In 2025, the Chinese Cyberspace Administration introduced a new policy that aims to police online content that promotes violence, aggression, pessimism and negative emotions. While censorship is nothing new in China, this new law poses a new set of questions: what exactly is the difference between censorship and misinformation? What is a legitimate grievance, and what is a blatant attempt by someone to spread fake news or stir up a gender war? And how exactly do you police a bad vibe?

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction to the new cyberspace policy
(07:04) *12 China Books Book Club*
(07:45) Policy targets: lying flat and involution
(14:50) Censorship vs moderation
(25:45) *Buy me a Coffee*
(26:40) Misinformation vs the public interest
(34:10) The fight against debbie downers

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China shock 2.0, $1trillion surplus, Adam Smith. Is the neoliberal global order coming to an end? Is it China's fault? Do they care?

In this episode we tackle the underlying questions surrounding fears of China's domination of all major manufacturing industries. Should China stop what they're doing? If so, why? And if why, how should they bring back balance and let us poor Westerners keep some of our jobs?

We also talk globalisation, who's really to blame for the current situation, and why Orientalism plays a bigger role than you might think.

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Leave your recommendations below. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Chapters 
(00:00) About the books
(2:20) The Dean of Shandong
(12:35) Private Revolutions
(20:35) The New China Playbook
(29:20) I Deliver Parcels in Beijing
(40:40) Final thoughts
(42:30) Books for next year, book club?

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In recent months news of purges at the very top of the PLA have gripped headlines, with many speculating as to the cause and outcomes of this series of high-profile oustings. Many have concluded that regardless of the cause -- coup attempt, rampant corruption, incompetence, paranoia -- the result is that Xi has tightened his control over an historically elusive and *opaque* arm of the party-state. 

Xi is an outside figure -- he is not a military man, he has seen no bloodshed, commanded no battles, won no victories. And yet he now towers above the PLA as its ultimate leader, his mandate served willingly and devotedly. 

How has Xi managed this feat where his predecessors have failed? The truth is the most recently publicised purges are just one in a long line of adjustments to the military that have allowed Xi Jinping to strengthen his grip on the PLA. In this episode we discuss those adjustments, how they differ to those that came before, and what the results of Xi's strategy may be.

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I'm joined by Nick Zeller (https://uscnpm.substack.com/) and Craig Kafura (https://bsky.app/profile/ckafura.bsky.social) to discuss a public opinion poll carried out earlier this year and what it tells us about what Chinese people really think about China. Broken down into 4 reports, we talk about the economy, China-US relations, global leadership, the impact of demographics on answers and why the reaction from westerners reveal an ideological bent and a lack understanding of Chinese society.

Read the reports here: https://globalaffairs.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/CCGA-Carter%20Center_China%20International%20Relations%20Report.pdf 

https://globalaffairs.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/CCGA-Carter%20Center_China%20Economics%20Report.pdf

https://globalaffairs.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/CCGA-Carter%20Center_China%20Global%20Role%20Report.pdf

https://globalaffairs.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/CCGA-Carter%20Center_China-US%20Relations%20Report.pdf

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction & what the survey is about
(06:00) Challenges of doing a survey in China
(11:00) How faithful do you think the answers are?
(14:50) Report 1: Friends with benefits
(28:10) Report 2: Economic outlook
(40:00) Report 3: Relations with the US
(53:55) Report 4: China as a global leader

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Latest Substack post: https://open.substack.com/pub/sinobabble/p/famine-and-food-security-in-chinese?r=bgkuv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Today we'll be examining the argument of a prominent Chinese scholar that China has built too much High-Speed Railway that is underutilised, unprofitable, and will cause major economic problems in the future. We ask why the state-government would pursue such a misguided policy, and how it's beginning to affect the rest of the world too.

Read Lu's original essay here: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-iBh9BPpi7kl2BGhkGWHaw 

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction - HSR and white elephants
(05:00) The history of China's HSR
(11:10) Arguments against HSR 
(25:56) Spillover 

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Latest Substack post: https://open.substack.com/pub/sinobabble/p/famine-and-food-security-in-chinese?r=bgkuv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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#highspeedrail #HSR #China

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Hangzhou is a city once famed for its poets, tea, and silk, but it’s now capturing attention for something entirely different: AI labs, robotics startups, and IPO-hungry tech firms. The rapid rise of innovative and globally competitive tech startups has led to Hangzhou being dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley.” But not everyone agrees that the comparison is so black and white.

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction - Hangzhou
(02:15) Historical role of Hangzhou
(03:28) A bit on Alibaba
(09:45) How Hangzhou created its own growth model
(14:45) How Hangzhou and Silicon Valley differ

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#Hangzhou #chinatech #deepseek #siliconvalley 

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Starbucks recently announced that it's looking to sell part of its stake in its China operations, and is looking for a domestic partner to help boost the company's profile. This comes at a time when a host of foreign firms are seemingly struggling in China after years of riding the wave of the rising middle class. What are the main factors leading to these struggles? What are these brands missing? And what can they do to reverse their fortunes?

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction - The Starbucks Story
(05:45) Changes in the Chinese consumer market
(09:00) Foreign brands history in China
(20:15) Localisation and the sinking market in China
(30:45) Chinese brands go global

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A discussion of trending China news articles published in w/c  9th June. We look at how rare earth minerals may be the deciding factor in this trade war and potentially all trade wars to come. We look at an interview with Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei who states that Chinese chips are still behind the US and more 'basic research' is needed'. And we catch up with some of the latest developments in Hong Kong regarding the national security law.

Links: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-says-china-will-supply-rare-earths-us-allow-students-2025-06-11/

https://substack.com/home/post/p-165729238

https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/pc/content/202506/10/content_30078133.html

 https://substack.com/home/post/p-165599519

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/jun/11/hong-kong-police-taiwan-mobile-games-reversed-front

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3313909/english-lessons-hong-kong-primary-schools-cover-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed

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We take a thorough look at the nature of soft power, how it can be used, and whether or not a country truly needs it to explore China's soft power deficit and what can be done to fix it. While China does have SOME soft power, arguably its lack of the charm of its neighbours and rivals means its culture and ideology is often met with suspicion or outright rejection. This can lead to difficulties when interacting on the global stage, for example when it comes to pandemic management, border relations, or the promotion of language and culture. Do small wins like the success of the video game Black myth: Wukong present a way out for China's cultural tzars? Or is the hand of the state just too heavy to allow the organic spread of a rich cultural heritage that has the potential to bring China into a new era of prestige and attractiveness?

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction - South Korea's soft power boom
(04:50) What is soft power?
(17:22) How soft power can be used and the failure of Confucius Institutes
(26:52) Does China need or want soft power?
(41:25) Consequences of China's lack of soft power
(47:50) Missed soft power opportunities
(52:45) Black Myth: Wukong and a potential new era of Chinese soft power

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