Chat Lounge

The Chinese economy has encountered some setbacks, with the recovery of some key sectors falling short of market expectations. And as the property market is experiencing a prolonged depression, some people are looking to a swan song for the world’s second largest economy. Is the Chinese economy really crashing? And what needs to be done to solidify the country’s growth?

Host Tu Yun joins John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, Harvey Dzodin, Senior Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, and Chen Jiahe, Chief Investment Officer of Beijing-based Novem Arcae Technologies on this episode of Chat Lounge to find out the answer and more.

More than 40 heads of state and government are attending the BRICS Summit underway in South Africa, making it one of the largest gatherings of leaders from developing countries in recent times. Why are countries lining up to join the bloc? What opportunities will the BRICS offer to Africa as well as the Global South?

In this special episode of Chat Lounge, Host Xu Yawen is joined by South African journalist Pearl Buthelezi, Russian journalist Konstantin Shepin, and Chinese journalist Huang Jiyuan to find out the answers.

In this episode of our special series My Expat Life in Rural China, host Tu Yun sits down with Morgan Jones and Daniel Willers from the United States for a chat about the challenges and opportunities they’ve met while pursuing development of organic agriculture in the country’s plateau area. They believe “if you can do it here, then you can do it anywhere.”

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, a chip manufacturer headquartered in Hsinchu in northern Taiwan, dominates the semiconductor industry. Statistics show that TSMC accounts for more than half of the total foundry revenue globally. The firm has been in the spotlight recently as it is increasingly part of the tech competition between the U.S. and China. Responding to a request of the American government, TSMC has been seeking to set up factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as in Germany and Japan. What challenges lie ahead for the firm? What does the future of tech hold as it becomes one of the linchpins for an extraordinary power rivalry?

Host Liu Kun is joined by Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow at Center for China and Globalization; Zhengyuan Bo, Partner at Plenum China Research; and Mike Bastin, Senior Lecturer at Southampton Solent University in the UK.

Figures show that China's surveyed urban unemployment rate has held steady in the past few months. But joblessness among those aged 16 to 24 rose to 21.3% in June from 20.8% in May. How should we view China's recent youth unemployment rate in the global context? Is it fair to make the assessment that China's growth is going downward based on a youth unemployment rate around 20%?

Host Liu Kun is joined by Chen Chenchen, an economist with Renmin University of China; Michael Powers, a Zurich Insurance Group Professor of Risk and Finance at Tsinghua University; and Liu Baocheng, the Director of the Center for International Business Ethics, University of International Business and Economics.

July 27th marked the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. At the time, a few months after the War broke out, and responding to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's request for assistance, the Chinese People's Volunteers army crossed the Yalu River to aid the DPRK's fight.

How should we remember the Korean War today? What's the lesson in it for today's peace in Asia? Host Liu Kun is joined by Dr. Zhao Hai, Director of International Political Studies at the National Institute for Global Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow with the Taihe Institute; and Yin Zhiguang, Professor of International Studies, School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University.

A new study has indicated that, facing an increasingly hostile research and social environment, a growing number of scientists of Chinese descent are leaving America for positions abroad. A paper published late June in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" shows that from 2010 to 2021, the number of scientists of Chinese descent who left the U.S. for another country had surged from 900 to over 2,600, with an expedited pace between 2018 and 2021.

What factors have contributed to the career decisions of these scientists? How will this brain drain from the U.S. influence the country's scientific research? Host Liu Kun is joined by Dr. Liu Yawei, the director of the China Program at the Carter Center; Ann Lee, an Adjunct Professor at New York University; and Edward Lehman, a Legal Affairs Commentator & Managing Director of LEHMAN, LEE & Xu Law Firm.

NATO’s plan to set up its first Asia liaison office in Japan has been held up after French President Emmanuel Macron once again voiced his objection. Why is Macron so resolute on this matter? Can he put an end to the NATO plan? Or is he the Sisyphus of Europe?

Host Tu Yun joins Harvey Dzodin, Senior Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, Dr. Cui Hongjian, Head of European Studies Department, China Institute of International Studies, and Mike Bastin, China observer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton on this episode of Chat Lounge to find out the answer and more.

Overseas buyers may soon find it hard to purchase products related to two major chipmaking rare metals as Beijing tightens export controls in response to Western trade-tech containment. Who will suffer most? Can Beijing turn the table in the US-launched trade-tech war against China? What other cards may China play in the future?

Host Tu Yun joins Andy Mok, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, Josef Mahoney, Professor of Politics and International Relations, East China Normal University, and Chen Jiahe, Chief Investment Officer of Beijing-based Novem Arcae Technologies on this episode of Chat Lounge to find out the answer and more.

Patriotism, simply put, is the feeling of love for or devotion to one’s country. Isn’t it an innate human sentiment? Why does it have to be promoted? As China mulls its first patriotic education law, who’s most likely to violate the law once it’s in place?

Host Tu Yun joins Edward Lehman, founder and Managing Director of China-based law firm Lehman, Lee & Xu, David Moser, Associate Professor of Beijing Capital Normal University, and Mike Bastin, China observer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton in the UK on this episode of Chat Lounge to find out the answer and more.