MERICS China Podcast

Das Jahr 2024 birgt viele Unsicherheiten für China: Die wirtschaftliche Lage im Land ist schwierig. Vielschichtige Konflikte auf regionaler und internationaler Ebene und die Ergebnisse der Wahlen in der EU und den USA werden sich auch auf China auswirken. Wie geht Beijing die Herausforderungen an? Podcast-Moderator Johannes Heller-John spricht mit dem deutsch-chinesischen Journalisten Shi Ming, einem Kenner von Chinas Innenpolitik. Der Publizist, der für führende Medien tätig ist, war im Sommer 2024 als Senior Fellow zu Gast bei MERICS. 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius' trip to the Asia-Pacific region in recent days shows that the region is becoming increasingly important for Germany and Europe. The trip took place against the backdrop of growing tensions in the region, particularly in the South China Sea. Beijing’s claims in the waters are far reaching and cover nearly 90 percent of the area. This claim is mostly based on its use in history by Chinese fishermen – and not supported by international law. Other countries bordering the South China Sea, like Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, also lay claim to parts of the same area. 

The waters of the South China Sea are vitally important for international trade and rich in natural resources – oil and gas fields are suspected to lie underground – and fishing grounds. Yet, the failure to find a mode of cooperation has precluded the extraction of resources and put in question the safety of the region for commercial shipping.

In this episode, MERICS Lead Analyst Helena Legarda and podcast host Johannes Heller-John talk about recent developments in the region. This episode was recorded on July 17, 2024.

For more on the topic, check out the recent edition of our MERICS China Security and Risk Tracker. 

This podcast episode is part of the “Dealing with a Resurgent China” (DWARC) project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

China’s foreign policy has grown more assertive and confident under the leadership of Xi Jinping. How has China’s foreign policy evolved and what does this mean for European interests? Johannes Heller-John talks to Akio Takahara about the rivalry between China and the United States, China’s relations with Russia, the meaning of the Global South in China’s foreign policy – and the worrying tensions in the South China Sea. Akio is a distinguished Visiting professor at the Tokyo Woman's Christian University and professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a renowned specialist for current politics and diplomacy in China. He also sits on MERICS’ International Scientific Council and just recently visited our institute as a Senior Fellow.

Recommended reading:

• How do smaller countries in the Indo-Pacific region proactively interact with China? An introduction, article by Akio Takahara in the Journal of Contemporary East Asian Studies

The Chinese leadership has met in Beijing for the long awaited Third Plenum - a key meeting happening once in five years of the formally highest authority of the Chines Communist Party, the Central Committee. It was a chance to lay out policy decisions to address the many issues the country is facing, including sluggish growth, rising government debt and unemployment.

To get a first reaction to what came out from the third plenum, Johannes Heller-John talks to Alexander Davey, Analyst at MERICS. In his view, looking at the issues China is facing “there isn't any new idea or any new way of dealing with this” that came out of the Third Plenum.

The Big Data China survey results can be found here.

The long awaited third plenary session of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party will kick off on July 15. In the four-day meeting its 376 members will vote on programmatic decisions prepared by the Politbureau that will aim to solve the pressing economic and social issues the country currently faces.

Johannes Heller-John talks with Kristin Shi-Kupfer and Katja Drinhausen about the Third Plenum as well as Chinese debates on the country’s current economic challenges and future pathways.

Kristin Shi-Kupfer is a professor of Sinology at the University of Trier and a senior associate fellow at MERICS. Katja Drinhausen heads the politics & society program at MERICS. Together they lead the China Spektrum project, which analyzes relevant current debates and positions among Chinese intellectuals and experts, as well as public discussions unfolding on social media platforms and online. 

China Spektrum is a joint project of the China institute of the University of Trier (CIUT) and the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). The project is made possible by a grant from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

As the status quo in the Taiwan Strait is increasingly unstable, what can we expect from Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te when it comes to navigating relations with China? How will the results of the EU elections affect Europe’s policies vis-à-vis Taiwan? And how might a change of government in the United States impact the situation? These are some of the questions discussed by Bonnie Glaser, Managing Director of GMF's Indo-Pacific program, and MERICS’ Director Policy & European Affairs Abigaël Vasselier in this conversation with Claudia Wessling, Director of Communications and Publications at MERICS.

Chinese investment in Europe has hit a new low according to a new study by MERICS and Rhodium Group on China’s Foreign Direct Overseas Investment in the 27 EU member states and the UK. It is the lowest level of investment since 2010. In Hungary, however, investments drastically increased and made up just under half of all FDI in Europe in 2023. Where does Chinese investment in Europe stand, what sectors and countries do Chinese investors focus on and where do we go from here? 

Johannes Heller-John is joined by two authors of the study, Alexander Brown, Analyst with MERICS focusing on China’s industrial and foreign economic policy, and Gregor Sebastian, Senior Analyst with Rhodium Group's China Corporate Advisory team focusing on China’s industrial policy and EV industry.

Ahead of the European Parliament election on June 6-9, 2024, this episode looks at the role of the European Parliament in EU-China relations and the possible impact of the election results on the European “de-risking” agenda among other topics. 

Johannes Heller-John talks to Ivana Karásková and Grzegorz Stec. Ivana is a European China Policy Fellow at MERICS and the founder of MapInfluenCE and China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) at the Association for International Affairs (AMO) in Prague. Grzegorz is the Head of the MERICS Brussels Office.

Recently, Ivana co-authored two reports, one on foreign electoral interference in the EU and one on the rise of fringe parties in the EP and their impact on EU-China relations. Grzegorz has published articles on how EP parties see China and on key lessons learned by Members of the EP during the last mandate. 

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This podcast episode is part of the “Dealing with a Resurgent China” (DWARC) project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Beijing in May to meet with China’s leader Xi Jinping. This will be Putin's  first foreign trip after his reinauguration on May 7. The meeting will be another chance for the two leaders to emphasize how important and close the “no limits” partnership of Russia and China is. In this episode of our podcast, we look at the implications of the Sino-Russian relationship for the European Union, in particular due the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and their opposition to and undermining of the existing global order.

Johannes Heller-John is joined by Alice Ekman, Senior Analyst in charge of the Asia portfolio at the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris and Helena Legarda, Lead Analyst at MERICS. In their view, the China-Russia relationship is more stable than is often assumed.

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This podcast episode is part of the “Dealing with a Resurgent China” (DWARC) project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

In this year’s government work report at the National People's Congress, the issue of science and technology was mentioned more often than any other. Why does the Chinese government put so much focus on science and technology? What does this mean for other pressing issues that the Communist Party is facing? And what does it mean for Europe and the United States?

To discuss these questions Johannes Heller-John is joined by Barry Naughton and Jeroen Groenewegen-Lau. Barry Naughton is So Kwan Lok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at the School of Global Policy and Strategy UC San Diego and co-leading research on China’s science, technology, innovation, and industrial policy at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). Jeroen Groenewegen-Lau is Head of Program of “Science, Technology and Innovation” at MERICS, and his research focuses on strategic emerging industries, research collaboration and tech transfers.

MERICS and the IGCC are working together on China’s innovation ecosystem, which already led to a conference and a series of Policy Briefs on the issue.