This episode I spoke with Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank (China). Dan was previously an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington. She is regularly quoted in publications including the Wall Street Journal, the China Economic Review, and the Financial Times. 

Dan and I discuss China's economic forecast for the year ahead, and Dan offers her perspective on why she is not as optimistic as many about China's growth forecast. Dan digs into her concerns surrounding China's housing and job markets, and why a lack of consumer demand is a key factor in the country's slowing growth. Finally, Dan and I talk about what should be done to mitigate these concerns and ensure China's continued economic growth. 

This episode I spoke with Dr. Jing Wang, an Assistant Professor of Interactive Media Business at NYU Shanghai, where her recent research has focused on the policy environment surrounding China's fintech platforms, and how these platforms impact corporate-government relations. 

We discuss China's evolving fintech policies, and how the sector has become more heavily regulated in recent years. Jing also talks about the ways in which the state is treating the financial arms of tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent more like traditional banks, and what the wider implications of these policy shifts could be. Finally, we discuss the future of fintech policy, and how some of China's fintech innovations could be brought to the US. 

This week I spoke with David Yeung, co-founder and CEO of sustainability group Green Monday, maker of popular plant-based protein product OmniPork. David launched Green Monday in Hong Kong in 2012, and since then it's grown to include OmniFood products as well as the plant-based concept store Green Common, which launched its first location in Shanghai last month. 

David and I chat about the process of expanding the plant-based brand into mainland China, and what it's been like to introduce alternative proteins to a heavily meat-eating country. We also talk about how the market has changed recently as more Western brands move in, and where he believes the market is headed. 

This episode we have a review of China's 2020 economic performance and a forecast for 2021 with Dr. Penelope Prime, founding director of the China Research Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Prime has 30 years of experience studying China's economy, with a focus on topics including foreign investment and trade, industrial progress and provincial development. 

We discuss China's economic recovery from the pandemic and return to economic growth this year, and how the state government may handle a slowing economy next year. Dr. Prime also offers her analysis of the state of China's economic reform and what's to come from policies like the deleveraging campaign and dual circulation strategy. 

This episode I talked with Li Zhang, president of independent media site RADII. Li is also the 2020 AmCham Shanghai Future Leader Award winner, recognized for her work to grow RADII's reach and promote authentic storytelling in China. RADII works to share stories that often go overlooked in China, including on topics such as music, fashion, mental health or LGBT issues. 

Li and I discuss the evolving nature of storytelling in China, and how she's working to forge a stronger bridge of communication between the US and China. Now headed into its fourth year, we talk about how RADII has grown and worked to foster important conversations among its audiences, and where she wants to see RADII go next. 

This week, I spoke with Kacie Miura, Assistant Professor in Political Science and International Relations at the University of San Diego, where her research focuses on the link between international and domestic politics, with a focus on China. We discuss how China and the Biden administration are preparing to work with one another, how Biden may publicly frame the US-China relationship, where trade issues such as tariffs and the trade deal are headed, and how Biden's incoming China team could steer the bilateral relationship.

I spoke with conservation photographer and writer Kyle Obermann about the evolution of China's corporate environmental CSR, as well as the recent establishment of China's national park system. Kyle has photographed and reported from some of China's most fragile nature preserves, some of which are now part of the 10 pilot parks in the national park system. We discuss the park system and how it compares to Western national parks; we also chat about how more companies are getting involved in environmental CSR work in China. 

To view Kyle's photos and latest work, you can find him on Instagram at @kyleobermann.

I spoke with Agatha Kratz, Associate Director at research firm Rhodium Group, where she leads research on EU-China relations. We discuss the state of EU-US relations when it comes to China, and how the two countries can more closely come together on a China strategy. While the US and EU have diverged in their approaches in recent years, Agatha outlines several potential areas for greater collaboration, including on climate change, public health, and trade. 

I talked with Yide Qiao, Vice Chairman & Secretary General at the  Shanghai Development Research Foundation, about how the US election could impact US-China relations. We chatted late last month about the ways that a Biden administration versus the Trump administration could affect the bilateral relationship, particularly on issues such as the use of tariffs and the Entity List. Yide also offered his thoughts on recent domestic economy issues in China, including the introduction of the dual circulation system and the upcoming Five Year Plan. 

We talked with AmCham Shanghai Director of Communications Ian Driscoll and China Management Consulting Leader Mark Gilbraith about AmCham Shanghai’s 2020 China Business Report. The report is based on the results of the Chamber’s 2020 China Business Survey, one of the longest-running surveys of US business in China. Mark, Ian and I discuss the results of the survey, including how companies are recovering from the economic blow of COVID-19 and their revenue projections for the rest of the year. We also dig into companies' investment plans in China and how they view the state of US-China tensions.