China In Context: Season 5 (2024–2025)

What will Donald Trump’s re-election mean for relations between China and the US? Is Beijing alarmed by his threats of massive new trade tariffs, and the unpredictability that he likes to boast about? Or will it see his relative lack of interest in global affairs — and his love of a deal — as a chance to increase its leverage and put more pressure on Taiwan, while boosting its influence in the South China Sea? Presenter Duncan Hewitt discusses these issues with Jim McGregor, Chairman for Greater China at APCO Worldwide, Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, and BBC Asia correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.
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(Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0)

Ep181: The impact of Donald Trump’s re-election on US relations with China and East Asia

At the recent COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, China was seen as having played a part in getting an agreement — albeit a much criticised one — to increase funding to mitigate the climate crisis. And with Donald Trump threatening to pull the U.S, out of climate change mechanisms, Beijing’s role could become even more important. But China, now the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, continues to reject calls for it to be given developed nation status, which would require it to make increased financial contributions to tackle climate change. Journalist Isabel Hilton, founder of China Dialogue, discuses China's role in the climate talks, and its domestic environmental problems, with presenter Duncan Hewitt.
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In the light of recent developments, this episode was edited on 10 December 2024 to remove a more detailed reference to the podcast's former host, who left China in Context in September 2024. The SOAS China Institute would like to express its condemnation of his behaviour, of which it was unaware at the time, and for which he has now been jailed, and expresses the utmost sympathy to his victims.
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(Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0)

Ep182: China and the Climate Crisis — Good COP, Bad COP?

Donald Trump is promising to challenge China on everything from its exports to its global influence over the next four years, but what could this mean in practice? Professor Miles Yu of the Hudson Institute, principal advisor on China policy to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the first Trump administration, and Professor Evan Medeiros of Georgetown University, former senior director for Asia at the White House National Security Council under President Obama share their views on China in Context.

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The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.

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Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0

Ep183: Trump and China — Deal or No Deal?

Donald Trump's new tariffs on Chinese exports may only boost the trend for Chinese companies to seek new markets and manufacturing bases overseas — including in Africa, where China is now the biggest trading partner and source of loans. On this episode, we discuss 'Made in Ethiopia', a new film looking at the human impact of Chinese involvement in Africa's industrialisation, with its directors Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan — and debate China's wider relationship with the continent with Professor Carlos Oya, head of the Department of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London.
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The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.

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Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0

Ep184: China and Africa — An Intimate Portrait

With the US imposing new tariffs on Chinese exports, the state of the country’s domestic economy has become all the more crucial. Despite healthy export growth in recent years, at home consumer confidence has plummeted, with rising youth unemployment and a slump in the once booming housing market. Will recent government steps to reassure consumers and entrepreneurs and stimulate property sales be enough to revive the economy? Or does soaring local government debt mean more creative solutions are required? In this episode, we hear two perspectives on China’s economic challenges — from economist Andy Rothman, founder of Sinology LLC, and Professor Victor Shih, director of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California San Diego.
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The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.

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Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0

Ep185: China's Economic Challenges — Consumption Slump and Soaring Local Government Debt

The sudden emergence of DeepSeek’s AI chatbot earlier this year reminded the world of just how fast Chinese technology is developing. But it’s also highlighted continuing tensions over China’s technological rise — US Vice President JD Vance recently spoke of America being in an ‘arms race’ with China for control of Artificial Intelligence: the US has banned the export of its most advanced chips to China, and is now trying to stop companies around the world from using China’s own latest chips. It’s also sanctioned numerous Chinese tech firms due to security fears. The EU meanwhile has imposed tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles, amidst concerns about unfair subsidies. But as its technology improves, is China winning the ‘tech war’? And what does this mean for Taiwan, currently the world’s largest chip manufacturer? These topics are explored in a new audio book, ‘Global Tech Wars - China’s Race to Dominate’, by James Kynge, who recently left the Financial Times, where he reported on China for almost three decades. Now a senior fellow at MERICS (the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies) in Berlin, he discusses his findings with presenter Duncan Hewitt.

Image © Adobe Stock
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The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
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Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0

Ep191: Is China Winning the Tech War? A conversation with James Kynge

China In Context is a fortnightly podcast by the SOAS China Institute (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) which offers expert analysis on the politics, economy, society, culture and history of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It features interviews with leading academics, researchers, journalists and other China-specialists from around the world.