Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what to make of the People’s Republic of China’s reaction to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States, the folly of French President Emmanuel Macron’s “strategic autonomy,” and what an ongoing banking crisis in rural China says about the health of the country’s financial sector.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

In this episode, Senior Fellow Miles Yu and Media Fellow Wilson Shirley discuss how Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited New York and accepted Hudson Institute’s Global Leadership Award. They also cover the People’s Republic of China’s growing assertiveness in Latin America and the European Union’s approach to the strategic rivalry with Beijing.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

Wilson Shirley and Miles Yu discuss what last week’s congressional hearing means for the future of TikTok and other Chinese technology companies in the United States, what Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin want after their summit in Moscow, and what to make of China’s move to isolate Taiwan by courting Honduras.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss Xi Jinping’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the plan on reforming the Chinese Communist Party and state institutions that came out last Thursday, and the latest from the World Health Organization and a group of Chinese researchers on the origins of COVID-19.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss the China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and what it means for the future of great-power competition in the Middle East and elsewhere. They continue with the latest on two ongoing stories, first about China's declining popularity in much of the world, and second about how Congress and the World Health Organization are advancing their investigations into the origins of COVID-19.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

Two events last week made the priorities and positions of Beijing and Washington clearer. First, thousands of delegates came together for the opening of the annual Two Sessions, which includes China’s National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Second, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party held a hearing titled “The Chinese Communist Party’s Threat to America.” Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what to make of these meetings (including what they say about Xi Jinping’s policies going forward), how the US Congress is building on the bipartisan consensus about the China challenge, and how America can respond to the most serious threat it has faced in decades.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

The US Department of Energy has assessed that COVID-19 mostly likely originated in a lab leak in Wuhan, and last week the Chinese Communist Party released its twelve-point "peace plan" for Ukraine. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what the DOE's assessment means and the history of the lab-leak investigations, going back to early 2020. They then dive into China's long and complicated history with Ukraine in light of Beijing's peace plan, tracing from the fall of the Soviet Union to the current no-limits partnership between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Read Miles's WSJ op-ed on the lab leak here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-reckless-labs-put-the-world-at-risk-11614102828

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

The Chinese retiree protests that began in Wuhan have spread to other cities as local governments cut back on health-care subsidies. Miles and Wilson discuss where these protests are headed, and how Xi Jinping's policies have undermined government budgets throughout China. They follow up with a conversation about the disappearance of Bao Fan, one of China's top technology investors, before finishing with key takeaways from the Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi's meeting with Antony Blinken, and the future of China-Russia relations.

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

Protests broke out last week in the city of Wuhan over drastic cuts to healthcare subsidies. An unusual protest, driven mostly by retirees against the Municipal government in Wuhan, resulted in nearly ten thousand Chinese citizens sieging the city government, vowing to return in 10 days with much larger numbers and eventually receiving capitulation from local officials.  

In light of this, Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley reflect on the glaring issues within the PRCs healthcare system writ large, and in particular, how decades of the One Child Policy and the bleak outlook for today’s Chinese youth places enormous stress on the system’s capacity to care for the elderly. They discuss how the Wuhan government's decision to cut costs points to larger economic issues for the PRC, as local governments who were previously bearing the brunt of Zero-covid costs are now running troubling deficits, and it is unclear whether the central government plans to bail them out. They then turn to discuss the "Hong Kong 47" standing trial under accusations of subversion under the National Security Law and reflect on the history of Hong Kong and its place in relation to the PRC and the world. Finally, Miles and Wilson reflect on the inspiring show of bipartisanship from the House of Representatives in response to the CCP's recent violation of U.S. sovereignty. 

Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

The Chinese Communist Party’s spy balloon may be a Sputnik moment for the United States, as millions of Americans saw pictures of a surveillance device sent by the United States’ top geopolitical rival flying freely over the heartland. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss the history of Chinese spy operations and what the downed balloon means for US-China relations, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponed trip to Beijing. Then they return to a story that’s gone largely unreported in the US press but that continues to go viral in China—a missing boy whose body was found recently. The incident raises questions about human trafficking, organ harvesting, and how trustworthy the Chinese people think their government really is.