This week on the Sinica Podcast, I chat with well-known author and public intellectual Yascha Mounk about his recent fascination with China, his approach to learning about the country and learning Chinese, and his thoughts on how China fits into the current crisis of Western liberal democracy.7:15 – Yascha’s experience of living in China and learning Chinese12:18 – Yascha’s perspective on China’s strengths and weaknesses20:12 – China in a global comparative perspective: Generational aspirations and demographic decline29:45 – China’s Soft Power vs. Japan, Korea, and the U.S.45:30 – Media narratives on China: have they shifted?54:20 – Western Liberalism confronts China01:07:07 – Backlash & criticism01:11:35 - Polarization and “China as enemy” narrativesRecommendations: Yascha: The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (book), The Leopard (1963) (movie)Kaiser: A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism by Adam Gopnik (book)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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What Did the September 3 Parade Mean?
This week on Sinica, I speak first with retired Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, a frequent commentator on Chinese military and security affairs and a prolific writer now at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, and with Rana Mitter of the Harvard Kennedy School and author of Forgotten Ally, a book about World War II in China.4:08 – The primary objectives behind the September 3rd parade10:03 – China’s position in the global arms market14:45 – The strategic importance of the new weapons on display21:10 – China, Russia, and North Korea: strategic dynamics33:14 – Perspectives on the China–Russia relationship44:13 – Avoiding security dilemma spirals50:32 – Rana Mitter: Wartime memory, national narratives, and the 2025 shift57:06 – Narratives of China’s role in World War II01:19:01 – The significance and performative Dimension of the 2025 parade01:26:26 – China’s postwar role and evolving global ambitionsRecommendations:Rana: Face-Off (podcast), Enchanted Revolution by Xiaofei KangSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:43:11
What Does China Want? The Authors of a New Paper Challenge the DC Consensus
This week on Sinica, I chat with Dave Kang (USC), Zenobia Chan (Georgetown), and Jackie Wong (American University in Sharjah, UAE) about their new paper in International Security titled "What Does China Want?" The paper, which has generated quite a bit of controversy, takes a data-driven approach to examine the claim that China seeks global hegemony — that it wants to supplant the U.S. as a globe-spanning top power. I'm traveling much of this week, so I'll update this podcast page when the transcript comes back!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:29:32
Trump's India Tariff Tirade: A Gift to Beijing? With Evan Feigenbaum
This week on the Sinica Podcast, I welcome back Evan Feigenbaum, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Evan served for many years as a State Department official, was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asia among his numerous positions in government, and was instrumental in building the U.S.-India relationship after 2000 — only to watch Trump round on India in recent months, slapping large punitive tariffs on the South Asian giant ostensibly over its purchases of Russian oil. What motivated Trump? And how does this look from New Delhi and from Beijing? Will China capitalize on the strains in the U.S.-Indian relationship? Listen and find out.04:12 – Building "trust" in politics10:22 – Changes in U.S. policy15:11 – Did India take advantage of Russia? 20:07 – How U.S. rules shape India 25:21 – "Rebuilding" the U.S.–India relationship29:56 – Beijing on Trump vs. India 42:48 – India, Quad, and Indo-Pacific strategy 49:55 – Managing U.S.–India tensions Paying it Forward: Kenji KushidaRecommendations: Evan: How China Is Reshaping International Security Cooperation by Sheena Greitens and Isaac KardonKaiser: How Sino-centrism and U.S.-centrism warp(ed?) Beijing’s foreign policy thinking by Tang Shiping and Qi DapengSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:03:36
The Engineering State and the Lawyerly Society: Dan Wang on his new book "Breakneck"
This week on Sinica, I'm delighted to be joined by Dan Wang, formerly of Gavekal Dragonomics and the Paul Tsai Law Center at Yale University, now with the Hoover Institute's History Lab. Dan's new book is Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, and it's already one of the year's most talked-about books. In this conversation, we go beyond what's actually in the book to discuss the origins and implications of the Chinese "engineering state" — the world's biggest technocratic polity — and what the United States should and should not learn from China. We discuss how Dan's ideas sit with Abundance by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein, and much more. Don't miss this episode!03:51 – Guitar industry in Guizhou09:49 – Engineering state vs. lawyerly society23:13 – Downsides of the engineering state34:24 – Process knowledge: U.S. vs. China43:01 – Attitudes toward technology: U.S. vs China52:32 – Historical roots of the engineering state in China59:48 – Building institutions that bind outcomes to rights01:04:15 – What can be learned from the COVID lockdowns01:07:51 – The tradeoff between resilience and efficiency01:10:52 – Dan's view on Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein's "Abundance" argument01:13:41 – Legitimacy in China and the U.S.01:21:13 – Building toward cultural pluralism Paying it Forward: Afra Wang, He Liu.Recommendations:Dan: Mozart's Italian operas, written with Lorenzo Da Ponte; The Red and the Black by Stendhal; In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust; Moby Dick by Herman Melville; Bleak House by Charles Dickens.Kaiser: China is enjoying Trump 2.0 by Yun Sun (article), books: Revolutionary Spring, The Sleepwalkers by Christopher ClarkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A weekly discussion of current affairs in China with journalists, writers, academics, policymakers, business people and anyone with something compelling to say about the country that's reshaping the world. Hosted by Kaiser Kuo.
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