The Agenda Podcast

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With China's commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Europe and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing this week – accusations of overcapacity in the EV market have been top of the agenda around the world – accusations China has strongly denied. 
 
So with the need for more electric powered cars only growing as the world seeks to hit tough net zero targets, where is the sector really headed?

In this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Tu Le, Founder and Managing Director of Sino Auto Insights and Bill Russo, Chief Executive of consultants Automobility to find out.

And with the focus on the future of EVs, Juliet also speaks to Kiva Allgood from the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains at the World Economic Forum to find out why the sector can only really work if we move towards a truly circular system.

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Last week, the first ever Nuclear Energy Summit took place in Brussels. Leaders and experts from around the world – including China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing -  gathered to discuss the competitiveness, usability, and sustainability of nuclear power in the race to net zero. 

So in this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann investigates just what role nuclear has in the world’s energy future, and whether there’s any real chance the world can reach its climate targets without it.

She speaks to Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of World Nuclear Association and Nuclear policy analyst Mycle Schneider to find out.

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Poverty alleviation and climate change are two of the biggest, if not THE two biggest challenges facing the world today. Both require huge amounts of international cooperation, and of course money, to solve. But is the world getting the balance of funding right?

On this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to an expert who thinks not - Bjorn Lomborg, President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and best-selling author of The Skeptical Environmentalist. He thinks that what he calls the “weaponization” of climate change over helping the world’s poor isn’t the smartest response.

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Later this year, Azerbaijan will host the UN's COP29 climate summit. It's one of the top ten most fossil fuel dependent countries in the world - but that's all set to change as Azerbaijan looks to transition to a greener future.
 
 It's one of the many issues Juliet Mann discussed in an exclusive interview with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikaiyil Jabbarov. They also talk about future partnerships with China and the EU and the country’s transition to a digital future.

 Juliet also looks at the climate change issues facing Azerbaijan in the run-up to COP29 in November with Kaveh Guilanpour, Vice President for International Strategies at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

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New quality productive forces.

This was one of the key messages from the annual Two Sessions in Beijing. The term, coined by China's President Xi Jinping in September 2023 during a local visit, is viewed in the sessions as key to maintaining and enhancing the quality of China's growth. 

In wide-ranging discussions on everything from continued economic growth and upgrading to an increased desire for high quality opening up, this new approach to innovation was front and center.  China's role on the world stage was also in the spotlight, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisting the country will be a force for peace in spite of lingering U.S. misconceptions about China.

In this special program -  China's Agenda - CGTN Europe examines the country's innovative future and what impact it will have on global relationships in the years to come.

Host Juliet Mann speaks to a panel of global experts about China's economic modernization and what is described as "new quality productive forces" - the innovation that will transform the economy both within and beyond China's borders.

David Mahon, Founder and Executive Chairman of Mahon China Investment Management tells Juliet how the tech sector will be a significant component of China's plan for 5 percent growth in 2024.  Bert Hofman, former China Director of the World Bank and now Professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore examines the desire for increased foreign investment in China as companies work out how they might fit into a modernized China.

And Marsela Musabelliu, Executive Director at the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies, explains why the world's smaller nations especially welcome China's approach to upgrading its industry. The panel also addresses China's role in an increasingly globalized world.

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AI is arguably the world’s most talked about technology since the birth of the internet. It is going to change the way we live and work - creating a new industrial revolution.  

At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said AI is a double edged sword - if applied well it will bring huge opportunities to human civilisation, but at the same time it poses real risks to global security and ethics. 

 So how is AI technology going to develop? And is AI something we’ll ever truly trust?

On this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Jürgen Müller, Chief Technology Officer of SAP, José Parra-Moyano, Professor of Digital Strategy, International Institute for Management Development and Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to find out.

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The gap between the developed north and developing global south has never been more acute. Issues like climate change, debt and technological advances are all threatening to widen the wedge between north and south. So what needs to be done to address that problem.

In this edition of the Agenda, Juliet Mann gets the views of four senior ministers from across Africa. She speaks to Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Enoch Godongwana, South Africa’s Finance Minister, Ghana’s Minister for Finance & Economic Planning, Ken Ofori-Atta, and Zambia’s Finance Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane.

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Protests by farmers have been sweeping Europe for months. Tractors have blockaded cities in France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania and more in a show of frustration at EU green policies farmers say threaten their livelihoods. 

 So, does climate policy need to be more farmer friendly? Or does the already subsidized agricultural sector need to embrace the fast pace of change needed to protect the planet?

To find out, in this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Cristiane Lambert, President of COPA, Dr. Patrick Schröder, Senior Research Fellow at the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House, and Alvaro Lario, the President of International Fund of Agricultural Development.

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On 31st January 2020, the UK made history when it became the first country to leave the European Union. It followed a hugely contentious referendum campaign when all kinds of promises were made by both sides as to a future inside and outside Europe.
 
But four years on, what exactly has changed? Is the UK thriving in a post-EU world, or has Brexit left the country woefully adrift from its neighbours, and indeed the rest of the world.
 
On this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Professor Amelia Hadfield, Dean International and Head of Politics at the University of Surrey, former British Minister for Europe, Denis MacShane, and Conservative Commentator, Alex Deane.

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On the 27th of January 1964, France became the first major Western nation to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. At the time, it was referred to by some as a diplomatic nuclear explosion. But what have been the real results of that decision 60 years ago? And what might the future hold for Sino French ties? 

 On this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann goes to Paris to speak to former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and ex-EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy, and the Yannick Lintz, President of the Musée Guimet - Europe’s largest collection of Chinese art.