ChinaPower

In this episode, Dhruva Jaishankar and Tanvi Madan join the ChinaPower Podcast to discuss the current state of China-India relations and whether recent developments signal a thaw between the two countries. The conversation examines the drivers behind renewed engagement, lingering economic and security tensions, the implications for India's ties with the United States and the Quad, and whether the current thaw is tactical or will endure.  

Dhruva Jaishankar is Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America. 

Tanvi Madan is a senior fellow in the Center for Asia Policy Studies in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. 

In this episode, Mona Yacoubian joins Bonny Lin to discuss the current state of the war in Iran, the economic ramifications of the war, and Beijing's evolving relationship with Tehran. The conversation explores China's "stealth support" for Iran and the extent of Beijing's influence over Tehran as well as whether China is using that leverage to help bring the conflict to an end.

Mona Yacoubian is director and senior adviser of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

This episode was recorded on the afternoon of Monday, October 5, 2026.

In this episode, Demetri Sevastopulo and Xiangwei Wang join the ChinaPower Podcast to discuss the current state of U.S.-China relations and what to watch for at the Trump-Xi summit in Washington, D.C. Demetri provides the inside scoop as one of very few people to interview US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent after his meeting with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng ahead of the summit. Xiangwei provides his expert take on Xi Jinping's thinking as former editor-in-chief for the South China Morning Post. They examine efforts to stabilize U.S.-China relations and assess how issues ranging from AI and trade to Taiwan and Iran could shape the leaders' discussions and the future trajectory of the relationship.

Demetri Sevastopulo is a U.S.-China correspondent at Financial Times.

Xiangwei Wang is a senior visiting scholar at Harvard and former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post.

Note: This episode was recorded on September 22, 2026, prior to the Trump-Xi summit.

In this episode, Dr. Da Wei joins the ChinaPower Podcast to preview this month's Trump-Xi summit in Washington, D.C., and to discuss China's expectations for the meeting. He examines how Beijing views the current trajectory of U.S.-China relations, why he believes the relationship may be entering a more stable phase, and how economic and technology competition, Taiwan, and the war in Iran could shape the leaders' discussions.

Da Wei is Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy and Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University in China.

In this second episode of a two-part series on China and biotechnology, Caitlin Frazer joins the ChinaPower Podcast to take a deeper dive into recommendations for how the United States can maintain its leadership in biotechnology as China expands its capabilities in the field. The conversation explores the rising importance of biological data, the intersection of AI and biotechnology, the possibilities of biotech for military logistics, and the growing national security implications the United States. 

Caitlin Frazer is Executive Director of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology.  

For Part I: https://chinapower.csis.org/podcasts/part-i-biotechnology-in-u-s-china-competition/ 

For the full report: https://www.biotech.senate.gov/final-report/chapters/ 

In this first episode of a two-part series on China and biotechnology, Senator Todd Young joins the ChinaPower Podcast to discuss why biotechnology is emerging as a critical area of competition between the United States and China. The conversation examines China's biotechnology strategy, U.S. strengths and vulnerabilities, and the opportunities biotechnology presents for economic growth, manufacturing, and national security.

Senator Todd Young represents Indiana in the U.S. Senate and serves as Chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Ngor Luong joins us to discuss the rapid rise of Chinese startup Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model, China’s open AI strategy, and the implications for U.S.-China competition. Drawing on her recent paper, Two Loops: How China's Open AI Strategy Reinforces Its Industrial Dominance, she examines China's rapidly expanding open AI ecosystem, unpacks the "two loops" framework behind China's AI development strategy, and assesses the implications of the growing global diffusion of Chinese AI models. 

Ngor Luong is Senior Policy Analyst on the Technology and Innovation team at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. She joined this podcast in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the Commission. 

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Kristi Govella joins us to discuss the latest developments in China-Japan relations amid rising tensions between the two countries following Prime Minister Takaichi's comments on Taiwan last November. Building on a CSIS commentary published late last year, she examines how China has increased economic, diplomatic, and military pressure on Japan, how Tokyo has responded, and what these developments reveal about the future of the relationship. The conversation also explores Japan's growing cooperation with the United States and other partners and the prospects for de-escalation. 

Kristi Govella is senior adviser and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She is also associate professor of Japanese politics and international relations at the University of Oxford. 

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Courtney Weatherby joins us to discuss the growing crisis of scam centers in Southeast Asia. She explains how these operations function, the role of Chinese criminal networks, and their impact on the United States. The conversation explores the rise of AI-enabled scams, recent enforcement actions in Cambodia, China's selective crackdowns on scam networks, and opportunities for greater international cooperation to combat transnational cybercrime.

Courtney Weatherby is Deputy Director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia program.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Victor Cha joins us to discuss Xi Jinping’s recent visit to North Korea, his first in nearly seven years. He examines what the summit reveals about China’s evolving approach to North Korea, including the absence of any discussion on denuclearization. The conversation also explores North Korea’s growing leverage between China and Russia, the possibility of renewed Trump-Kim diplomacy, and the broader implications for U.S. allies in the region.

Victor Cha is President of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.