In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Ya-Wen Lei, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University to discuss her recent book entitled “The Gilded Cage: Technology, Development and State Capitalism in China.”

The Gilded Cage

China has emerged as one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, making it more important than ever to understand how the country is governed. True to the name Pekingology, or the study of the political behavior of the People’s Republic of China, this podcast aims to unpack the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party and implications these actions have within China and for U.S.-China relations. Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, is joined by various experts to analyze the activities of the Chinese governing system and how these impact the complex relationships relating to China.

Government

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by the Andrew Walder, Denise O'Leary & Kent Thiry Professor at Stanford University, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies. Today they discuss his article “China’s Extreme Inequality: The Structural Legacies of State Socialism.” (The China Journal, July 2023)

China's Extreme Inequality

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Chenggang Xu, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions and Visiting Fellow at Hoover Institution of Stanford University to discuss the institutional underpinnings of China’s political economy. What explains the Communist Party’s ongoing resilience? Why did China pivot away from the economic reforms that had generated so much wealth for the country and the government? Xu advances the framework of “Regionally Administered Totalitarianism” (RADT) to describe China’s political economic transition during the reform period. He is also author of the forthcoming book Institutional Genes: The Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) exploring these questions.

Understanding China's Regionally Administered Totalitarianism

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette,is joined by Yanmei Xie, Geopolitics Analyst with Gavekal Research, who has recently been publishing articles at Gavekal and the Financial Times. Today, Jude and Yanmei discuss her recent client notes on Chinese overcapacity and its EV sector.

Overcapacity

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Evan Medeiros, The Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies at Georgetown University. During the Obama Administration, Evan was on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia and special assistant to the president and Senior Director for Asia. They discuss his recent report “The New Domestic Politics of U.S.-China Relations” published by the Asia Society Center for Public Analysis.

China's New Domestic Politics

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Andrew Batson, China Research Director at Gavekal Dragonomics to discuss his recent blog post entitled “Xi’s New Growth Synthesis.” He also publishes The Tangled Woof blog, and wrote the enlightening post “Some Cadres Cannot Keep Up.”

The Gilded Cage

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