MERICS China Podcast

The summits in June, G7, NATO and the EU-US top-level meeting, have shown that China is a crucial topic in transatlantic relations. While we currently see the US pushing for a tougher stance towards China, German approaches could be described as more careful and less confrontational. In this episode of our podcast, Claudia Wessling, Director Communications and Publications, discusses transatlantic China policy with Jan Weidenfeld, Director Policy and Advisory at MERICS. He is one of the contributors to a new report by the Munich Security Conference, the Aspen Strategy Group and MERICS. The study outlines priorities and provides recommendations for strategies to shape transatlantic China policy and is available at: https://securityconference.org/en/publications/report-of-the-transatlantic-reflection-group-on-china/

The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) considers itself as being in the midst of the most challenging period of its rule. In the eyes of party leaders, potential threats to regime security wait behind every corner and all matters are, therefore, seen through the prism of national security. This behavior is no longer limited to the domestic sphere but has expanded to the international stage. In this episode of the MERICS Podcast, Helena Legarda explains what drives China’s international behavior. Helena is a Senior Analyst at MERICS and an expert on China’s foreign and security policies.She has analyzed CCP securitization of international relations in a chapter for the new MERICS report on China’s Communist Party that is available here: https://merics.org/en/report/ccps-next-century-expanding-economic-control-digital-governance-and-national-security

Digitalization is a crucial element of the Chinese Communist Party’s governance approach. It serves to improve governance and public service, but also enhances the party state’s surveillance and monitoring capabilities. In this episode of the MERICS experts podcast, MERICS Senior Analyst Katja Drinhausen explains how the CCP has embraced digitization as a governance tool, the extent of digital surveillance in China, the party’s vision for a digitalized China, and its global implications. Katja is one of the authors “The CCP in 2021: smart governance, cyber sovereignty and tech supremacy”, a chapter in our MERICS Paper on China on the “CCP’s next century.” Read more here: https://merics.org/en/ccp-2021-smart-governance-cyber-sovereignty-and-tech-supremacy

Mikko Huotari, Executive Director of MERICS, answers questions about the challenges the CCP is faced with in its 100th year and what Europe should be prepared for in relations with China. Beijing will be overseeing multiple challenges in the coming years: Productivity crisis, a crisis of social and regional inequality, high leverage in the financial system and social insecurity. European actors, Huotari argues, need to be prepared for a China in 'struggle mode': “We will see a CCP-led government that seeks to further limit and control access to information and political actors in China. Europeans need to be prepared for crisis and further politicization of doing business and interacting with China. In many cases this requires investing in China competence and policy coordination,” says Huotari. Visit our website for more analysis on the CCP's centenary: www.merics.org/en/ccp-100.

China’s economic success and its achievements in poverty reduction are often perceived as inspiring to other countries, especially in the global south. Beijing itself actively promotes its state capitalism as the China model – and as an alternative for Western liberal democracy. But increased Chinese engagement has also led to criticism in neighboring countries. To talk about the issue of informal activities and actors in Chinese overseas engagement, MERICS Experts is joined by Matt Ferchen, Head of Global China Research at MERICS.

Die sechsten deutsch-chinesischen Regierungskonsultationen finden in diesem Jahr in einem schwierigen Kontext statt. Wegen Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Xinjiang hatte die EU vor fünf Wochen Sanktionen gegen China verhängt. Die Führung in Beijing reagierte umgehend mit weitaus schärferen Sanktionen. Die Reaktion der Bundesregierung fiel bisher verhalten aus. Über die deutsch-chinesischen Beziehungen sprechen in unserem neuen Podcast Ariane Reimers, ARD-Korrespondentin und MERICS Senior Fellow, und MERICS-Direktor Mikko Huotari. Trotz einer Vertiefung der deutsch-chinesischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen sei bei zentralen Fragen der Kooperation zu wenig passiert, sagt Huotari.

“The EU's policy towards China should be based on the following principles: cooperate where possible, compete where needed, confront where necessary.” This is the vision of the European People’s Party’s (EPP) strategy paper on European relations with China released in the beginning of March. In this episode of MERICS Experts we talk to its author, Radosław Sikorski, Member of the European Parliament for the European People’s Party and chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States.

The conversation touches on a range of strategic issues related to EU-China relations including the implications of the exchange of sanctions between the EU and China, the prospects for transatlantic cooperation on China and the logic behind the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy that is now in the works. The interview was led by MERICS analyst Grzegorz Stec.

If you are interested in our research on EU-China topics you may want to subscribe for free to our EU-China Weekly Review or become a paying subscriber to receive our Briefings, including the monthly EU-China Briefing: https://merics.org/de/merics-eu-china-hub

On February 9, China’s President Xi Jinping held an online 17+1 summit with representatives from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The summit would normally be attended by Chinese Premier and CEE Prime Ministers, making Xi’s decision to take Li Keqiang’s place a boost to the meeting’s importance. The format has been controversial - with Brussels and Western capitals maintaining that it undermines European unity, while leaving many Central and Eastern Europeans critical of its underperformance and China maintaining it to be a success. So what are the outcomes of the summit and what future awaits the 17+1 framework?

To answer these and other questions we are joined by Plamen Tonchev, Head of the Asia Unit at the Athens- based Institute of International Economic Relations (IIER). As a representative of IIER, he is a founding member of the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC). In addition, he sits on the EU Chapter of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (EU CSCAP) committee. Currently, Plamen is also a European China Policy Fellow at MERICS. The interview was led by MERICS analyst Grzegorz Stec, who compiles the MERICS EU-China Weekly Review.

Accompanying our MERICS China Forecast 2021 event, MERICS experts wages a look at three global challenges in 2021, namely decoupling and the evolution of multilateralism, cooperation and competition in the climate crisis, and the development of connectivity in a world plagued by a pandemic. For every section we are proud to introduce a very accomplished and knowledgeable guest.

Our first guest is the Honorable Kevin Rudd, CEO and President of the Asia Society, and President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. Mr. Rudd served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister (2007-2010, 2013) and as its Foreign Minister (2010-2012). He is one of the leading international authorities on China that remains active in second-track diplomacy. In our conversation we discussed the issues linked to politicization of international economy and the prospects for adjustment of the multilateral system in the year ahead.

Our second guest is Isabel Hilton, the CEO and Editor of China Dialogue, a fully-bilingual non-profit focused on the environment and climate change. Ms. Hilton holds two honorary doctorates and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to raising environmental awareness in China. We talked about China’s efforts in combating the climate crisis and the challenge of developing an effective international framework on this issue.

Our final guest is Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow with the CSIS Economics Program and director of the Reconnecting Asia Project. He is one of the leading voices commenting on China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has recently released his first book “The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century”. Together, we discussed the evolution of the geopolitical connectivity competition and the relevance of the Indo-Pacific region within this context. The interviews were led by our analyst Grzegorz Stec.

The second World War in China is among the least known chapters of Word War II, yet it is crucial in shaping the politics of post-war Asia into the present moment. The way the war is remembered in China has changed over the years and keeps on changing. The recent memorial ceremony on December 13, 2020, remembered the Nanjing Massacre of 1937. It is only the seventh year since a National Memorial Day has been instituted. How has China’s interpretation of WWII changed? How does it differ from other countries in the region? And what are the implications for contemporary global and domestic politics?

To answer these and other questions we are joined by Professor Rana Mitter of Oxford University. In his view today “it is possible to spot aspects of China’s collective sense of WWII in every aspect of public life from movies to social media communities to official museums and plenty of others too.” The interview was led by MERICS senior analyst John Lee.