This week we're discussing the recovery of China's travel industry with Albert Ng, co-founder and executive director of the travel company WildChina. We dig into how tourism companies are adapting to the currently solely domestic travel market in China, and what forms of travel consumers are looking for these days. We also discuss the new health and safety standards being used in the industry. Finally, Albert offers his take on what the future of China's tourism industry could look like, including when he thinks inbound foreign tourism will rebound. 

This week I talked with Marshall Strabala, chief architect of the Shanghai Tower and one of the world's leading designers of supertall skyscrapers. We discussed Marshall's experience designing the Shanghai Tower and which aspects of the building he was most proud to bring to life, as well as his thoughts on Shanghai's fast-changing architectural landscape and his approach to sustainable design. 

This week I’m chatting with longtime China trade expert Lee Sands. Lee served as the US chief trade negotiator with China and Japan from 1991 to 1997 and was one of the lead negotiators on China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Lee is also spearheading AmCham Shanghai's Hangzhou Center, where he’s working to help the center reach more businesses. Lee and I chat about his time working in trade negotiations, what his experience taught him about the unique aspects of Chinese negotiators, and his outlook on future trade talks. We also talk about the Hangzhou Center and why more US companies should be looking at opportunities in Hangzhou. 

This week we're talking with Jennifer Turner, director of the Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum, where she publishes research and creates exchanges focused on a variety of China’s energy and environmental challenges. She also serves as editor of the center's journal, the China Environment Series. Talking with us from Washington D.C., Jennifer spoke about the evolution of China’s climate change and environmental policies and how its “war on pollution” and climate change initiatives could be impacted by the economic downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also discuss other environmental issues facing China, including deforestation and the environmental impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative.  

This week we're talking with Dr. Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China in the Asia-Pacific Programme at the London-based think tank Chatham House, where her work focuses on China’s foreign policy and economic diplomacy. Yu Jie and I discuss China's economic recovery since its worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic and how the government is strategizing for continued economic growth. We also discuss what economic policies may now change as the country's economic priorities shift, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the next Five Year Plan. 

We’re talking with Denis Simon, Executive Vice Chancellor at US-Sino joint university Duke Kunshan University. We discuss how DKU handled China's sudden lockdown in February and the school's switch to remote learning. We also chat about how DKU is preparing for the fall semester while China's borders remain closed, stopping many students and faculty from returning to campus, and what the outlook for US-Sino joint universities looks like during an uncertain time. 

This week we answered commonly asked questions about China's employment regulations with JunHe counsel Jeffrey Wilson. Jeffrey has a decade of experience at JunHe LLP, and specializes in China's employment and sports law. In our first episode co-hosted with the China Business Law Podcast, we spoke with Jeffrey about some of the key employment law issues that have arisen for foreigners in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, including if a company can force you to be tested or quarantined and if a company can fire you if you're stuck outside the country. 

Thanks to the China Business Law Podcast for co-hosting this episode with us. The China Business Law Podcast is hosted by Shanghai-based lawyer Art Dicker, and discusses how business law is applied on the ground in China. Art brings 13 years of experience working in China to the show, and interviews some of the country's top experts on how to navigate the often complicated world of business law in China. 

This week we're talking with Carly Ramsey, director at global risk consulting firm Control Risks. Carly leads the Shanghai office's political and regulatory risk consulting for Greater China and North Asia. Carly and I discuss the current landscape for data privacy regulations in China, and how multinationals can ensure they're compliant with local regulations. We also talk about how data is being utilized amid the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the use of patient data and data used to track individuals. 

This week we're talking with Michelle Garnaut, owner of longtime Shanghai staple, M on the Bund. One of the city's most well-known restauranteurs, Michelle spoke with us from Hong Kong about how she's adapted M on the Bund for business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including everything from cutting the restaurant's capacity in half to dropping her prices. We touch on how the pandemic has impacted the restaurant industry as a whole, and how long she thinks it will take for restaurants to fully recover from both the health and economic crises. 

This episode we spoke with Han Lin, Senior Vice President and Deputy Manager of Wells Fargo Shanghai, about how multinational corporations in China are weathering the financial storm of the coronavirus. We discussed the strategies MNCs and their clients are using to mitigate their financial damage during the pandemic, the forms of support offered by the Chinese government and banks, and what the financial landscape for both foreign and domestic MNCs in China may look like in the months and years ahead.