17:54 - 17 minutes - 13.3 MBPopular images of Chinese media generally cast it as an agent of state propaganda. This is hardly surprising given the history of Chinese official media, and the swift suppression of those who openly criticize the regime. Yet the dichotomy between media and the party, with the former perpetually dominated by the latter, is complicated by the emergence of what Maria Repnikova, in her new book, terms “critical journalism.” In Media Politics in China: Improvising Power under Authoritarianism,...
Ian Johnson on the Religious Revival Underway in China
November 08, 2017 23:48 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBIn this podcast interview, Ian Johnson discusses his recent book, the religious revival underway in China, and what this means for the world’s newest superpower, with National Committee Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman. The Communist Party of China has long had an uneasy relationship with religion. Its antipathy reached a crescendo during the Cultural Revolution when religion was attacked as part of the “Four Olds” campaign; public worship and ceremony were banned, m...
Scott Kennedy: China’s Innovation Drive
October 11, 2017 13:42 - 17 minutes - 14.3 MBIn recent years, China has devoted massive resources to advancing its capacity for technological innovation. The resulting deluge of R&D activities has brought Chinese companies significant commercial success. However, the massive resources China has mobilized are not yet efficiently translating into successful outputs, resulting in a “low metabolism” of inputs into technology innovation. Scott Kennedy, deputy director of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies ...
Lenora Chu and Gish Gen: East-West Creativity Gap – Myth or Fact?
October 03, 2017 16:08 - 14 minutes - 14.4 MBIn a globalized world where millions of people travel between east and west each year and formerly separate cultural zones now overlap, it has never been more important to understand the values and perspectives that inform cross-cultural relations. Two new works of cultural observation and commentary put the differences in education, identity, and politics in the United States and China in perspective: Lenora Chu’s Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to ...
Cheng Li on the Rising Influence of Think Tanks in China
October 03, 2017 16:07 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBA call to action by President Xi Jinping has led to significant resources being devoted to the development and expansion of China’s think tanks. While some critics have derided them as “tanks without thinkers,” China’s think tanks play a growing part in the crafting of domestic and foreign policies. In addition, their connections to party leadership make them an invaluable window through which foreign scholars and officials can observe both the Chinese intellectual discourse and policymaking...
Michelle Vosper on Women in the Arts from Greater China
July 25, 2017 14:36 - 16 minutes - 18.9 MBCreating Across Cultures is a collection of stories about visionary women in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan who defied cultural and social expectations to become leaders in the arts. Working in the literary, visual and performing arts, these women journeyed outside their cultures, engaging with the international artistic community. Their personal histories open windows onto the larger, historical trajectory of China over three generations, while their artwork delves into social realitie...
Gerard Postiglione on China’s Universities and the Belt and Road
June 23, 2017 20:35 - 23 minutes - 25.5 MBAs China has become a global power, it has sought to build an exportable educational model that will influence international education, while at the same time supporting the interests of the Communist Party. China has simultaneously in some ways strengthened its commitment to the Western university model and embraced its emphasis on the liberal arts and sciences as a way to drive innovation and economic progress. Chinese universities serve multiple constituencies: Chinese who will work in C...
Julian Gewirtz on Chinese Reformers and Western Economists
June 23, 2017 20:28 - 12 minutes - 16.1 MBFor nearly three decades Mao’s China closed itself to the influence of non-Marxist thought as it established a rigid command economy. When Mao died in 1976, China’s leaders embarked on a large-scale process of learning from abroad. The intellectual breadth of Chinese reformers in those early years was remarkably broad as they sought input from Nobel Prize winning economists, World Bank officials, free market fundamentalists, and an unlikely array of other partners. Many who participated in t...
James Stent: China's Banking: The Untold Story
June 15, 2017 21:17 - 14 minutes - 15.8 MBChina watchers have long predicted the imminent collapse of China’s banking system. Between increased reliance on unstable funding sources, and an expanding credit to GDP gap, experts’ concerns are not unwarranted. Yet the collapse has not happened. In China’s Banking Transformation: The Untold Story, former banking director James Stent looks at what the experts have been missing, and why their predictions have not materialized. On June 5, 2017, Mr. Stent joined National Committee President ...
David Zweig: Hong Kong & Beijing: A Complicated Relationship
June 15, 2017 21:08 - 16 minutes - 20 MBIn 2014, Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement grabbed international headlines, shut down the city’s largest commercial districts, and generated concern about Hong Kong’s political future. Images of city streets awash in yellow, and protesters clashing with police quickly spread around the world, and many observers believed the movement heralded significant changes to Hong Kong’s political structure. Three years after calm was restored, questions remain: what is the political mood on Hong Kong campu...
Qin Gao on China’s Social Assistance
May 31, 2017 20:53 - 15 minutes - 17.6 MBEven as the China’s economic reforms in the 1980s and 90s laid the foundation for it to become an economic powerhouse, increasingly wide gaps opened up between rich and poor, leaving behind those ill equipped to compete in a market economy. The massive changes taking place were also reflected in the uneven distribution of social welfare benefits, which tended to accrue to those best positioned to succeed under the new system. In 1993, Shanghai implemented a minimum livelihood guarantee or di...
Howard French: How the Past Shapes China’s Push for Power
May 08, 2017 20:28 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBAuthor Howard French discusses his new book Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Shapes China's Push for Global Power. Until the mid-19th century, China occupied the premier place in East Asia’s political order. Exercising cultural and political hegemony through a set of tributary relationships with its neighbors, China’s imperial bureaucrats developed a conception of rule different from the Westphalian idea of individual nation states. After more than a century of political turmoil, C...
Sheena Greitens: Assessing China’s Domestic Security
May 05, 2017 20:34 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBIn March 2011, China’s spending on internal security surpassed the budget for external defense for the first time. This was widely interpreted as evidence that China’s internal security apparatus – long seen as a highly repressive pillar of Communist Party rule – was tightening its control. In an upcoming piece for the China Quarterly, political scientist, China expert, and National Committee Public Intellectuals Program fellow Sheena Greitens challenges this understanding by contextualizing...
Jasmine Lau & Tong Ning: Philanthropy in China
May 05, 2017 20:18 - 19 minutes - 14.6 MBAs China has developed into an industrial powerhouse, so, too, has its philanthropic sector expanded. In 2016 the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RFB) launched a fellowship program to honor the memory and interests of its former board chair, Dr. Richard Rockefeller, and to promote strategic philanthropy in China. Each year, the Richard Rockefeller Fellowship offers two young professionals who are committed to the growth of Chinese philanthropy the opportunity to study and work out of RFB’s New Yo...