As US President Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on China, Xi Jinping's government has had a far more muted response than it did during the trade war in Trump’s first term.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Bloomberg editor Jenni Marsh and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren to unpack China’s response to Trump’s barrage of tariffs and discuss what’s at risk for both countries if they find themselves in another trade war.

Read more: China’s Mr. Big Won’t Cave In to Trump for Nothing

Further listening: The Tariff Wars Are Here — And They’re Messy

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it a trade war or is it whiplash? 

On Saturday, President Trump announced new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. On Sunday, he said tariffs were coming for the European Union, too.

The tariffs were initially supposed to take effect at 12:01 am Tuesday morning eastern time, but since that weekend announcement, the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods have been delayed for one month. Meanwhile, the tariffs on Chinese goods are proceeding as scheduled.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s global economy reporter Enda Curran and host Sarah Holder make sense of the news — and discuss how this could disrupt the US economy and reshape global commerce.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shuibei, in southern China, is home to one of the world's biggest retail markets for gold. Over the past year, it's seen a boom in demand for the jewelry, sold by thousands of stallholders, as the Chinese property crisis and slowing economy spurred a flight into gold. So much so that Chinese consumers helped propel the global gold price to record highs in 2024.

On today's Big Take Asia podcast, K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg's Chongjing Li about the enduring appeal of the precious metal in China, and what lies ahead.

Read more: The Epicenter of China’s Gold Craze Is a Former Fishing Village

Watch, from Bloomberg Originals: What Gold’s Crazy Run Says About China

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US ban on TikTok saw millions of users – predominantly Americans – flock to another Chinese social media platform: Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. So far, the vibe between Chinese and American users has been convivial.

But can the good times last? On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by a TikTok user from Mississippi who recently joined RedNote and by Bloomberg reporter Gao Yuan to discuss what this sudden influx means for the app, its users and China’s censorship machine.

Read more: TikTok Refugees in US Test Xi’s Firewall While Embracing Chinese

Further listening: Inside Microsoft’s Censorship of Bing in China

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A record 600,000 people traveled to South Korea for medical procedures in 2023, with roughly half of those visiting dermatology and plastic surgery clinics.

On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg's Oanh Ha about the rise of the medical tourism industry, and how it’s colliding with a shrinking supply of doctors and a struggling medical system.

Further listening: Netflix’s Big Bet On ‘Squid Game’

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China’s pension system is in danger of running out of cash within a decade due to severe underfunding. Now it faces a new threat: Tens of millions of mostly young workers are refusing to pay into it.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Qianwei Zhang about why workers are boycotting the system and what’s at stake for the struggling economy and the Communist Party.

Further listening: China’s Crackdowns Are Crushing the Dreams of a Generation

Watch, from Bloomberg Originals: Why Are China’s Youth Boycotting Pensions?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China’s Luckin Coffee is the nation’s top coffee retailer, overtaking even Starbucks. That would be notable itself, but less than four years ago the company filed for bankruptcy, making its comeback even more unlikely. The turnaround is in part thanks to the chain’s automated stores, cut-price deals and innovative drinks that appeal to local tastes.

Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Rachel Chang on how Luckin managed to turn around its failing business to overtake Starbucks, and asks whether it can hold on to its success as coffee takes off in China, and more rivals emerge.

Read more: China’s Luckin Coffee Is Back From the Brink and Beating Starbucks

Further listening: What Does China’s Economic Slowdown Mean For the Communist Party? 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gory, dystopian South Korean thriller Squid Game is the most popular series Netflix has ever released. This week, it drops season two — in the midst of the company’s efforts to grow the show beyond the screen.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg’s Sohee Kim and Lucas Shaw about the new season, the story of how the show was nearly never made and all the ways Netflix is trying to expand Squid Game into a global franchise — from reality TV and video games to in-person fan experiences. 

Read more: ‘Squid Game’ Returns in Test of Netflix Global Marketing Muscle

Further listening: K-Pop’s Big Bet on Becoming Less Korean

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China’s property crisis has become a massive headache for the world’s second-largest economy. Tens of millions of newly built apartments lie vacant, home prices have tumbled and cash-strapped developers are struggling to finish construction.  

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Lulu Chen about what China is doing to try and solve its housing crisis. We go to Zhengzhou, home to the world’s biggest iPhone factory and the city where the housing market first imploded. It's now become a testing ground for government efforts to revive the ailing property sector. We look at whether they’re working, and what it will mean for China’s economy if the big push fails. 

Read more: China’s Housing Rescue Falls Short in City That Signaled the Crisis

Further listening: What Comes Next in China’s Property Crisis

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South Korea’s family-run conglomerates – or chaebols – have been big drivers of economic growth, and because of that they’ve largely been seen as untouchable. Until now. The chaebols are being challenged, at a time when the stakes have potentially never been higher, with the country mired in political turmoil. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg reporter Youkyung Lee about how a surprise takeover bid for one of the world’s biggest refined metal producers, Korea Zinc, is sending a chill through the chaebol world.

Read more: Powerful Families Who Dominate South Korea Face an Investor Revolt

Further listening: The Six Hours of Martial Law That Stunned South Korea

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.