The US-China Podcast

Anxiety about China’s growing military capabilities to threaten Taiwan has induced alarm in Washington about whether the United States is capable of deterring attempts to seize Taiwan by force. This alarm feeds American impulses to alter longstanding policy, and to view challenges confronting Taiwan through a military lens. While Taiwan clearly is under growing military threat, it also is facing an intensifying Chinese political campaign to wear down the will of the Taiwan people. Ryan Hass, Richard Bush, and Bonnie Glaser argue in U.S.-Taiwan Relations: Will China’s Challenge Lead to a Crisis? that discussions of the future of Taiwan should focus on the island’s 23 million people.

In an interview conducted on September 14, 2023, Richard Bush and Bonnie Glaser contend that conflict in the Taiwan Strait is not inevitable, and that it would be foolish for the United States to conclude that it is unavoidable.

About the speakers: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/u-s-taiwan-relations/

Read the transcript here: https://www.ncuscr.org/podcast/u-s-taiwan-relations/

Follow Bonnie Glaser on Twitter: @BonnieGlaser

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Selling to China: Stories of Success, Failure, and Constant Change, edited by Ker Gibbs, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai during the U.S.-China trade war, is a sobering look at the realities of the intermeshed nature of the Chinese and American economies at a time of increasing political tension. Foreign companies are caught in the middle between compliance with U.S. laws and policies versus doing what is required for support and success in China and access to the world’s largest growth market. Opportunities still exist, but this is a dangerous and complicated time.

In an interview conducted on August 31, 2023, Ker Gibbs discusses the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China at a time of tension and distrust in the bilateral relationship.

About the speaker: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/selling-to-china/

Read the transcript: https://www.ncuscr.org/podcast/selling-to-china/

Follow Ker Gibbs on Twitter: @KerGibbs

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There are only an estimated 400 American students studying in China. This statistic indicates a sobering new reality for U.S.-China relations—one of decreasing interaction between young Americans and Chinese, and in turn increasing misinformation about China in the U.S. What role can educational institutions play in fostering healthier U.S.-China relations? 

Joanna Waley-Cohen, provost of NYU Shanghai, joins us from Shanghai to discuss how a personal understanding of Chinese society and culture can impact students, and the continued necessity of educational ventures such as NYU Shanghai to improved U.S.-China relations.  

About the speaker: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/personal-experience-in-china/

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We are excited to announce the new name for this show: The US-China Podcast. The show will no longer be called NCUSCR Interviews, and we hope the new name makes it easier for you to find the same content we have always been producing and reach wider audiences seeking information on all things U.S.-China relations. Since 1966, the National Committee has been a leader in U.S.-China bilateral engagement and dialogue. We hope you enjoy The US-China Podcast!

Subscribe to the National Committee on YouTube for video of this interview. Follow us on Twitter (@ncuscr) and Instagram (@ncuscr).

China is deepening its ties with Latin American countries through free trade agreements and investments in Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects. At the same time, China’s recent plans to build an intelligence outpost in Cuba has alarmed the United States, but other Latin American neighbors do not necessarily share this sentiment. What is the historical relationship between China and Cuba? What are China’s strategic interests and involvement in Cuba and Latin America, and should the United States view them as national security concerns?

In a conversation moderated by Margaret Myers on August 23, 2023, Adrian Hearn and Leland Lazarus discuss China’s growing influence in Cuba and its implications for the United States and Latin America.

About the speakers

Read the transcript

Follow Leland Lazarus on Twitter: @LelandLazarus

Follow Margaret Myers on Twitter: @MyersMargaret

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the population of foreigners and international students in China has decreased dramatically. How has the drop in international students impacted education in China? Jeremiah Jenne visits the United States from Beijing for the first time since before Beijing’s COVID lockdowns and discusses the importance of people-to-people exchange in 2023.

About the speaker

Follow Jeremiah Jenne on Twitter: @JeremiahJenne

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Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just for apps and algorithms. AI’s ability to sort through massive data sets has the potential to completely revolutionize the field of biotechnology, opening the door for real-world breakthroughs like climate change-resistant seeds or cures for genetic diseases. While scientists and firms from the United States and China are actively collaborating to explore this scientific frontier, increasing national security concerns put AI-biotech’s future development at risk. What is at risk when scientific exchange is limited? 

Abigail Coplin, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Science, Technology and Society at Vassar College, joins the National Committee to discuss American and Chinese views on the importance of biotech, and the impact of national security on this emerging field.  

About the speaker

Subscribe to the National Committee on YouTube for video of this interview. Follow us on Twitter (@ncuscr) and Instagram (@ncuscr).

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has the potential to revolutionize the way the world works and communicates. AI also plays an outsized role in technological competition between the United States and China, in what some call the “AI race.” What is China’s current stage in the AI race as compared to the United States, and what challenges and risks lie ahead in adopting AI technology? 

About the speaker: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/US-China-AI-Race/

Transcript: https://www.ncuscr.org/podcast/us-china-ai-race/

Follow Jeffrey Ding on Twitter: @jjding99

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The world was watching U.S. diplomacy in June, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing, and President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Secretary Blinken's visit signaled a thaw in high-level communication within the U.S.-China relationship, and Southeast Asian countries—which have close relations with both superpowers—have watched intently. 

At the same time, while the United States and India expressed positive progress in their bilateral relationship, both avoided mentioning what brought them together in the first place: their respective complicated relationships with China. What do Blinken's China visit and Modi's U.S. visit reveal about international dynamics across Asia and the Pacific?

Dr. Kanti Bajpai, vice dean and professor of international relations at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore joins the National Committee to weigh in with a Southeast Asian perspective and to help us understand the view from both Singapore and New Delhi.

1:29 Southeast Asian reactions to Secretary Blinken’s visit to China and U.S.-China relations  

5:08 What does Singapore hope for U.S.-China cooperation? 

10:15 Does India see China as a partner, competitor, or strategic threat? 

18:50 Is there a pro-U.S. and anti-U.S. paradox in Indian foreign policy?

21:49 Is concern about China driving the United States to strengthen its relationship with India?

25:15 Could there be an India-China rapprochement?  

31:42 Could India pose a military threat to China?

37:45 How have Indian opinions towards the U.S. changed over time?

About the speaker: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/modi-visit-us-china-india/

A full transcript of this interview is available here: https://www.ncuscr.org/podcast/us-china-india-triangle/

Follow Dr. Kanti Bajpai on Twitter: @BajpaiKanti

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Canada’s role in the context of U.S.-China strategic competition is significant, given its historical relationships with both countries. While Canada normalized relations with China in 1970 and sought to strengthen the Canada-China relationship over the decades, its recent Indo-Pacific Strategy takes a much firmer stance than seen in the past, referring to China as a “disruptive power” that disregards international rules; nevertheless, Canada also recognizes that China will have to play an essential role in solving global challenges.

When it comes to relations with and approaches to China, where do American and Canadian strategic interests and priorities overlap? Where do the United States and Canada see things differently? What are the main factors driving these dynamics?

In an interview conducted June 22, 2023, Diana Fu, Gordon Houlden, and Pascale Massot discuss Canada-China relations and areas where the U.S. and Canadian Indo-Pacific Strategies converge and diverge.

About the speakers

0:00-5:51 U.S.-Canadian policy comparison

5:51-14:27 Canada's reaction to Beijing

14:27- 24:50 China-Canada cooperation 

Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy: https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/assets/pdfs/indo-pacific-indo-pacifique/indo-pacific-indo-pacifique-en.pdf 

Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy: New initiatives and resources: https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/11/canadas-indo-pacific-strategy-new-initiatives-and-resources.html

Follow Diana Fu on Twitter: @dianafutweets

Follow Gordon Houlden on Twitter: @GordonHoulden

Subscribe to the National Committee on YouTube for video of this interview. Follow us on Twitter (@ncuscr) and Instagram (@ncuscr).