The US-China Podcast

"Americans in China: Encounters with the People's Republic" tells the stories of a diverse assortment of men and women who have engaged with China as adversaries and emissaries, mediators and advocates, interpreters and reporters, soldiers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and scholars. For each of them, China was more than just another place: it was an idea, a cause, a revolution, a civilization. Their experiences provide unique insights and deeply human perspectives on issues that have shaped U.S. engagement with the PRC during the past seven decades.

In an interview conducted on March 4, 2022, Terry Lautz discusses some of the figures in his book and what they suggest about American engagement in China in a conversation with Helena Kolenda of the Henry Luce Foundation.

The annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), colloquially known as the “Two Sessions” or “Lianghui,” feature the gathering of political leaders in Beijing each spring to announce plans and goals for the coming year. In 2022, amidst heightened global tensions, the continuing pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the 20th Party Congress coming in the fall, China’s domestic political events may hold even greater significance for the world than usual. What does the 2022 Two Sessions meeting suggest about China’s priorities in 2022 and beyond? Will the tightening in sectors including education, real estate, and investment initiated in 2021 continue?

In an interview conducted on March 11, 2022, Political economist and U.C. San Diego Professor Victor Shih shares insights and analyses of the Two Sessions and what this year’s meetings may indicate about China’s domestic and foreign policy going forward.

Since the February 24, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, China’s position has come under scrutiny. Politically, for decades China has upheld the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty; Beijing has continued to talk about these ideals over the past few weeks while also blaming the west for creating the conditions – specifically, the eastern expansion of NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union – that led to Russia’s actions. Economically, China has sharply opposed sanctions, claiming that they are both illegal and counter-productive, while also announcing significant oil and wheat deals that might be interpreted as supporting Russia’s economy. Looming over all is the question of what parallels there might be between Russia and Ukraine and China and Taiwan.

Yun Sun discusses the rhetoric, actions, and relationships between and among Russia, China, and the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine in an interview conducted on March 7, 2022.

A populous superpower, China could transform the international system. Xi Jinping’s calls for China to “lead in the reform of the global governance system” suggest that he has precisely that ambition. The international community needs to understand and respond to the great risks, as well as potential rewards, of a world rebuilt by China.

In an interview conducted on February 28, 2022, Elizabeth Economy describes China’s strategy to recover the country’s past glory and reshape the geostrategic landscape. President Xi’s vision is one of Chinese centrality on the global stage, in which the mainland has realized its sovereignty claims over Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the South China Sea; deepened its global political, economic, and security reach through the Belt and Road Initiative; and used its leadership in the United Nations and other institutions to align international norms and values, particularly surrounding human rights, around its own.

Note: Dr. Economy spoke in her personal capacity; all views expressed are hers and do not reflect policy of the United States Government or the Department of Commerce.

Regardless of where they are held, nationalism and identity affect how the Olympic Games are portrayed and perceived. 

In an interview conducted on February 22, 2022, New York Times correspondent Amy Qin and University of Hong Kong history professor Guoqi Xu discuss issues of national and individual identity at Beijing Games.

As global attention focuses on Russia's military buildup along its border with Ukraine, increasingly stronger ties between China and Russia raise concerns with the United States and its allies. At the Putin-Xi summit on the eve of the Winter Olympics, China explicitly backed Russia's security concerns over further NATO expansion in Eastern Europe, bringing this relationship to the geopolitical forefront. Although China-Russia cooperation has its limits, this strategic alignment could challenge U.S. political, ideological, and security interests and the U.S.-led global order.

Yun Sun discusses the current state of Sino-Russian relations and its potential impact on the U.S.-China relationship in an interview conducted on February 8, 2022.

Meg Rithmire (Harvard Business School) gives an updated summary of China's unique political and economic system, describing its changing relationship towards Chinese businesses, citizens, and even the United States.

In his recently updated book, The China Paradox: At the Front Line of Economic Transformation, Paul G. Clifford documents the twists and turns of China’s dramatic and surprising rise over the last four decades. New chapters explore tech giant Huawei and China’s frictions with the world fueled by perceptions that China’s technological progress threatens the global economic order. Is China under President Xi Jinping retreating from the economic reforms at the heart of China recent achievements?

In an interview conducted on December 22, 2021, Paul G. Clifford discusses the risks to China’s development and stability posed by the slowing of reform amid increased autocracy.

Not since China's detonation of its first atomic weapon in 1964 has the United States been so concerned with the country's nuclear capabilities. Recent satellite images suggest China is constructing 100 new ICBM silos, and the Pentagon estimates that China could possess well over 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of the decade. In addition, the successful test of a cutting-edge, nuclear-capable hypersonic missile last month has rattled the U.S. security community.

Why is China rapidly bulking up its nuclear arsenal, and why now? What does this spell for an already fraught U.S.-China security relationship? And how should the United States respond in its efforts to maintain "strategic stability”?

On December 13, 2021, the National Committee interviewed M. Taylor Fravel and Tong Zhao to discuss these questions and more on China's expanding nuclear capabilities.

A new Brookings Institution report argues that the era of deepening ties between the United States and China ushered in by the 1972 Nixon visit to China is over, and suggests that frictions may be mitigated by a bipartisan approach to China that appeals to allies in Europe and Asia and tempers the reality of competition with cooperation on global public goods.

In an interview conducted on November 22, 2021, two of the report's co-authors Ryan Hass and Bruce Jones introduce the key findings of the report, “Rising to the Challenge: Navigating Competition, Avoiding Crisis, and Advancing US Interests in Relations with China,” and discuss how many Americans now view China as their country's most formidable challenger and potential adversary.