About Asia

The SCMP political economy team analyse China's 'entity list' and its potential implications for firms such as HSBC. Hear analysis of how floods and typhoons mean China continues to struggle with food security issues, and Shehzad Qazi, managing director of China Beige Book, discusses the explosive report claiming the Chinese economy is technically in recession, with recovery in places like Beijing and Shanghai but deep malaise elsewhere.

The SCMP team analyse the watered-down US import controls on Xinjiang products and nations of the European Unions sharpening their focus on human rights in China. Former WTO official Tatiana Prazeres, now based in Beijing, discusses China's 'hollow victory' in a dispute over Trump's trade war tariffs at the WTO. We'll also hear about one company's manufacturing journey in the age of Trump, and the reality of 'decoupling' and 'reshoring'.

Both Trump and Biden are trying to force US firms to leave China but is the gravitational pull of the Chinese market too strong? The team analyse the growing consensus in America's presidential candidates' policies as well as the impending threat of a new global trade alliance against China. Hear why the impending US bans on cotton from Xinjiang that uses forced labour might just blow up the phase one trade deal and leave both economies  much worse for wear. #scmppodcasts #tradewar

Despite promising to cut the US trade deficit in the 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump must today grapple with an even larger gap today, despite his trade war. Meanwhile, China has announced TikTok is now on a list of Chinese companies prohibited to exchange technology with the US. How will it play out? Finbarr Bermingham is joined by political economy editors Zhou Xin and John Carter to discuss what's next. #scmppodcasts #tradewar

How the new US sanctions on Chinese companies militarising the South China Sea will hit Texas and Sydney; analysing the irony of the trade deal being the only thing holding the US-China relationship together; Owen Churchill unpacks the anti-China focus of Donald Trump's speeches at the Republican National Convention.

After Hong Kong vowed to sue Donald Trump at the WTO over plans to relabel the city's exports as "Made in China", trade law professor Bryan Mercurio discusses the debate over whether a case is worthwhile. In a busy week for US China affairs, trade talks appear to be back on, even as US lawmakers push to take punitive action against Beijing to the extreme. SCMP Hong Kong desk editor Denise Tsang is our special guest, unpacking why the Hong Kong government is so upset its exports to the US will…

Donald Trump says Hong Kong can "go to hell", but what further weapons does the US president have in his arsenal? Political economy editors Zhou Xin and John Carter unpack the reality, and look at two potential crises for China: huge levels of bad loans in a struggling bank sector and food security, with Xi Jinping calling for an end to food waste. Finbarr Bermingham chats with reporters Jacob Fromer and Cissy Zhou about the SCMP scoop revealing US giant John Deere's huge exports of cotton…

US President Donald Trump signs executive orders targeting two of China's biggest mobile apps in a new escalation of the US-China tech war. Finbarr Bermingham, Zhou Xin and John Carter from the SCMP political economy team unpack how this will impact business and culture on both sides of the world, and Washington bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses the bipartisan mood in the US in support of Trump's moves.

The SCMP political economy team, Finbarr Bermingham, John Carter and Zhou Xin analyse a historic week where the United States recorded a massive economic slump while China continued to eke out growth in its post-lockdown economy. Hear analysis of Xi Jinping's recent addresses and this week's meeting of the Politburo, and clues of increasing preparation for decoupling. We will also hear from Kenya's nomination for the WTO vacancy Amina Mohamed, about her views on how the WTO can help resolve the…

Political economy editors John Carter and Zhou Xin explain the impact of the closure of the Chengdu consulate on US companies, and the deep historical meaning China attaches to the Houston consulate. Hong Kong desk editor Denise Tsang reveals the ongoing fears of American and Japanese companies about being based in Hong Kong and the bad economic news ahead. Veteran trade lawyer Will Marshall unpacks how his clients and Hong Kong's business community are discovering the Hong Kong Autonomy Act is…