ChinaTalk

Standards. Who has them? From shipping containers to screws to tech gadgets, how is it that something made in China can have certain attributes identical to another product made by another company half a world away? And why does it matter?

MIT professor and business history JoAnne Yates and Wellesley professor of political science Craig Murphy are the authors of Engineering Rules: Global Standard Setting since 1880. Together with co-host Jacob Feldgoise, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, we talk about how international standards were established at the impact this had on China’s development.

We also discuss

Outro music: Gonna Be An Engineer by Peggy Seeger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IGVxBb5uYk

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In 1991, a young Chinese academic published America against America, a look at the contradictions and paradoxes he observed while traveling there. His book was largely forgotten until last year when it went viral for its observations on US cultural decline, becoming a hot topic on Chinese-language forums.

It was no less fascinating for who its author was. Wang Huning is today one of the top leaders in the CCP and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. Freelance journalist Chang Che (@Changxche) sat down to talk with me about the book and what it tells us about Chinese interpretations of US - and Western - culture.

We also discuss

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Chang’s Wang Huning Article: https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/how-a-book-about-americas-history-foretold-chinas-future

Chang’s western classics education article: https://supchina.com/2022/01/13/china-looks-to-the-western-classics/

Outro Music: 锦上添花 FREESTYLE by 盛宇 Damnshine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRaoDr1Cbbg

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Is a nuclear arms race inevitable? China has been building up its nuclear arsenal over the past few years. While it remains significantly smaller than the US and Russia’s, what does this mean for geopolitics against the backdrop of US-China tensions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Tong Zhao (@zhaot2005) is a fellow at the Carnegie Center in Beijing who focuses on China’s nuclear program. Co-hosting is Schwarzmann Scholar Raven Witherspoon.

We also discuss

Outro music: 七里香 Remix (original version by Jay Chou) by MACOVASEAS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVvpgNG0giM

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CSIS' Bonny Lin joins to discuss how Beijing is responding to the war in Ukraine, potential future paths for Chinese policy, whether the IC could pull the same intelligence coups in Beijing as they did in Moscow, how the PLA may adapt to lessons from in theater, and what Biden should do if Putin drops a tactical nuclear weapon.

This show was recorded on March 31st.

Bonny's testimony on Beijing and the war in Ukraine https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA05/20220330/114573/HHRG-117-FA05-Wstate-LinB-20220330.pdf

Check out Bonny's piece on military blunders https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR768.html

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Taipei-based DJ and New Bloom editor Brian Hioe (@brianhioe) takes us on a tour of the local indie music scene and explains what some of last year’s top tunes can tell us about Taiwanese politics and culture, from the influence of indigenous communities to attitudes towards China.

We also discuss

Song links"

拍謝少年 Sorry Youth - 歹勢中年 Sorry No Youth

TALACOWA - Collage

ABAO阿爆（阿仍仍)【tjakudain 無奈】 feat. 李英宏 aka Dj Didilong

Sonia Calico - Mukbang Roller

無妄合作社 No-nonsense Collective - 平靜的告別 Quiet Farewell

鍾翔宇 Xiangyu - 流言蜚語 Rumors and Slanders

Rainbow Chan - Stanley

Outro Music: The Moon Represents My Heart by Teresa Teng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk3VQoAKMUI

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In the 2010s, US Navy officers took cash, prostitutes and more from a Malaysian defense contractor known as Fat Leonard. To tell a story that bears more than a hint of resemblance to the Jho Low 1MDB scandal, award-winning journalist Tom Wright (@tomwrightasia) joins me to discuss Fat Leonard’s relationship with the military and how it all came crashing down.

Tom is the host of the podcast series FAT LEONARD, and previously wrote a New York Times bestseller on Jho Low titled Billion Dollar Whale.

We discuss

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Outtro music: V - Swizz Beats by Lil Jon feat. Jho Low (unreleased)

Bonus: The song Tom mentions about Jho Low and Leonardo DiCaprio is Check My Steezo by Blind Scuba Divers, from the 22 Jump Street official soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcnMvZC6pb0

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Will Germany’s policy changes towards Russia have a knock-on effect on its attitude towards China? To get the view from Germany, I’m joined by Berlin-based Noah Barkin (@noahbarkin), the managing editor of Rhodium Group’s China practice.

We discuss

Consider applying to intern at Rhodium! https://rhg.com/job/research-interns-china-practice/

Outro music: 99 Luftballons by Nena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpu5a0Bl8eY

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Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova, Head of Riga Stradins University China Studies Centre, Head of the Asia program at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, and a member of the European Think tank Network on China, joins to discuss.

Outtro music: Stefania (Kalush Orchestra) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nRQWc4YKGU

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Matej Šimalčík, Executive Director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, joins from Bratislava to discuss:

This conversation was recorded Feb 27th.

Outtro music (a slovak banger): gleb - Zešlach Crunk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMxLdOQns_o

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Adam Tooze and Matt Klein return to ChinaTalk to discuss the war in Ukraine.

We get into

Recorded on Sunday Feb 27th at 4pm est.

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Outtro Music: As Chumaks Rode to Crimea for Salt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1j9t7Bd_fg

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