Podcasts about Shenzhen

This week on Sinica, I speak with Jia Ruixue and Li Hongbin, coauthors of The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China. We're talking about China's college entrance exam — dreaded and feared, with outsized ability to determine life outcomes, seen as deeply flawed yet also sacrosanct, something few Chinese want drastically altered or removed. Cards on table: I had very strong preconceptions about the gaokao. My wife and I planned our children's education to get them out of the Chinese system before it became increasingly oriented toward gaokao preparation. But this book really opened my eyes. Ruixue is professor of economics at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy, researching how institutions like examination systems shape governance, elite selection, and state capacity. Hongbin is James Liang Chair at Stanford, focusing on education, labor markets, and institutional foundations of China's economic development. We explore why the gaokao represents far more than just a difficult test, the concrete incentives families face, why there are limited alternative routes for social mobility, how both authors' own experiences shaped their thinking, why exam-based elite selection has been so durable in China, what happened when the exam system was suspended during the Cultural Revolution, why inequality has increased despite internet access to materials, why meaningful reform is so politically difficult, how education translated into productivity and GDP growth, the gap between skill formation and economic returns, how the system shapes governance and everyday life, and the moral dimensions of exam culture when Chinese families migrate to very different education systems like the U.S.6:18 – What the gaokao actually represents beyond just being a difficult exam 11:54 – Why there are limited alternative pathways for social mobility 14:23 – How their own experiences as students shaped their thinking 18:46 – Why the gaokao is a political institution, not just educational policy 22:21 – Why exam-based elite selection has been so durable in China 28:30 – What happened in late Qing and Cultural Revolution when exams were suspended 33:26 – Has internet access to materials reduced inequality or has it persisted? 36:55 – Hongbin's direct experience trying to reform the gaokao—and why it failed 40:28 – How education improvement accounts for significant share of China's GDP growth 42:44 – The gap: college doesn't add measurable skills, but gaokao scores predict income 46:56 – How centralized approach affects talent allocation across fields 51:08 – The gaokao and GDP tournament for officials: similar tournament systems 54:26 – How ranking and evaluation systems shape workplace behavior and culture 58:12 – When exam culture meets U.S. education: understanding tensions around affirmative action 1:02:10 – Transparent rule-based evaluation vs. discretion and judgment: the fundamental tradeoffRecommendations: Ruixue: Piao Liang Peng You (film by Geng Jun); Stoner (a novel by John Williams) Hongbin: The Dictator's HandbookKaiser: Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right by Laura K. Field; Black Pill by Elle ReeveSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here we go again – Tariffs and retaliatory tariffs DAVOS – Elitists are Meeting Suicide Coaches? Hedge funds – finally a good year! PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter   Warm-Up - Here we go again - Tariffs and retaliatory tariffs - DAVOS - Elitists are Meeting - Suicide Coaches? - Hedge funds - finally a good year! Markets - Silver and Gold - ATH - Selling off after Greenland threat - Netflix - Saga continues Davos - 2026 - Economic Confab that often brings out the elite (elitists) - Many watch for their key points and do the opposite - Trump going, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi not - Why is Zelensky going? - Kushner, Bessent, Little Marco will be attending with Trump - Did you know - Larry Fink is the interim Co-Chair. - The CEOs that you would expect that love the limelight ) (Jensen, Nadella etc) World Economic Forum Report (Davos) - Due out Wednesday - expected to show that geopolitical confrontation is the top concern this year - Rising Inflation - Economic Downturn - Asset Bubbles - High debt burdens - Any of those could be any year and anyone in the world that is breathing could have made that list WEF List NEXT - Greenland - Sell or Else! - Trump promises 100% that he will impose tariffs and follow through - The tariffs will start at 10% on Feb. 1 and shoot up to 25% on June 1, Trump said. - Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland - Supposedly in response to EU allies moving troops into Greenland - Greenland protests with - Make America Go Away hats - 200% tariff threatened in champagne and wines (Mad at Macron) Oh - and Gaza - The new Board of Peace - Trump names himself 'Board of Peace' chair under October plan - Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. - Supposedly Putin has said he was also invited to be on the board. - Purpose? Officially, the Board is mandated to “promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict... Saks - bankrupt - Chapter 11 - Problems really got worse after they agreed to purchase Needless Markup (aka Neiman Marcus) - Amazon filed an objection to Saks Global's bankruptcy financing plan on the grounds it could harm creditors and push the tech company further down the repayment pecking order. - Amazon The tech company invested $475 million into Saks' acquisition of Neiman Marcus in December 2024,  a stake it said is now effectively “worthless.” - Amazon threatened more “drastic remedies” if Saks doesn't heed its concerns, including the appointment of an examiner or a trustee. - Amazon initially invested because it thought Saks would start selling its products on Amazon's website and the tech company would offer technology and logistics expertise.| - Amazon's attorneys: “Saks continuously failed to meet its budgets, burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in less than a year, and ran up additional hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid invoices owed to its retail partners.” Suicide Coaches - “This year, you really saw something pretty horrific, which is these AI models became suicide coaches,” Benioff told CNBC's Sarah Eisen on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum's flagship conference in Davos, Switzerland. - In 2018, Benioff said social media should be treated like a health issue, and said the platforms should be regulated like cigarettes: “They're addictive, they're not good for you.” - “Bad things were happening all over the world because social media was fully unregulated,” he said Tuesday, “and now you're kind of seeing that play out again with artificial intelligence.” China - China 2025 new yuan loans 16.27 trln yuan, lowest since 2018 - Dec new yuan loans beat forecast - PBOC announces targeted monetary policy easing - "From the asset side, amid the property market adjustment, the private sector including households and firms showed insufficient willingness to add leverage, while government bond issuance was ramped up to stabilize leverage and the economy." - Now what is happening is that $ that used to go into real estate is heading for stocks/risk assets. - Chinese authorities tightened rules on margin financing, signaling unease over the pace of a rally. - - Under the new rule, investors must now provide margin equal to the full value of the securities they buy on credit, up from the previous 80% threshold. - - - Regulators made the move to rein in potential froth in financial markets, with a fund manager saying it sends a clear signal that they want a slow bull market, not an overheated one. --- Under the new rule, investors must now provide margin equal to the full value of the securities they buy on credit, up from the previous 80% threshold, according to a Shenzhen Stock Exchange statement. The move, which applies to Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing bourses, underscores regulators' efforts to rein in potential froth in financial markets. More China - China's population of 1.4 billion continued to shrink, marking the fourth straight year of decrease, new government statistics show. The total population in 2025 stood at 1.404 billion, which was 3 million less than the previous year. - After the one-child policy - now government is pushing or more births - Measured another way, the birth rate in 2025 — 5.63 per 1,000 people — is the lowest on record since 1949 - Government tactics range from cash subsidies to taxing condoms to eliminating a tax on matchmakers and day care centers. Bank Earnings - Generally pretty good! - Yield curve is helping in a big way - steepening - Goldman beats, BAC beast Morgan Stanley bets etc. etc. - Goldman: The company said profit jumped 12% from a year earlier to $4.62 billion, or $14.01 per share, on gains across its capital markets businesses. - Morgan Stanley: Last Thursday reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations on the back of strong revenue from wealth management. Fed Chair - Over the weekend, Hassett thinks Trump is right not to have him in that position (What a sap! Good he is not in running anymore) - Rick Reider and Warsh are front-runners - Who ever kisses the most ass should win - Warsh would actually be a good pick - experience and smart guy that is level headed - Meanwhile - all of a sudden Trump says he is not looking to fire Powell (maybe h wants him to resign) Netflix/Warner Brothers Update - Netflix now plans to pay $27.75 per WBD share entirely in cash to acquire WBD's streaming platform HBO Max and the Warner Bros. film studio. - In reaction tot he hostile takeover bid from Paramount/Skydance - The last offer was unanimously approved by the BOD - NFLX Earnings ..... --- Earnings per share: 56 cents vs. 55 cents, estimated ------Revenue: $12.05 billion vs $11.97 billion, estimated - Stock down AH Inflation (Did we talk about this?) - Even though we are told there is little inflation... - Consumer Price Index increases 0.3% in December - Food, rents were the main drivers of consumer inflation - Underlying inflation rises a moderate 0.2% - Food prices surged 0.7% Planes! - Boeing outsold Airbus last year - First time since 2018 - BA stock made an ATH last week Bond Vigilantes - Danish pension operator AkademikerPension said it is exiting U.S. Treasurys over finance concerns tied to America's budget shortfall. - The move comes amid increasing tensions with the U.S. over Greenland as President Donald Trump pushes for control of the island. - AkademikerPension said it plans to have closed its position of around $100 million in U.S. Treasurys by the end of the month. - 10 YR yields moved up again to 4.3% - What if.....??? (Mutual assured destruction?) Hedgies - Hedge fund investors posted gains of about 12.6% last year, the best returns since 2009, according to data compiled by Hedge Fund Research Inc. - Funds run by industry giants such as D.E. Shaw & Co. and Millennium Management posted double-digit returns, with Bridgewater Associates' Pure Alpha II fund scoring a 34% gain. - Hedge funds secured net inflows of $71 billion during the first three quarters of last year, a major reversal after a decade of outflows, with the industry's giants being among the major beneficiaries.     Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN CUP 2025 Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!     FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS   See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

On this episode of Correct Opinions, we get into the great parking-spot debate, talk weird backstage moments (including getting yelled at), and unpack some classic chaos from the road.Get 40% off your entire order at http://Lolablankets.com by using code [CORRECTOPINIONS] atcheckout. Experience the world's #1 blanket with Lola Blankets.Own your health for $365 a year. That's a dollar a day. Learn more and join using my link.. Visit http://www.functionhealth.com/TREY or use gift code TREY25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Join Thrive Market with my link http://ThriveMarket.com/CORRECTOPINIONS for 30% off your first order plus a FREE $60 gift!! Download Cash App Today: [https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/5zhgqoej] #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financialservices platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debitcards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions athttps://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Cash App Green, overdraft coverage, borrow, cashback offers and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visithttp://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.Join the patreon!http://patreon.com/treykennedyCHAPTERS:00:00:00 Intro00:07:41 The “Tebow group” call + special needs prom jokes00:08:23 I somehow become the spokesperson for anti-handicap spots00:09:53 Tesla scratch + Oklahoma State basketball trip planning00:19:56 Dakota Fanning, “I Am Sam,” and movie memory gaps00:22:29 The Oklahoma “paparazzi kid” + being on Ellen00:29:01 Jake Owen backstage story (and his social media crash-out)00:35:09 Security guard vibes + the DM about the “left behind” container00:39:02 Tour travel talk: the Sprinter van idea00:43:50 Correct Opinion: cooking with a toddler is more fun00:48:17 Proposal stories + surprise engagement strategy00:50:53 January 6th jokes (and what you can't say out loud)00:51:18 The pickleball group chat + flying to Shenzhen for paddles01:03:37 “Horse girl” energy and why it's a real archetype01:10:30 Wrap upSubscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL3ESPT9yf1T8x6L0P4d39w?sub_confirmation=1 Subscribe to Correct Opinions on Apple: http://bit.ly/COPodcast

This week on Sinica, I speak with Daniel Bessner, the Anne H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Assistant Professor in American Foreign Policy at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and co-host of the American Prestige Podcast. If you follow U.S.-China relations even casually, you can't avoid hearing that we're in a new Cold War — it's become a rhetorical reflex in D.C., shaping budgets, foreign policy debates, media narratives, and how ordinary Americans think about China.But what does it actually mean to call something a Cold War? To think clearly about the present, I find it helps to go to the past, not for simple analogies but to understand the intellectual and ideological machinery that produced and now sustains a Cold War mentality. Danny has written widely about the architecture of American power, the rise of the national security state, and the constellation of thinkers he calls Cold War liberals who helped define the ideological landscape of U.S. foreign policy. We explore how Cold War liberalism reshaped American political life, how the U.S. came to see its global dominance as natural and morally necessary, why the question of whose fault the Cold War was remains urgent in an age of renewed great power rivalry, the rise of China and anxiety of American decline, and what it would take to imagine a U.S.-China relationship that doesn't fall back into old patterns of moral binaries, ideological panic, and militarized competition.6:20 – Danny's background: from Iraq War politicization to studying defense intellectuals11:00 – Cold War liberalism: the constellation of ideas that shaped U.S. foreign policy16:14 – How these ideas became structurally embedded in security institutions22:02 – The Democratic Party's destruction of the genuine left in the late 1940s27:53 – Whose fault was the Cold War? Stalin's sphere of influence logic vs. American universalism31:07 – Are we facing a similar decision with China today?34:23 – The anxiety of loss: how decline anxiety distorts interpretation of China's rise37:54 – The new Cold War narrative: material realities vs. psychological legacies41:21 – Clearest parallels between the first Cold War and emerging U.S.-China confrontation44:33 – What would a pluralistic order in Asia actually look like?47:42 – Coexistence rather than zero-sum rivalry: what does it mean in practice?50:57 – What genuine restraint requires: accepting limits of American power54:14 – The moral imperative pushback: you can't have good empire without bad empire56:35 – Imperialist realism: Americans don't think we're good, but can't imagine another worldPaying it forward: The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and Responsible Statecraft publication; The Trillion Dollar War Machine by William Hartung and Ben FreemanRecommendations:Danny: Nirvana and the history of Seattle punk/indie music (forthcoming podcast project)Kaiser: Hello China Tech Substack by Poe Zhao (hellotechchina.com)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Any kind of public dissent in China is both dangerous and difficult to document. But that hasn't prevented a dramatic increase in the number of protests taking place across the country. Police and other security forces act swiftly to shut them down – as a Sky News team learned first-hand when they were forced into cars and driven away whilst trying to film a factory strike in Shenzhen. What is the significance of the protests in China and could events in Iran be making Beijing nervous? Niall is joined by Sky's Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith. Producer: Natalie Ktena Editor: Mike Bovill

This week on Sinica, in a joint episode with the China-Global South Podcast, I speak with Eric Olander, host of the China Global South Podcast and founder/editor-in-chief of the China-Global South Project. In the early hours of January 3rd, U.S. forces carried out a coordinated operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, followed by their rendition to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. The operation unfolded quickly, with minimal kinetic escalation, but has raised far-reaching questions about international law, hemispheric security, and the Trump administration's willingness to use force in the Western Hemisphere. Just before the raid, China's Special Envoy for Latin America, Qiu Xiaoqi, had met with Maduro in Caracas. Commentary linking Trump's action to China has ranged widely—claims about spheres of influence, arguments this was all about oil or rare earths, and pronouncements about what this means for Taiwan. Eric helps us think through China's actual stake in Venezuela, how deeply Beijing understands Latin America, what this episode does and does not change about China's role in the region and the global South more broadly, China's immediate reaction and concrete exposure on the ground, how it manages political risk when partner regimes collapse, and what Chinese military planners may be studying as they assess how this operation unfolded.5:18 – How Beijing is reading this episode: official messaging versus elite thinking 7:40 – The Taiwan comparisons on Chinese social media and why they don't work 11:09 – How deep is China's actual expertise on Latin America? 14:56 – Comparing U.S. and Chinese benches of Latin America expertise 18:02 – Are we back to spheres of influence? Why that framing doesn't work 20:09 – Where is China most exposed in Venezuela: oil, loans, personnel? 23:41 – The resource-for-infrastructure model and why it failed 28:27 – The political assets: China as defender of sovereignty and multilateralism 36:25 – Will this push left-leaning governments closer to Beijing? 40:07 – The "China impotence" narrative and what doing something would actually mean 46:26 – What Chinese military planners are actually studying 51:46 – The Qiu Xiaoqi meeting: strategic failure or intelligence delivery? 58:40 – What actually changes and what doesn't: looking aheadPaying it forward: Alonso Illueca, nonresident fellow for Latin America and the Caribbean at the China Global South ProjectRecommendations: Eric: "China's Long Economic War" by Zongyuan Zoe Liu (Foreign Affairs)Kaiser: The Venetian Heretic by Christian CameronSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SHOW 12-2-2026 THE SHOW BEGIJS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT AI --  a useful invetion that can match the excitement of the first decades of Photography. November 1955 NADAR'S BALLOON AND THE BIRTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. In 1863, the photographer Nadar undertook a perilous ascent in a giant balloon to fund experiments for heavier-than-air flight, illustrating the adventurous spirit required of early photographers. This era began with Daguerre's 1839 introduction of the daguerreotype, a process involving highly dangerous chemicals like mercury and iodine to create unique, mirror-like images on copper plates. Pioneers risked their lives using explosive materials to capture reality with unprecedented clarity and permanence. NUMBER 1 PHOTOGRAPHING THE MOON AND SEA Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. Early photography expanded scientific understanding, allowing humanity to visualize the inaccessible. James Nasmyth produced realistic images of the moon by photographing plaster models based on telescope observations, aiming to prove its volcanic nature. Simultaneously, Louis Boutan spent a decade perfecting underwater photography, capturing divers in hard-hat helmets. These efforts demonstrated that photography could be a tool for scientific analysis and discovery, revealing details of the natural world previously hidden from the human eye. NUMBER 2 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND NATURE CONSERVATION Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. Photography became a powerful agent for social and environmental change. Jacob Riis utilized dangerous flash powder to document the squalid conditions of Manhattan tenements, exposing poverty to the public in How the Other Half Lives. While his methods raised consent issues, they illuminated grim realities. Conversely, Carleton Watkins hauled massive equipment into the wilderness to photograph Yosemite; his majestic images influenced legislation signed by Lincoln to protect the land, proving photography's political impact. NUMBER 3 X-RAYS, SURVEILLANCE, AND MOTION Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 sparked a "new photography" craze, though the radiation caused severe injuries to early practitioners and subjects. Photography also entered the realm of surveillance; British authorities used hidden cameras to photograph suffragettes, while doctors documented asylum patients without consent. Finally, Eadweard Muybridge's experiments captured horses in motion, settling debates about locomotion and laying the technical groundwork for the future development of motion pictures. NUMBER 4 THE AWAKENING OF CHINA'S ECONOMY Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Returning to China in 1994, the author witnessed a transformation from the destitute, Maoist uniformity of 1985 to a budding export economy. In the earlier era, workers slept on desks and lacked basic goods, but Deng Xiaoping's realization that the state needed hard currency prompted reforms. Deng established Special Economic Zones like Shenzhen to generate foreign capital while attempting to isolate the population from foreign influence, marking the start of China's export boom. NUMBER 5 RED CAPITALISTS AND SMUGGLERS Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Following the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, China reopened to investment in 1992, giving rise to "red capitalists"—often the children of party officials who traded political access for equity. As the central government lost control over local corruption and smuggling rings, it launched "Golden Projects" to digitize and centralize authority over customs and taxes. To avert a banking collapse in 1998, the state created asset management companies to absorb bad loans, effectively rolling over massive debt. NUMBER 6 GHOST CITIES AND THE STIMULUS TRAP Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. China's growth model shifted toward massive infrastructure spending, resulting in "ghost cities" and replica Western towns built to inflate GDP rather than house people. This "Potemkin culture" peaked during the 2008 Olympics, where facades were painted to impress foreigners. To counter the global financial crisis, Beijing flooded the economy with loans, fueling a real estate bubble that consumed more cement in three years than the US did in a century, creating unsustainable debt. NUMBER 7 STAGNATION UNDER SURVEILLANCE Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. The severe lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic shattered consumer confidence, leaving citizens insecure and unwilling to spend, which stalled economic recovery. Local governments, cut off from credit and burdened by debt, struggle to provide basic services. Faced with economic stagnation, Xi Jinping has rejected market liberalization in favor of increased surveillance and control, prioritizing regime security over resolving the structural debt crisis or restoring the dynamism of previous decades. NUMBER 8 FAMINE AND FLIGHT TO FREEDOM Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. Jimmy Lai was born into a wealthy family that lost everything to the Communist revolution, forcing his father to flee to Hong Kong while his mother endured labor camps. Left behind, Lai survived as a child laborer during a devastating famine where he was perpetually hungry. A chance encounter with a traveler who gave him a chocolate bar inspired him to escape to Hong Kong, the "land of chocolate," stowing away on a boat at age twelve. NUMBER 9 THE FACTORY GUY Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. By 1975, Jimmy Lai had risen from a child laborer to a factory owner, purchasing a bankrupt garment facility using stock market profits. Despite being a primary school dropout who learned English from a dictionary, Lai succeeded through relentless work and charm. He capitalized on the boom in American retail sourcing, winning orders from Kmart by producing samples overnight and eventually building Comitex into a leading sweater manufacturer, embodying the Hong Kong dream. NUMBER 10 CONSCIENCE AND CONVERSION Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. The 1989 Tiananmen Squaremassacre radicalized Lai, who transitioned from textiles to media, founding Next magazine and Apple Daily to champion democracy. Realizing the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party, he used his wealth to support the student movement and expose regime corruption. As the 1997 handover approached, Lai converted to Catholicism, influenced by his wife and pro-democracy peers, seeking spiritual protection and a moral anchor against the coming political storm. NUMBER 11 PRISON AND LAWFARE Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. Following the 2020 National Security Law, authorities raided Apple Daily, froze its assets, and arrested Lai, forcing the newspaper to close. Despite having the means to flee, Lai chose to stay and face imprisonment as a testament to his principles. Now held in solitary confinement, he is subjected to "lawfare"—sham legal proceedings designed to silence him—while he spends his time sketching religious images, remaining a symbol of resistance against Beijing's tyranny. NUMBER 12 FOUNDING OPENAI Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. In 2016, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever founded OpenAI as a nonprofit research lab to develop safe artificial general intelligence (AGI). Backed by investors like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, the organization aimed to be a counterweight to Google's DeepMind, which was driven by profit. The team relied on massive computing power provided by GPUs—originally designed for video games—to train neural networks, recruiting top talent like Sutskever to lead their scientific efforts. NUMBER 13 THE ROOTS OF AMBITION Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. Sam Altman grew up in St. Louis, the son of an idealistic developer and a driven dermatologist mother who instilled ambition and resilience in her children. Altmanattended the progressive John Burroughs School, where his intellect and charisma flourished, allowing him to connect with people on any topic. Though he was a tech enthusiast, his ability to charm others defined him early on, foreshadowing his future as a master persuader in Silicon Valley. NUMBER 14 SILICON VALLEY KINGMAKER Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. At Stanford, Altman co-founded Loopt, a location-sharing app that won him a meeting with Steve Jobs and a spot in the App Store launch. While Loopt was not a commercial success, the experience taught Altman that his true talent lay in investing and spotting future trends rather than coding. He eventually succeeded Paul Graham as president of Y Combinator, becoming a powerful figure in Silicon Valley who could convince skeptics like Peter Thiel to back his visions. NUMBER 15 THE BLIP AND THE FUTURE Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. The viral success of ChatGPT shifted OpenAI's focus from safety to commercialization, despite early internal warnings about the existential risks of AGI. Tensions over safety and Altman's management style led to a "blip" where the nonprofit board fired him, only for him to be quickly reinstated due to employee loyalty. Elon Musk, having lost a power struggle for control of the organization, severed ties, leaving Altman to lead the race toward AGI. NUMBER 16

THE AWAKENING OF CHINA'S ECONOMY Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Returning to China in 1994, the author witnessed a transformation from the destitute, Maoist uniformity of 1985 to a budding export economy. In the earlier era, workers slept on desks and lacked basic goods, but Deng Xiaoping's realization that the state needed hard currency prompted reforms. Deng established Special Economic Zones like Shenzhen to generate foreign capital while attempting to isolate the population from foreign influence, marking the start of China's export boom. NUMBER 5 194R SHANGHAI

In this holiday special, The World takes you to China. We visit Shenzhen, which has become the most thriving megacity in the world — without the air pollution, overcrowding and failing infrastructure that often accompany rapid expansion. Also, an unpacking of the latest diplomatic spat between China and Japan over Taiwan. And, a peek at the future of transportation innovation from the Automotive World China Exhibition, complete with electric cars and self-driving sanitation vehicles. Plus, the story of a mother who traveled with her adopted daughter to China in search of answers about her past. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week on Sinica, recorded at Yale University, I speak with Michael Brenes and Van Jackson, coauthors of The Rivalry Peril: How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy. Their argument is that framing the U.S.-China relationship as geopolitical rivalry has become more than just a foreign policy orientation — it's a domestic political project that reshapes budgets, norms, and coalitions in ways that actively harm American democracy and the American people. Rivalry narrows political possibility, makes dissent suspect, encourages neo-McCarthyism (the China Initiative, profiling of Chinese Americans), produces anti-AAPI hate, and redirects public investment away from social welfare and into defense spending through what they call "national security Keynesianism."Mike is interim director of the Brady Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale, while Van is a senior lecturer in international relations at Victoria University of Wellington and host of the Un-Diplomatic Podcast. We discuss the genesis of their collaboration during the Biden administration, how they navigate China as a puzzle for the American left, canonical misrememberings of the Cold War that distort current China policy, the security dilemma feedback loop between Washington and Beijing, why defense-heavy stimulus is terrible at job creation, how rivalry politics weakens democracy, recent polling showing a shift toward engagement, and their vision for a "geopolitics of peace" anchored in Sino-U.S. détente 2.0.5:47 – The genesis of the book: recognizing Biden's Cold War liberalism 11:26 – How they approached writing together from different disciplinary homes 13:20 – Navigating China as a puzzle for the American left21:39 – How great power competition hardened from analytical framework into ideology 28:15 – Mike on two canonical misrememberings of the Cold War 33:18 – Van on the security dilemma and the nuclear feedback loop 39:55 – National security Keynesianism: why defense spending is bad at job creation 44:38 – How rivalry politics weakens democracy and securitizes dissent 48:09 – Building durable coalitions for restraint-oriented statecraft 51:27 – Has the post-COVID moral panic actually abated? 53:27 – The master narrative we need: a geopolitics of peace 55:29 – Associative balancing: achieving equilibrium through accommodation, not armsRecommendations:Van: The Long Twentieth Century by Giovanni Arrighi Mike: The World of the Cold War: 1945-1991 by Vladislav Zubok Kaiser: Pluribus (Apple TV series by Vince Gilligan)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2:18:40 – Frank in New Jersey, plus the Other Side. Topics include: New Year’s Eve Eve, cleaning up the studio, Shindig! Magazine, Phish at MSG, Dream Wheel, Gulliver’s Gate, economics, Weird October Dreamer, Video Loaf, December, Groovy Walking Rover, 209, 1423, Tokyo video, Chongqing Night Walk, Shenzhen video, Buckaroo Banzai review, Onsug Radio Shuffle Mode segment, lost […]

2:18:40 – Frank in New Jersey, plus the Other Side. Topics include: New Year’s Eve Eve, cleaning up the studio, Shindig! Magazine, Phish at MSG, Dream Wheel, Gulliver’s Gate, economics, Weird October Dreamer, Video Loaf, December, Groovy Walking Rover, 209, 1423, Tokyo video, Chongqing Night Walk, Shenzhen video, Buckaroo Banzai review, Onsug Radio Shuffle Mode segment, lost […]

Happy holidays from Sinica! This week, I speak with Paul Triolo, Senior Vice President for China and Technology Policy Lead at DGA Albright Stonebridge Group and nonresident honorary senior fellow on technology at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. On December 8th, Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that he would approve Nvidia H200 sales to vetted Chinese customers — a decision that immediately sparked fierce debate. Paul and I unpack why this decision was made, why it's provoked such strong reactions, and what it tells us about the future of technology export controls on China. We discuss the evolution of U.S. chip controls from the Entity List expansions under Trump's first term through the October 2022 rules and the Sullivan Doctrine, the role of David Sacks and Jensen Huang in advocating for this policy shift, whether Chinese firms will actually want to buy H200s given their heterogeneous hardware stacks and Beijing's autarky ambitions, what the Reuters report about China cracking ASML's EUV lithography code tells us about the choke point strategy, and whether selective engagement actually strengthens Taiwan's Silicon Shield or undermines it. This conversation is essential listening for understanding the strategic, technical, and political dimensions of the semiconductor competition.6:44 – What the H200 decision actually changes in the real world 9:23 – The evolution of U.S. chip controls: from Entity Lists to the Sullivan Doctrine 18:28 – How Jensen Huang and David Sacks convinced Trump 25:21 – The good-faith case for why export control advocates see H200 approval as a strategic mistake 32:12 – What H200s practically enable: training, inference, or stabilizing existing clusters 38:49 – Will Chinese companies actually buy H200s? The heterogeneous hardware reality 46:06 – The strategic contradiction: exporting 5nm GPUs while freezing tool controls at 16/14nm 51:01 – The Reuters EUV report and what it reveals about choke point technologies 58:43 – How Taiwan fits into this: does selective engagement strengthen the Silicon Shield? 1:07:26 – Looking ahead: broader rethinking of export controls or patchwork exceptions? 1:12:49 – What would have to be true in 2-3 years for critics to have been right about H200?Paying it forward: Poe Zhao and his Substack Hello China TechRecommendations: Paul: Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Amerca's Great Power Propheti by Ed Luce; Hyperdimensional Substack by Dean Ball Kaiser: Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green; The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green; So Very Small by Thomas LevensonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A city's values are revealed not in its slogans, but in its leftovers. Thrown away, food waste is invisible—an inconvenient truth discarded. Redistributed with care, it becomes a mirror, reflecting a society's commitment to dignity, responsibility, and shared life. While food banks globally patch fragile safety nets, places like Shenzhen are reimagining the model entirely, shifting food aid from a stark last resort to a dignified, normalized feature of urban living. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Xingyu

Kencan Dengan Tuhan - Sabtu, 27 Desember 2025Bacaan: "Nikmatilah hidup dengan isteri yang kaukasihi seumur hidupmu yang sia-sia, yang dikaruniakan TUHAN kepadamu di bawah matahari, karena itulah bahagianmu dalam hidup dan dalam usaha yang engkau lakukan dengan jerih payah di bawah matahari. " (Pengkhotbah 9:9)Renungan: Tragedi gempa bumi yang terjadi pada tanggal 12 Mei 2008, yang mengguncang Wenchuan, Tiongkok menyisakan satu kisah mengharukan. Wu Jiafang, seorang pegawai restoran menemukan jenazah istrinya, Shi Huaqing di belakang reruntuhan restoran di mana dia bekerja. Tentu saja ini membuat air matanya tak terbendung lagi. Namun, dia tetap sabar menunggu bantuan datang untuk membawa pulang jenazah istrinya. Ternyata, setelah lama menunggu, bantuan tidak kunjung tiba. Wu Jiafang pun menggunakan tali kain merah untuk mengikatkan istrinya ke punggungnya. Lalu, dia naik sepeda motor dan dengan perlahan membawa mayat istrinya ke rumah yang berjarak empat kilometer. "Saat itu saya tidak berani menangis lagi karena takut mata kabur nanti terjadi kecelakaan, sehingga dia akan menderita lagi," katanya. Adegan ini mengharukan banyak orang dan dia disebut sebagai "suami yang paling berperasaan dalam gempa". Sesampainya di rumah, Wu Jiafang langsung menguburkan istrinya di samping rumahnya. Dia kemudian membuat tenda menemani istrinya yang sudah meninggal. Selama 100 hari masa berkabung itu dia hanya makan satu kali sehari. "Shi Huaqing tidak pernah meninggalkan saya ketika saya sedang menderita. Saya merasa berhutang budi kepadanya," katanya. Ternyata apa yang dilakukan Wu Jiafang ini menjadi buah bibir masyarakat dan sudah pasti sampai ke telinga banyak orang. Bukan hanya itu, cerita itu menyentuh hati perempuan-perempuan. Tidak berapa lama kemudian, 16 perempuan menulis surat kepadanya dan menyatakan diri ingin menjadi pendamping hidupnya. Tanggal 16 Oktober 2008, seorang wanita di Shenzhen yang bernama Liu Rurong juga meneleponnya. Dalam dua minggu mereka berkomunikasi jarak jauh setiap hari. Tanggal 9 November 2008, mereka bertemu dan merasa cocok. Sekalipun bukan perkara mudah bagi Wu Jiafang, tetapi kemudian dia memutuskan untuk menerima Liu Rurong untuk menjadi pendamping hidupnya. Dia berkata, "Dia jatuh cinta sama saya karena tersentuh akan kasih sayang saya terhadap istri saya terdahulu, dan juga karena dia menaruh belas kasih ke saya sebagai korban gempa. Saya tidak memiliki apa-apa, namun dia mau menikah dengan saya tanpa syarat. Karena itulah saya mencintainya." Hal senada dikatakan oleh Liu Rurong, "Dia adalah seorang petani biasa, pria yang ramah, kesederhanaannya menyentuh saya." Ketulusan cinta seseorang kepada pasangannya tidak diukur dari seberapa banyak harta yang bisa dia berikan, tetapi dari seberapa keras usaha untuk melindungi, merawat, mendampingi, dan memerhatikan pasangannya. Akan sangat mudah untuk memerhatikan pasangan ketika sehat dan banyak harta, tetapi tidak mudah ketika pasangan dalam keadaan menderita. Mari kita tanamkan dalam diri kita cinta yang tulus sehingga apa pun keadaan pasangan kita, kita tetap menunjukkan cinta itu dalam tindakan nyata. Tuhan Yesus memberkati. Doa:Tuhan Yesus, berilah aku hati yang sanggup mengasihi pasanganku dengan tulus dan terwujud di dalam tindakan nyata. Amin. (Dod).

On April 13, 2018, when President Xi Jinping announced that China would support Hainan, a tropical island about the size of Taiwan province off China's southern coast, in exploring the creation of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, the message traveled far beyond China's southern shores.2018年4月13日，习近平主席宣布，中国将支持位于中国南部沿海、面积与台湾省相当的热带岛屿海南，探索建设具有中国特色的自由贸易港。这一消息迅速传遍中国南方海岸之外。It reached Atyrau, a city on Kazakhstan's Caspian coast, where Ruslan Tulenov, then working at a local chemical company after spending more than a decade studying and living in China, followed the news closely.这一消息传到了哈萨克斯坦里海沿岸城市阿特劳。当时，在中国学习和生活十余年后、正在当地一家化工企业工作的鲁斯兰·图列诺夫，密切关注着这条新闻。The moment Xi's announcement was broadcast, Tulenov knew it was the right time for him to return to Hainan, where he had completed his undergraduate studies.习近平讲话播出的那一刻，图列诺夫便意识到，重返他完成本科学业的海南，时机已经成熟。"I was constantly observing this country — how it developed and where it was heading," Tulenov recalled. "I wanted to find my own career chance in that process."“我一直在观察这个国家——它是如何发展的，又将走向何方，”图列诺夫回忆说，“我希望在这一进程中找到属于自己的职业机会。”Speaking that day at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone, Xi highlighted Hainan's special advantages, including its status as China's biggest SEZ, its unique geographic location and the best ecological environment in the country, as reasons to make it a test ground for reform and opening-up.在当天举行的海南建省办经济特区30周年庆祝大会上，习近平强调了海南的独特优势，包括其作为中国最大经济特区的地位、独特的区位条件以及全国最优的生态环境，并指出正是这些优势，使海南具备成为改革开放试验田的条件。The decision to build a pilot free trade zone and eventually a free trade port was, Xi stressed, a major move by the Communist Party of China Central Committee to signal China's resolution of further opening up and promoting economic globalization.习近平强调，建设自由贸易试验区并逐步探索建设自由贸易港，是中共中央着眼于进一步扩大对外开放、推动经济全球化作出的重大战略部署。On Thursday, the Hainan FTP will officially launch island-wide special customs operations — a move that Xi has described as a landmark step by China to unwaveringly expand high-standard opening-up and promote the development of an open world economy.周四，海南自由贸易港将正式启动全岛封关运作。习近平将这一举措称为中国坚定不移扩大高水平对外开放、推动开放型世界经济发展的标志性一步。China's plan for the island's future also opened the door for young talent like Tulenov. When the Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, established in 2019, launched a global talent recruitment campaign, he applied right away.中国对海南未来发展的系统规划，也为图列诺夫这样的青年人才打开了机遇之门。2019年成立的海南国际经济发展局启动全球人才招聘计划时，他第一时间提交了申请。The bureau is the first government agency of its kind at the provincial level dedicated to attracting global investment for the Hainan Free Trade Port.该机构是中国首个在省级层面专门负责为海南自由贸易港吸引全球投资的政府机构。After rounds of tests and interviews, the multilingual Kazakh became the bureau's first foreign employee, reflecting Hainan's growing international orientation.经过多轮考试和面试，这位精通多种语言的哈萨克斯坦人，成为该局首位外籍员工，体现出海南日益增强的国际化取向。As policies for the Hainan Free Trade Port continued to take shape, China released a master plan in June 2020 to build Hainan into a globally influential, high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.随着海南自由贸易港相关政策不断完善，中国于2020年6月发布总体方案，提出到本世纪中叶，将海南建设成为具有全球影响力的高水平自由贸易港。The document said that supporting Hainan's construction of a free trade port system with Chinese characteristics is a significant move designed, arranged and promoted by Xi.文件指出，支持海南建设具有中国特色的自由贸易港体系，是习近平亲自谋划、亲自部署、亲自推动的重大战略举措。Two years later, in 2022, Tulenov found himself standing in the audience at the Yangpu Economic Development Zone in Hainan, listening as Xi spoke about Hainan's development path.两年后的2022年，图列诺夫站在海南洋浦经济开发区的会场中，现场聆听习近平阐述海南的发展路径。The province, Xi said, had spent decades debating its industrial positioning. Now, the priorities were clear: tourism, modern services, high-tech industries, and tropical high-efficiency agriculture, he said.习近平指出，海南在产业定位问题上探索多年，如今方向已经明确，即重点发展旅游业、现代服务业、高新技术产业和热带特色高效农业。As China's only tropical province and a major maritime region, Hainan had natural advantages in developing these four industries. The four sectors already accounted for 67 percent of Hainan's GDP in 2024.作为中国唯一的热带省份和重要海洋区域，海南在发展这四大产业方面具备天然优势。到2024年，这四个产业已占海南地区生产总值的67%。During that trip, Xi also raised expectations: Hainan would become a paradigm of reform and opening-up in the new era, he said.在那次考察中，习近平还提出更高期望，指出海南要成为新时代改革开放的示范样板。At the China International Import Expo, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference and the G20 Leaders' Summit, the Chinese president has, on many international occasions, highlighted China's efforts to develop the Hainan Free Trade Port and develop new systems for a higher-standard open economy. Xi said that all are welcome to share in the vast opportunities of the Chinese market.在中国国际进口博览会、博鳌亚洲论坛年会以及二十国集团领导人峰会等多个国际场合，习近平多次介绍海南自由贸易港建设进展和中国构建更高水平开放型经济新体制的努力，并表示欢迎各方共享中国市场的巨大机遇。In December last year and again this November, Xi returned to the province to hear detailed work reports from local officials — trips that highlighted the central leadership's close attention to the FTP's progress.去年12月以及今年11月，习近平两次赴海南听取地方工作汇报，凸显了中央对自由贸易港建设进展的高度关注。This focus is especially significant as the Hainan FTP will officially launch island-wide special customs operations on Thursday.在海南自由贸易港即将启动全岛封关运作之际，这种高度重视尤显重要。The shift will raise the share of zero-tariff goods in the Hainan FTP from 21 percent to 74 percent, while further opening sectors such as tourism, modern services and high-tech industries.封关运作后，海南自由贸易港零关税商品比例将从21%提升至74%，同时进一步扩大旅游业、现代服务业和高新技术产业等领域对外开放。"The launch of island-wide special customs operations will provide Hainan with the foundational conditions to advance opening-up across a broader scope and at a deeper level," Xi said during his trip to Hainan last month, stressing the need to free minds, advance reform and explore new ground, and promote reform and opening-up across various sectors more proactively.习近平在上月考察海南时指出，全岛封关运作将为海南在更大范围、更深层次推进对外开放提供基础条件，并强调要进一步解放思想、深化改革、勇于探索，在各领域更加主动推进改革开放。For Tulenov, each of Xi's visits carries a personal meaning. "Every time President Xi comes, we feel encouraged," he said.对图列诺夫而言，习近平每一次到访都具有特殊意义。“每次习近平主席来，我们都备受鼓舞。”他说。As the International Economic Development Bureau's global press officer, Tulenov has traveled extensively, promoting Hainan's advantages to companies and investors across the world.作为海南国际经济发展局的全球新闻官，图列诺夫走访多国，向全球企业和投资者推介海南的优势。"I always tell them that Shenzhen was where China first opened to the world. Now Hainan is the next chapter," he said. "Personally, I benchmarked the FTP against Hong Kong and Singapore. I firmly believe Hainan will become a port like those — it just takes time and steady steps."“我总是告诉他们，深圳是中国对外开放的起点，而海南正书写着新的篇章，”他说，“就我个人而言，我将海南自由贸易港对标香港和新加坡。我坚信，海南终将成为类似的国际港口，只是需要时间和稳步推进。”Thursday also marks the 47th anniversary of the third plenary session of the 11th CPC Central Committee — the milestone meeting that launched China's reform and opening-up. Observers said the latest move represents another significant step in the opening-up of the world's second-largest economy, even as unilateralism and protectionism intensify globally.周四同时也是中共十一届三中全会召开47周年纪念日。这次具有里程碑意义的会议开启了中国改革开放的历史进程。观察人士指出，在全球单边主义和保护主义加剧的背景下，海南的新举措标志着世界第二大经济体进一步扩大开放的重要一步。"The Hainan Free Trade Port occupies a uniquely prominent place in China's reform agenda," said Matteo Giovannini, an Asia-Global Fellow at the University of Hong Kong. It is one of the national strategies reaffirmed by President Xi, underscoring its role as a test ground for the next stage of high-level opening-up, he said.香港大学亚洲全球研究员马特奥·乔万尼尼表示，海南自由贸易港在中国改革议程中占据着独特而突出的地位，是习近平反复强调的国家战略之一，凸显了其作为新一轮高水平对外开放试验田的重要作用。Hainan's performance is likely to become a key reference for how China balances deeper openness with economic security amid global uncertainty, Giovannini said.乔万尼尼表示，在全球不确定性加剧的背景下，海南的发展实践有望成为中国在深化开放与维护经济安全之间寻求平衡的重要参考。"Lessons from Hainan may inform reforms in areas such as cross-border capital flows, data governance, services trade and green finance, offering models that could be scaled up elsewhere," he said. "In this sense, Hainan is not just a regional experiment, but a signal of how China sees reform evolving under more complex external conditions."他说：“海南的经验可能为跨境资本流动、数据治理、服务贸易和绿色金融等领域的改革提供借鉴，并形成可在其他地区推广的模式。从这个意义上看，海南不仅是区域性试验，更是中国在复杂外部环境下推进改革方向的重要信号。”Wang Ying, a researcher at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that the strategic emphasis placed on the Hainan FTP reflects China's confidence in its development path and commitment to globalization.对外经济贸易大学中国开放经济研究院研究员王颖表示，中央对海南自由贸易港的战略重视，体现了中国对自身发展道路的信心以及持续推进经济全球化的坚定承诺。She said that the FTP, which serves as a platform for engagement with frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, also signals China's determination to align with top-tier international trade rules.她指出，海南自由贸易港作为对接《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》《数字经济伙伴关系协定》等框架的平台，也释放出中国主动对标高标准国际经贸规则的明确信号。By taking a pioneering approach, Hainan is positioned to contribute Chinese solutions to the evolution of international economic rules and help guide the development of global standards, Wang added.王颖补充说，通过先行先试，海南有望为国际经济规则演进提供“中国方案”，并在全球标准制定中发挥引导作用。Giovannini noted that Hainan is well positioned, both geographically and strategically, to become a connective node between China and Southeast Asia, with its focus on services trade, logistics, tourism, and digital and green industries closely matching ASEAN's growth priorities.乔万尼尼指出，从地理和战略层面看，海南具备成为连接中国与东南亚的重要枢纽的有利条件，其重点发展的服务贸易、物流、旅游以及数字和绿色产业，与东盟的发展重点高度契合。"If regulatory credibility and policy consistency are maintained, the FTP could evolve into a meaningful gateway for two-way flows of capital, talent and services, connecting China more deeply with ASEAN and other emerging markets," he said.他说：“如果能够保持监管可信度和政策连续性，海南自由贸易港有望发展成为资本、人才和服务双向流动的重要门户，使中国与东盟及其他新兴市场实现更深层次联通。”free trade port (FTP)自由贸易港island-wide special customs operations全岛封关运作zero-tariff goods零关税商品economic globalization经济全球化regulatory credibility监管可信度

Shenzhen scientists develop EUV lithography prototype, the FTC probes Instacart’s AI pricing tool, and Apple is modifying its iOS app store policies in Japan. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you seeContinue reading "Gemini 3 Flash Replaces 2.5 as Default in Google’s AI Tools – DTH"

Sucio Talks to Chef Kevin Finch!!A Salt Lake City native with a Michelin-starred resume that spans New York @betony, Bangkok, Shenzhen @ensue, San Francisco @ateliercrenn , and beyond, Kevin brings a global culinary perspective rooted in discipline, curiosity, and intention. With each chapter of his career, he's depended on his reverence for seasonality and place — from the burst of a summer tomato in his aunt's garden to sourcing unfamiliar ingredients halfway across the world. These experiences have shaped a thoughtful, produce-forward style of cooking that honors technique while welcoming constant evolution.Arthur is Kevin's first restaurant — a space where precise technique, thoughtful sourcing, and a deep sense of place quietly lead the way. Relaxed yet refined, it's built to feel both timeless and playful — a place to return to, again and again. #chef #cheflife #chefpodcast #chefs #cooks #michelin #NYC #greenpointbrooklyn #greenpoint #brooklyn

This week on Sinica, I speak with Mark Sidel, the Doyle Bascom Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a senior fellow at the International Center for Not for Profit Law. Mark has written extensively on law and philanthropy in China and across Asia, including widely cited analyses of how the Chinese security state came to play a central role in managing foreign civil society organizations. Since the Law on the Management of Domestic Activities of Overseas NGOs took effect on January 1, 2017, China has introduced a remarkably comprehensive, vertically integrated system of oversight for foreign NGOs, foundations, and nonprofits.We discuss how this system combines securitization and political risk management with selective accommodation of service provision and technical expertise, Mark's typology of organizational responses (survivors, hibernators, regionalizers, work-arounders, and leavers), the requirement that foreign NGOs secure professional supervisory units, the impact on China's domestic nonprofit ecosystem, and what this tells us about the party-state's long-term vision for controlled engagement with the outside world.4:43 – The landscape of non-state organizations before the 2016 law 7:06 – What changed: color revolutions, Arab Spring, and domestic anxieties 9:08 – Public security intellectuals and their influence on the law 11:51 – How registration and temporary activity filing systems work in practice 13:48 – Why the Ministry of Public Security, not Civil Affairs, was put in charge 19:31 – The professional supervisory unit requirement and dependency relationships22:48 – How the state shifted foreign NGO work away from advocacy without banning it26:17 – Mark's typology: survivors, hibernators, regionalizers, work-arounders, and leavers 35:19 – What correlates with success for those who have survived 40:41 – Impact on China's domestic nonprofit ecosystem and professional intermediaries 45:54 – What makes China's system distinctive compared to India, Egypt, Russia, and Vietnam 50:19 – The Article 53 problem and university partnerships 55:32 – Advice for mid-sized foundations or NGOs considering work in China todayPaying it Forward: Neysun Mahboubi and the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China RelationsRecommendations:Mark: Everyday Democracy: Civil Society, Youth, and the Struggle Against Authoritarian Culture in China by Anthony SpiresKaiser: The music of Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, The Dregs, Steve Morse Band)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A digital world in relentless movement—from artificial intelligence to ubiquitous computing—has been captured and reinvented as a monoculture by Silicon Valley "big tech" and venture capital firms. Yet very little is discussed in the public sphere about existing alternatives. Based on long-term field research across San Francisco, Tokyo, and Shenzhen, Common Circuits: Hacking Alternative Technological Futures (Stanford UP, 2025) explores a transnational network of hacker spaces that stand as potent, but often invisible, alternatives to the dominant technology industry. In what ways have hackers challenged corporate projects of digital development? How do hacker collectives prefigure more just technological futures through community projects? Luis Felipe R. Murillo responds to these urgent questions with an analysis of the hard challenges of collaborative, autonomous community-making through technical objects conceived by hackers as convivial, shared technologies. Through rich explorations of hacker space histories and biographical sketches of hackers who participate in them, Murillo describes the social and technical conditions that allowed for the creation of community projects such as anonymity and privacy networks to counter mass surveillance; community-made monitoring devices to measure radioactive contamination; and small-scale open hardware fabrication for the purposes of technological autonomy. Murillo shows how hacker collectives point us toward brighter technological futures—a renewal of the "digital commons"—where computing projects are constantly being repurposed for the common good. Mentioned in this episode: "Political Software: Mapping Digital Worlds from Below" Project Website here Luis Felipe R. Murillo is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Faculty Fellow at the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center at the University of Notre Dame. His work is dedicated to the study of computing from an anthropological perspective. Liliana Gil is Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies (STS) at The Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Lisa Lin is the founder of Pack Horizon, a Shenzhen-based packaging studio and factory. She helps beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands create custom, sustainable packaging—from design to production—bridging creative ideas with precise manufacturing.Contact Lisa Lin:If anyone listening is working on a new product launch or wants to explore eco-friendly packaging options… feel free to check out our website: www.pack-horizon.com :) You can also find me on LinkedIn, where I share behind-the-scenes stories and insights from our journey.LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-lin-510692163Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/lisa013coral/TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@lisa.horizon?_t=ZS-8zC8b5Qc3Of&_r=1Dr. Kimberley LinertSpeaker, Author, Broadcaster, Mentor, Trainer, Behavioral OptometristEvent Planners- I am available to speak at your event. Here is my media kit: https://brucemerrinscelebrityspeakers.com/portfolio/dr-kimberley-linert/To book Dr. Linert on your podcast, television show, conference, corporate training or as an expert guest please email her at incrediblelifepodcast@gmail.com or Contact Bruce Merrin at Bruce Merrin's Celebrity Speakers at merrinpr@gmail.com702.256.9199Host of the Podcast Series: Incredible Life Creator PodcastAvailable on...Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/incredible-life-creator-with-dr-kimberley-linert/id1472641267Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6DZE3EoHfhgcmSkxY1CvKf?si=ebe71549e7474663 and on 9 other podcast platformsAuthor of Book: "Visualizing Happiness in Every Area of Your Life"Get on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cmTOMwWebsite: https://linktr.ee/DrKimberleyLinertThe Great Discovery eLearning platform: https://thegreatdiscovery.com/kimberleyl

A digital world in relentless movement—from artificial intelligence to ubiquitous computing—has been captured and reinvented as a monoculture by Silicon Valley "big tech" and venture capital firms. Yet very little is discussed in the public sphere about existing alternatives. Based on long-term field research across San Francisco, Tokyo, and Shenzhen, Common Circuits: Hacking Alternative Technological Futures (Stanford UP, 2025) explores a transnational network of hacker spaces that stand as potent, but often invisible, alternatives to the dominant technology industry. In what ways have hackers challenged corporate projects of digital development? How do hacker collectives prefigure more just technological futures through community projects? Luis Felipe R. Murillo responds to these urgent questions with an analysis of the hard challenges of collaborative, autonomous community-making through technical objects conceived by hackers as convivial, shared technologies. Through rich explorations of hacker space histories and biographical sketches of hackers who participate in them, Murillo describes the social and technical conditions that allowed for the creation of community projects such as anonymity and privacy networks to counter mass surveillance; community-made monitoring devices to measure radioactive contamination; and small-scale open hardware fabrication for the purposes of technological autonomy. Murillo shows how hacker collectives point us toward brighter technological futures—a renewal of the "digital commons"—where computing projects are constantly being repurposed for the common good. Mentioned in this episode: "Political Software: Mapping Digital Worlds from Below" Project Website here Luis Felipe R. Murillo is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Faculty Fellow at the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center at the University of Notre Dame. His work is dedicated to the study of computing from an anthropological perspective. Liliana Gil is Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies (STS) at The Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

A digital world in relentless movement—from artificial intelligence to ubiquitous computing—has been captured and reinvented as a monoculture by Silicon Valley "big tech" and venture capital firms. Yet very little is discussed in the public sphere about existing alternatives. Based on long-term field research across San Francisco, Tokyo, and Shenzhen, Common Circuits: Hacking Alternative Technological Futures (Stanford UP, 2025) explores a transnational network of hacker spaces that stand as potent, but often invisible, alternatives to the dominant technology industry. In what ways have hackers challenged corporate projects of digital development? How do hacker collectives prefigure more just technological futures through community projects? Luis Felipe R. Murillo responds to these urgent questions with an analysis of the hard challenges of collaborative, autonomous community-making through technical objects conceived by hackers as convivial, shared technologies. Through rich explorations of hacker space histories and biographical sketches of hackers who participate in them, Murillo describes the social and technical conditions that allowed for the creation of community projects such as anonymity and privacy networks to counter mass surveillance; community-made monitoring devices to measure radioactive contamination; and small-scale open hardware fabrication for the purposes of technological autonomy. Murillo shows how hacker collectives point us toward brighter technological futures—a renewal of the "digital commons"—where computing projects are constantly being repurposed for the common good. Mentioned in this episode: "Political Software: Mapping Digital Worlds from Below" Project Website here Luis Felipe R. Murillo is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Faculty Fellow at the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center at the University of Notre Dame. His work is dedicated to the study of computing from an anthropological perspective. Liliana Gil is Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies (STS) at The Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

A digital world in relentless movement—from artificial intelligence to ubiquitous computing—has been captured and reinvented as a monoculture by Silicon Valley "big tech" and venture capital firms. Yet very little is discussed in the public sphere about existing alternatives. Based on long-term field research across San Francisco, Tokyo, and Shenzhen, Common Circuits: Hacking Alternative Technological Futures (Stanford UP, 2025) explores a transnational network of hacker spaces that stand as potent, but often invisible, alternatives to the dominant technology industry. In what ways have hackers challenged corporate projects of digital development? How do hacker collectives prefigure more just technological futures through community projects? Luis Felipe R. Murillo responds to these urgent questions with an analysis of the hard challenges of collaborative, autonomous community-making through technical objects conceived by hackers as convivial, shared technologies. Through rich explorations of hacker space histories and biographical sketches of hackers who participate in them, Murillo describes the social and technical conditions that allowed for the creation of community projects such as anonymity and privacy networks to counter mass surveillance; community-made monitoring devices to measure radioactive contamination; and small-scale open hardware fabrication for the purposes of technological autonomy. Murillo shows how hacker collectives point us toward brighter technological futures—a renewal of the "digital commons"—where computing projects are constantly being repurposed for the common good. Mentioned in this episode: "Political Software: Mapping Digital Worlds from Below" Project Website here Luis Felipe R. Murillo is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Faculty Fellow at the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center at the University of Notre Dame. His work is dedicated to the study of computing from an anthropological perspective. Liliana Gil is Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies (STS) at The Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/technology

Eager to tap into a huge potential customer base, industry players are accelerating their push into the artificial intelligence-driven toys market, hoping to unlock new growth as supportive policies inject fresh momentum into the sector.为挖掘庞大的潜在客户群体，行业参与者正加速进军人工智能驱动的玩具市场，期待借政策支持为该领域注入新动能，从而开启新的增长空间。Experts and business leaders noted that AI toys, created to provide emotional support and companionship, are well-positioned to spark the next wave of consumer trends by using advanced technologies to foster emotional connections with consumers.专家和商业领袖指出，人工智能玩具旨在提供情感支持与陪伴，凭借先进技术与消费者建立情感纽带，有望引领下一波消费潮流。"Young consumers are increasingly paying for emotional value, and AI companionship is emerging as a key early-use case," said Sun Zhaozhi, founder and CEO of Shanghai-based AI-driven toy startup Robopoet.上海人工智能玩具初创企业珞博智能科技有限公司创始人兼首席执行官孙兆治表示：“年轻消费者越来越愿意为情感价值买单，而人工智能陪伴正成为关键的早期应用场景。”"This is attracting more companies, including major firms, into the field," Sun said.孙兆治表示：“这正吸引着更多企业，包括大型企业，进入该领域。”According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's AI toy market was valued at 24.6 billion yuan ($3.49 billion) in 2024, and is expected to be worth 29 billion yuan this year.根据工业和信息化部的数据显示，2024年中国人工智能玩具市场规模达246亿元（约合34.9亿美元），预计今年将达到290亿元。The growth momentum is backed by an action plan released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration for Market Regulation last month, where collectible toys were listed as a priority support consumption category for the first time, making it one of 10 consumer segments targeted to exceed the 100 billion yuan mark by 2027.增长势头得益于上月由工业和信息化部、国家发展和改革委员会、商务部、文化和旅游部、中国人民银行及国家市场监督管理总局联合发布的行动方案。该方案首次将收藏玩具列为重点扶持消费品类，使其成为十个目标消费领域之一，力争到2027年实现规模突破千亿人民币大关。"The deep integration of AI with traditional toy manufacturing is reshaping product forms and value chains, making AI toys a new engine for high-quality industrial development," said He Yaqiong, head of the consumer products industry department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.工业和信息化部消费品司司长何亚琼表示：“人工智能与传统玩具制造的深度融合，正在重塑产品形态和价值链，使智能玩具成为高质量产业发展的全新引擎。”Priced at 399 yuan, Robopoet's flagship AI plush toy Fuzozo, which talks to and makes eye contact with users, sold over 1,000 units in the first 10 minutes of the "618" shopping festival presale and ranked No 1 in AI toy sales on both JD and Tmall during this year's Double 11 shopping festival, Sun said.珞博智能旗下旗舰AI毛绒玩具“芙崽”售价399元，具备与用户对话及眼神交流功能。据孙兆治透露，该产品在“618”购物节预售阶段开售10分钟内销量突破千台，并在今年双11购物节期间同时荣登京东、天猫两大平台AI玩具销量榜首。The senior executive added that the product has sold about 100,000 units so far this year and targets 1 million next year, aiming for 400-500 million yuan in gross merchandise value.孙兆治补充道，该产品今年迄今已售出约10万台，明年目标为100万台，力争实现4亿至5亿元人民币的商品交易总额。As consumer demand grows more diverse, more companies are shifting their focus toward AI-powered pet companions.随着消费者需求日益多元化，越来越多的企业正将目光转向人工智能驱动的宠物伴侣。"Unlike typical robots designed to serve humans, our product simulates a live pet that needs care. The process of caring offers users a sense of healing, helping them to cope with anxiety and loneliness," said He Jiabin, co-founder and CEO of AI robot pet manufacturer Ropet.人工智能宠物机器人Ropet的联合创始人兼首席执行官何嘉斌表示：“与传统服务型机器人不同，我们的产品模拟了需要照料的活体宠物。照料过程能为用户带来治愈感，帮助他们缓解焦虑与孤独。”He added that AI-powered robot pets better suit the lifestyles of young people today, as challenges such as allergies, time constraints and a training process are not present.何嘉斌补充道，人工智能驱动的机器人宠物更适合当今年轻人的生活方式，因为它们避免了过敏、时间限制和训练过程等难题。Supported by an emotional large language model and behavioral learning, Ropet can continuously adapt to users' habits and gradually develop distinctive traits, allowing it to interact more like a personalized pet, the executive said.何嘉斌表示，在情感化大型语言模型和行为学习技术的支持下，Ropet能够持续适应用户习惯并逐步形成独特个性，使其互动体验更接近于个性化宠物。Following its domestic debut on JD in late October, the AI pet product quickly made its way into the platform's top three ranking in the robot category by sales volume during the Double 11 shopping festival.这款人工智能宠物产品于十月下旬在京东平台国内首发后，在双十一购物节期间迅速跻身该平台机器人品类销量前三名。"Our business logic is straightforward: first create an appealing hardware product, then use high usage rates to accumulate behavioral data, and finally leverage this data to deliver true intelligence," He said.他说道：“我们的商业逻辑很简单：先打造一款吸引人的硬件产品，再通过高使用率积累行为数据，最后利用这些数据实现真正的智能化。”As domestic momentum builds, Chinese AI toys are also finding strong traction abroad.随着国内势头增强，中国的人工智能玩具在海外市场也获得了强劲的牵引力。In 2024, China's domestic toy retail market was worth 97.85 billion yuan, up 25.5 percent from 2020, while toy exports totaled $39.87 billion, rising 19.1 percent from 2020, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.工业和信息化部数据显示：2024年中国国内玩具零售市场规模达978.5亿元，较2020年增长25.5%；玩具出口总额达398.7亿美元，较2020年增长19.1%。"Consumers in the United States and Europe have shown high acceptance of AI robots with visual understanding and personalized interaction. Many describe our products as 'little desktop creatures', 'AI pets' or an 'emotional charging station'," said Yi Qi, marketing manager at Shenzhen-based AI hardware company TangibleFuture.深圳可触未来智能硬件有限公司的市场经理陈怡琦表示：“美国和欧洲消费者对具备视觉理解和个性化交互功能的人工智能机器人表现出高度接受度。许多人将我们的产品称为‘桌面小精灵'、‘人工智能宠物'或‘情感充电站'。”The company's LOOI Robot, priced at around $150, differs from typical companion robots with its phone-dock form factor. Once a smartphone is placed on it, the device activates intelligent interaction and obstacle detection functions.该公司推出的LOOI机器人售价约150美元，其手机底座造型设计区别于传统伴侣机器人。当智能手机放置于底座后，设备即刻激活智能交互与障碍物检测功能。Since mass production began in November 2024, more than 10,000 units have been shipped, with 90 percent sold overseas. The product even received a social media endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.自2024年11月启动量产以来，LOOI机器人已交付逾万台，其中90%销往海外市场。该产品甚至获得了特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克在社交媒体上的推荐。"Boasting the world's most complete toy industry chain, strong manufacturing capabilities and a highly skilled labor force, China is now able to offer more high-quality and well-priced toys to global consumers," said He Ya qiong, from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.工业和信息化部部长何亚琼表示：“中国拥有全球最完整的玩具产业链、强大的制造能力和高素质的劳动力队伍，如今能够为全球消费者提供更多高品质、高性价比的玩具。”gross merchandise value(GMV)商品交易总额tractionn.[ˈtrækʃn]吸引力

I was pleased to be joined by recent LPGA & LET pro caddy Jonathan Katzman who just recently finished his 5th season out on tour as a pro caddy which he finished on a high with the highly rated Chinese talent Liqi Zeng finishing 2nd at Aramco Series event in Shenzhen after a short stint this year on Ladies European Tour with Anna Foster. Jonathan got his caddying gig started round about 2020 on the Korn Ferry Tour and had some nice runs but it was the run in with Nataliya Guseva that shaped his caddying career in a successful run helping her win on Epson Tour, finishing 1st on Ladies European Tour Final Qualifying and embarking on a great run together in her rookie LPGA Tour season with 2 2nd's in Portland & Hawaii as well as making CME Tour finals in 2024! We find out about what is on the agenda next for Jonathan as he looks to fulfil other passions outside of Golf! Thanks for coming on the chat Jonathan, all the best! Remember to download via Podbean,  Spotify & Apple Podcasts it massively helps the show!

Another week and another Angry Planet about the horrifying systems that rule our lives.Is there a depressive theme running through the work right now? Possibly. I promise we'll soon replace it with rage.This week on the show we have Sven Beckert to talk about his new book Capitalism: A Global History. Beckert is a professor of history at Harvard and his tome is an attempt to capture the entire history of an economic system in one book. It's a doorstop, but it's also readable and clear-eyed. Some come with me on a journey that runs through the plantations of South Carolina to the tech markets of Shenzhen.Cotton as an entry point to the history of capitalismThe economic big bangIndustrial Revolution as mutation“It's still being born.”Human data is oil to be frackedThe Quaker Oats metaphor“The market is God.”Ascribing morality to economicsWhen Gary Hart ushered in Neoliberalism“Capitalism is a series of regime changes.”Moments of great change offer opportunitiesCapitalism: A Global HistoryThe Old Order Is Dead. Do Not Resuscitate.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place from November 18 to 19 next year in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Thursday marked the opening of an institution of learning that aims to upskill over 100,000 delivery workers. China's first "rider academy" was launched in Guangdong province, in a move that reflects the authorities' push to support the expanding courier workforce.周四，一个旨在提升10万余名配送员技能的教育机构正式揭牌。中国首家“骑手学院”在广东成立，体现出政府对不断壮大的快递与配送群体的支持力度。Jointly established by the Guangdong provincial education authority and e-commerce giant JD, the Modern Grassroots Workers Academy, widely referred to as the "rider academy", was inaugurated at Guangzhou Polytechnic University, marking China's first dedicated vocational education platform for full-time delivery personnel.由广东省教育部门与电商巨头京东联合共建的“现代基层劳动者学院”（广称为“骑手学院”）在广州科技职业技术大学揭牌，成为国内首个面向专职配送人员的职业教育平台。Lin Rupeng, director of the Guangdong Department of Education, said the academy reflects Guangdong's push to link education and talent chains more closely with the province's industrial and innovation needs, while building stronger safeguards for workers in emerging forms of employment and empowering them for future changes in the job market.广东省教育厅厅长林如鹏表示，学院体现了广东将教育链、人才链与产业链、创新链深度融合的努力，同时为新就业形态劳动者提供更完善保障，帮助其适应未来就业市场变化。"Through the enabling power of education, we are opening a new pathway for the career development of delivery riders, and by bringing universities and enterprises together, we are creating a more dynamic model of industry-education integration," he said.他说：“通过教育赋能，我们为外卖骑手开辟职业发展新通道；通过高校与企业协同，我们正在打造更加活跃的产教融合模式。”According to Feng Lei, a senior executive with JD, the academy will rely on university facilities, training centers and teaching staff across Guangdong, with Guangzhou Polytechnic University serving as the core base and several other colleges running satellite training points. Over the next three years, it will train more than 100,000 full-time riders and frontline couriers whom JD employs in the province.京东高管冯蕾介绍称，学院将依托广东多所高校的设施、培训中心和师资力量，以广州科技职业技术大学为核心基地，并在多所院校设置培训点。未来三年，学院将在广东培训超过10万名京东全职骑手与一线配送员工。The curriculum is designed to be practical and closely aligned with industry needs and development. Riders will access courses including food safety, mental well-being and English. To prepare for emerging delivery technologies, a training base for drone operators and related high-tech roles will be established, and qualified riders could be channeled into positions such as warehouse supervisors or drone pilots.课程设计强调实用性，与行业需求高度契合。骑手将学习食品安全、心理健康、英语等课程。为应对配送科技发展，学院还将建设无人机操作等高技术岗位的培训基地，合格学员将有机会转岗为仓储主管或无人机驾驶员。Guo Shuzhao, a JD rider, said the courses are closely aligned with their day-to-day work, covering not only operational skills but also safety regulations and service standards.京东骑手郭树钊表示，课程内容与日常工作高度相关，不仅涵盖操作技能，还包括安全规范和服务标准。"By completing the training to get certificates, our opportunities for career advancement will increase significantly," he said.他说：“完成培训并取得证书后，我们的晋升机会会明显增加。”The initiative comes as delivery riders, couriers, online shop owners, livestream sellers and ride-hailing drivers, classified in China as new forms of employment, become increasingly central to urban life. There are already 84 million workers nationwide engaged in such employment, data from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions showed.该举措出台之际，随着外卖骑手、快递员、网店经营者、直播带货者、网约车司机等新就业形态劳动者在城市生活中日益重要，全国已有8400万劳动者从事相关工作（全国总工会数据）。The size of this workforce and the volatility it faces have prompted several provinces to introduce structured training programs. Jiangsu launched a three-year action plan in October to expand skills training for people in these new forms of employment, covering smart-device use, labor rights and e-commerce entrepreneurship.由于这一庞大群体面临就业波动，多地已出台系统培训计划。例如江苏省今年10月启动三年行动方案，涵盖智能设备使用、劳动权益、电子商务创业等内容。The launch of the rider academy also comes amid rapid advances in automated delivery. Companies such as Meituan have expanded drone routes in major cities like Shenzhen in Guangdong, while completing more than 520,000 orders nationwide by early 2025, data from Meituan showed.骑手学院的成立，也正值自动化配送迅速发展之际。美团等企业已在深圳等城市扩大无人机配送航线，截至2025年初已完成52万余单（美团数据）。While drones and robots may reduce labor costs, Feng Lei from JD said that drones and related delivery equipment and technologies will not completely substitute for delivery personnel.尽管无人机和机器人有助于降低成本，但冯蕾表示，它们不会完全取代配送人员。She said emerging technologies "raise the skill requirements rather than eliminate the need for riders". Delivery personnel increasingly need to operate intelligent order systems and collaborate with drones and robots to complete deliveries, she said.她指出，新技术“提升了岗位技能要求，而非消灭岗位本身”。骑手未来需要操作智能派单系统，并与无人机、机器人协同完成配送。Feng Lipan, an e-commerce associate professor at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, said the new academy is precisely intended to prepare riders for that transition.华南理工大学电子商务系副教授冯立攀表示，新学院正是为骑手应对这一转型而设。"It will reshape the public's stereotypical perception of the delivery rider profession, transforming it into a skilled occupation recognized for both mental agility and technical expertise," he said.他说：“这将重塑公众对配送职业的刻板印象，使其成为兼具思维敏捷与技术能力的技能型岗位。”industry-education integration产教融合emerging forms of employment新就业形态automated delivery自动化配送workforce volatility就业波动

The event is the first APEC gathering under China's chairmanship for 2026. China has chosen the southern city to host next year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

This week on Sinica, I'm delighted to have Iza Ding as guest host. Iza is a professor of political science at Northwestern University and a good friend whose work on Chinese governance I greatly admire. She's joined by Deborah Seligsohn, who has been a favorite guest on this show many times. Deb is an associate professor of political science at Villanova University and was previously a science and environmental counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. This episode was recorded in three parts: the first two in Belém, Brazil during COP30 (the 30th UN Climate Change Conference), and the final segment after the conference concluded. Iza and Deb discuss China's role at the climate summit, the real story behind the famous 2007 U.S. Embassy air quality monitor in Beijing (spoiler: it wasn't China's "Silent Spring moment"), Brazil's management of the conference, why China leads on technology but not on negotiation, and what the outcomes of COP30 mean for the future of global climate cooperation. This is an insider's view of how climate diplomacy actually works, complete with unexpected fire evacuations and glut-shaming of The New York Times.3:43 – Deb's impressions of COP30 and Brazil's inclusive approach 9:21 – China's presence at COP30: technology leadership without negotiation leadership 15:34 – Xie Zhenhua's absence and the U.S.-China dynamic at previous COPs 24:46 – Inside the negotiation rooms: language, politeness, and obstruction 33:06 – BYD's presence in Brazil and Chinese EV expansion 40:54 – The real story of the 2007 U.S. Embassy air quality monitor in Beijing 45:00 – Fire evacuation at COP30 and UN territorial sovereignty 1:22:06 – What actually drove China's air pollution control: the 2003 power plant standards 1:41:27 – The dramatic final plenary and the Mutirão decision 1:55:17 – China's NDC 3.0: under-promise and over-deliver strategySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some of the auto industry's biggest innovators gathered in Shenzhen earlier this year for the Automotive World China Exhibition. From electric cars to self-driving sanitation vehicles, the event made it clear that the future of transportation is already here — and China is leading the way. Also, Somalis in the country's capital say they're discouraged by what they heard recently from the president of the United States. And, under Pope Leo's direction, the Vatican has joined seven other countries in being fully powered by solar energy. Plus, a rare floral phenomenon is unfolding in Rio de Janeiro. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

China produces nearly three-quarters of the world's electric cars, and no city embodies that dominance more than Shenzhen, home to industry giant BYD. Once known as “The World's Factory,” the city has transformed into a global hub of clean transportation and high-tech innovation. Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And, Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank say their existence is being targeted as the face increasing attacks and violence by extremist Jewish settlers. Plus, Taiwan's new envoy to Finland stages a heavy metal concert as an attempt at diplomacy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transsion (傳音控股) is a Shenzhen company that has quietly grown a mobile phone empire in Africa. They are so low key that in January 2016, a Shenzhen government official remarked that he hadn't known that a Chinese company was doing so well in Africa. After 15+ years, Transsion has sold hundreds of millions of phones in the continent thanks to smart products and good distribution. But changes are afoot. Competition is intensifying. And it is pushing them out of their comfort zone. In today's video, let us talk about a unique Chinese mobile phone giant in Africa: Transsion.

Transsion (傳音控股) is a Shenzhen company that has quietly grown a mobile phone empire in Africa. They are so low key that in January 2016, a Shenzhen government official remarked that he hadn't known that a Chinese company was doing so well in Africa. After 15+ years, Transsion has sold hundreds of millions of phones in the continent thanks to smart products and good distribution. But changes are afoot. Competition is intensifying. And it is pushing them out of their comfort zone. In today's video, let us talk about a unique Chinese mobile phone giant in Africa: Transsion.

This week on Sinica, I speak with Zhong Na, a novelist and essayist whose new piece, "Murder House," appears in the inaugural issue of Equator — a striking new magazine devoted to longform writing that crosses borders, disciplines, and cultures. In January 2024, a young couple, both Tsinghua-educated Google engineers living in a $2.5 million Silicon Valley home, became the center of a tragedy that captivated Chinese social media far more than American outlets. Zhong Na explores how the case became a collective Rorschach test — a mirror held up to contemporary Chinese society, exposing cracks in the myths of meritocracy, the prestige of global tech firms, and shifting notions of gender, class, and the Chinese dream itself. We discuss the gendered reactions online, the dimming of America's appeal, the emotional costs of the immigrant success story, and the craft of writing about tragedy with compassion but without sentimentality.5:06 – How the story first reached Zhong Na, and the Luigi Mangione comparison 7:05 – Discovering she attended the same Chengdu high school as the alleged murderer Chen Liren 8:10 – The collaboration with Equator and Joan Didion's influence 10:30 – Education, class, and the cracks in China's meritocracy myth 16:01 – Tiger mothers vs. lying flat: two responses to a rigged system 19:12 – The pandemic and the dimming of the American dream 22:49 – Chinese men as perpetrators: immigrant stress and the loss of patriarchal privilege 25:56 – The gender war online: moral autopsy and victim-blaming 30:25 – The obsession with the ex-girlfriend and attraction to the accused 34:37 – The murder house, Chinese numerology, and the rise of Gen Z metaphysics 37:08 – Geopolitics, the China Initiative, and rethinking America as a destination 39:42 – Craft and moral compass: learning from Didion and Janet Malcolm 42:31 – Zhong Na's fiction: writing Chinese experiences without catering to Western expectationsPaying it forward: Gavin Jacobson and the editorial team at EquatorRecommendations: Zhong Na: Elsewhere by Yan Ge Kaiser: Made in Ethiopia, documentary by Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan (available on PBS)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's podcast is a summary of our visit to the Huawei AI Cloud exhibition in Shenzhen.You can listen to this podcast here, which has the slides and graphics mentioned. Also available at iTunes and Google Podcasts.Here is the link to the TechMoat Consulting.Here is the link to our Tech Tours.Here are the mentioned articles about AI Infrastructure.Understanding AI Infrastructure Part 1: AI Data Centers (Tech Strategy)Understanding AI Infrastructure Part 2: AI Compute is Different (Tech Strategy)Understanding AI Infrastructure Part 3: GenAI Operating Costs (Tech Strategy)Understanding AI Infrastructure Part 4: The Cost of Correctness (Tech Strategy)------I am a consultant and keynote speaker on how to accelerate growth with improving customer experiences (CX) and digital moats.I am a partner at TechMoat Consulting, a consulting firm specialized in how to increase growth with improved customer experiences (CX), personalization and other types of customer value. Get in touch here.I am also author of the Moats and Marathons book series, a framework for building and measuring competitive advantages in digital businesses.This content (articles, podcasts, website info) is not investment, legal or tax advice. The information and opinions from me and any guests may be incorrect. The numbers and information may be wrong. The views expressed may no longer be relevant or accurate. This is not investment advice. Investing is risky. Do your own research.Support the show

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted last year in a New York courtroom of flooding the US with tons of cocaine. This week, US President Donald Trump has pardoned him and he's walked out of prison a free man. Also, taking lessons from Shenzhen, China, a megacity that has largely sidestepped the air pollution, overcrowding and failing infrastructure that often accompany rapid expansion. And, leaders of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are slated to travel to Washington this week to sign a peace deal overseen by Trump. Plus, a photographer-couple documents people around the world who have been forced to leave their homes because of climate change. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

What if you could get a behind the scenes look at China's most innovative tech companies, factories and logistics hubs—seeing how they really run and asking the questions most Americans never get to ask?This week, you do. Matt Kirchner and Todd Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture, sit down to debrief the trip they took together to China. In a candid, off-the-cuff conversation, they trade questions and challenge each other's assumptions as they compare what they saw there with what's happening in U.S. business, policy, and education.After six days of nonstop plant tours and tech company visits, they debrief what they saw: an engineering-driven society, central planning at massive scale, open-source AI innovation, and humanoid robots that are improving in real time. They contrast that with U.S. politics, policy, education, and workforce development, and lay out the uncomfortable truths and huge opportunities for American manufacturing and technical education.

Forty years ago, Shenzhen, China, was little more than a cluster of villages, home to a few hundred thousand people. Today, it holds roughly 20 million residents and ranks among the world's fastest-growing megacities. Yet, unlike other urban centers that have ballooned at similar speeds — Mumbai or Lagos, for example — Shenzhen has largely sidestepped the air pollution, overcrowding and failing infrastructure that often accompany rapid expansion. In the second of a five-part series, The World's Jeremy Siegel explores how the city has been able to avoid the problems typically associated with megacities. The post Lessons from the world's most thriving megacity appeared first on The World from PRX.

Entre robotaxis, robots humanoïdes téléopérés et compétition géopolitique autour de l'IA, Michel Lévy-Provençal raconte trois semaines au cœur des métropoles asiatiques les plus innovantes.Michel Lévy-Provençal, prospectiviste et dirigeant de BrightnessPourquoi avoir entrepris ce long voyage en Asie et qu'est-ce qui vous a le plus frappé à Shenzhen ?Je suis parti à la fois pour respirer et pour une opportunité professionnelle qui m'a conduit dans six métropoles asiatiques. À Shenzhen, j'ai reçu une véritable claque : une ville verte, silencieuse, largement électrifiée, bien loin des clichés de mégalopole polluée. Là-bas, tout repose sur l'écosystème mobile local. Sans WeChat, on ne peut strictement rien faire : payer, s'identifier, réserver un billet. Cette dépendance crée un mélange étrange de confort et d'oppression, renforcé par la biométrie systématique aux frontières et la surveillance omniprésente. Malgré cela, l'efficacité est bluffante. J'ai compris que Shenzhen est pensée comme une scène technologique destinée à montrer, très explicitement, la puissance numérique chinoise.Comment avez-vous vécu l'expérience des robotaxis et des robots humanoïdes ?Les robotaxis ont été une découverte spectaculaire. J'ai utilisé un taxi autonome de Pony.ai pour quelques euros à peine, une démonstration assumée de maturité technologique. Certaines voitures roulent totalement sans chauffeur, d'autres disposent d'un superviseur immobile, volontairement mis en retrait pour prouver la fiabilité du système. C'est fluide, précis, impressionnant. Du côté de la robotique humanoïde, j'ai visité les laboratoires d'Engine AI. Leurs robots marchent, courent, se rattrapent, dansent, manipulent des objets avec des gestes très crédibles. Mais tout est téléopéré : aucune autonomie réelle. Les vidéos virales que nous voyons montrent des machines pilotées à distance. La mécanique est brillante, mais la couche d'intelligence embarquée manque encore pour évoluer dans un environnement complexe.Quel regard portez-vous sur la compétition technologique entre la Chine, les États-Unis et le Japon ?La Chine mène aujourd'hui une offensive technologique assumée. En IA, des modèles comme Kimi cherchent clairement à rivaliser avec les modèles américains. En robotique ou en mobilité autonome, la communication est massive, calculée, internationale. À l'inverse, le Japon m'a semblé en retrait. Lors d'un échange avec l'ancien ministre de la Transformation Numérique, j'ai été frappé d'entendre Mistral cité comme exemple positif de stratégie souveraine. On voit bien que la compétition ne se joue plus seulement sur la performance brute mais sur la vitesse d'exécution, la frugalité, la cohérence stratégique et le récit.Qu'avez-vous observé en Asie concernant l'image de la France et ses opportunités ?J'ai été surpris par la puissance de la marque France dans toute l'Asie. À Séoul, Hong Kong ou Singapour, j'ai vu des dizaines de marques jouant la carte française, parfois sans lien réel avec la France. Notre imaginaire séduit : design, qualité, exigence, poésie. Nous sous-exploitons clairement ce potentiel. Des acteurs français comme Dassault Systèmes, Airbus ou TotalEnergies y jouissent déjà d'un immense respect. Je suis convaincu que nous pourrions créer bien plus de valeur en combinant technologies venues d'ailleurs et excellence française dans l'expérience, le software ou la conception. Le marché asiatique est une opportunité majeure.Brightness France : https://www.brightness.fr/-----------♥️ Soutien : https://mondenumerique.info/don

Forty years ago, Shenzhen, China, was little more than a cluster of villages, home to a few hundred thousand people. Today, it holds roughly 20 million residents and ranks among the world's fastest-growing megacities. Yet, unlike other urban centers that have ballooned at similar speeds — Mumbai or Lagos, for example — Shenzhen has largely sidestepped the air pollution, overcrowding and failing infrastructure that often accompany rapid expansion. In the second of a five-part series, The World's Jeremy Siegel explores how the city has been able to avoid the problems typically associated with megacities. The post Lessons from the world's most thriving megacity appeared first on The World from PRX.

Ausverkaufte Events von Arizona über Johannesburg bis nach Shenzhen, hunderttausende Teilnehmer*innen und eine starke Community: Die Fitness-Welt scheint auf die Erfindung der Hyrox-Gründer Christian Toetzke und Moritz Fürste gewartet zu haben. Im kommenden Jahr rechnen die beiden mit 1,8 Millionen Teilnehmenden weltweit und 200 Millionen Euro Umsatz. Im OMR Podcast verraten sie, wie sie das erreichen wollen, was ihr Gründerteam ausmacht und warum Hyrox kein Bucketlist-Event sein darf.

This week on Sinica, I welcome back Finbarr Bermingham, the Brussels-based Europe correspondent for the South China Morning Post, about the Nexperia dispute — one of the most revealing episodes in the global contest over semiconductor supply chains. Nexperia, a Dutch-headquartered chipmaker owned by Shanghai-listed Wingtech, became the subject of extraordinary government intervention when the Netherlands invoked a Cold War-era emergency law to seize temporary control of the company and suspend its Chinese CEO. Finbarr's reporting, drawing on Dutch court documents and expert sources, has illuminated the tangled threads of this story: preexisting concerns about governance and technology transfer, mounting U.S. pressure on The Hague to remove Chinese management, and the timing of the Dutch action on the very day the U.S. rolled out its affiliate rule. We discuss China's retaliatory export controls on chips packaged at Nexperia's Dongguan facilities, the role of the Trump-Xi meeting in Busan in unlocking a temporary thaw, and what this case reveals about Europe's agonizing position between American pressure and Chinese integration in global production networks.4:34 – Why the "Europe cracks down on Chinese acquisition" framing was too simple 6:17 – The Dutch court's extraordinary tick-tock of events and U.S. lobbying 9:04 – The June pressure from Washington: divestment or the affiliate list 10:13 – Dutch fears of production know-how relocating to China 12:35 – The impossible position: damned if they did, damned if they didn't 14:46 – The obscure Cold War-era Goods Availability Act 17:11 – CEO Zhang Xuezheng and the question of who stopped cooperating first 19:26 – Was China's export control a state policy or a corporate move? 22:16 – Europe's de-risking framework and the lessons from Nexperia 25:39 – The fragmented European response: Germany, France, Hungary, and the Baltics 30:31 – Did Germany shape the response behind the scenes? 33:06 – The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan and the resolution of the crisis 37:01 – Will the Nexperia case deter future European interventions? 40:28 – Is Europe still an attractive market for Chinese investment? 41:59 – The Europe China Forum: unusually polite in a time of tenterhooksPaying it forward: Dewey Sim (SCMP diplomacy desk, Beijing); Coco Feng (SCMP technology, Guangdong); Khushboo Razdan (SCMP North America); Sense Hofstede (Chinese Bossen newsletter)Recommendations: Finbarr: Chokepoints by Edward Fishman; Underground Empire by Henry Farrell and Abe Newman; "What China Wants from Europe" by John Delury (Engelsberg Ideas) Kaiser: The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and Milady (2023 French film adaptation)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

China is breaking the rules of development. Typically, as countries progress up the value chain, they transition from agriculture to light industry, then to heavy industry, and ultimately to high-technology and services. And as they move up the value chain, this creates opportunities for less-developed countries to advance. But China's not doing that. Chinese manufacturers are holding on to their immense productive capacity, enabling them to produce both low-tech sneakers and high-tech semiconductors at a scale and cost that are unrivaled. Now, as developing countries around the world seek to move up the value chain, they will have to compete head-on against the dreaded "China Price." James Kynge, who covered China for nearly 30 years at the Financial Times, delved into this challenge in a fascinating audiobook that came out earlier this year, "Global Tech Wars: China's Race to Dominate." James joins Eric from London to explain how China's ability to produce a $6 toaster exemplifies the country's enormous manufacturing advantage that will be very difficult, if not impossible, for other countries to match. CHAPTERS: • Introduction – The $6 toaster and the global value chain crisis • The Flying Geese Model – How automation broke development's old path • China's Dual Reality – A continent-sized economy of billionaires and low-wage labor • Industrial Clusters – The unbeatable advantage of Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta • The Global South's Dilemma – Competing against the "China price" • Automation and Inequality – Why manufacturing isn't moving offshore • The $1 Trillion Surplus – Trade backlash and global tensions • Searching for Solutions – Industrial policy and self-strengthening in the Global South • Winners and Losers – Cheap exports, consumer gains, and producer pain • Political Risk – Xi Jinping's lesson from Western deindustrialization • The Humanoid Robot Moment – From $6 toasters to $6,000 robots • China's Auto Revolution – BYD and the new wave of affordable EVs • The Double-Edged Future – Opportunity and disruption in China's rise SHOW NOTES: Financial Times: Global Tech Wars: China's Race to Dominate by James Kynge Financial Times: China's plan to reshape world trade on its own terms by James Kynge and Keith Fray JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH & SPANISH:  French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

China is breaking the rules of development. Typically, as countries progress up the value chain, they transition from agriculture to light industry, then to heavy industry, and ultimately to high-technology and services. And as they move up the value chain, this creates opportunities for less-developed countries to advance. But China's not doing that. Chinese manufacturers are holding on to their immense productive capacity, enabling them to produce both low-tech sneakers and high-tech semiconductors at a scale and cost that are unrivaled. Now, as developing countries around the world seek to move up the value chain, they will have to compete head-on against the dreaded "China Price." James Kynge, who covered China for nearly 30 years at the Financial Times, delved into this challenge in a fascinating audiobook that came out earlier this year, "Global Tech Wars: China's Race to Dominate." James joins Eric from London to explain how China's ability to produce a $6 toaster exemplifies the country's enormous manufacturing advantage that will be very difficult, if not impossible, for other countries to match. CHAPTERS: • Introduction – The $6 toaster and the global value chain crisis • The Flying Geese Model – How automation broke development's old path • China's Dual Reality – A continent-sized economy of billionaires and low-wage labor • Industrial Clusters – The unbeatable advantage of Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta • The Global South's Dilemma – Competing against the "China price" • Automation and Inequality – Why manufacturing isn't moving offshore • The $1 Trillion Surplus – Trade backlash and global tensions • Searching for Solutions – Industrial policy and self-strengthening in the Global South • Winners and Losers – Cheap exports, consumer gains, and producer pain • Political Risk – Xi Jinping's lesson from Western deindustrialization • The Humanoid Robot Moment – From $6 toasters to $6,000 robots • China's Auto Revolution – BYD and the new wave of affordable EVs • The Double-Edged Future – Opportunity and disruption in China's rise SHOW NOTES: Financial Times: Global Tech Wars: China's Race to Dominate by James Kynge Financial Times: China's plan to reshape world trade on its own terms by James Kynge and Keith Fray JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH & SPANISH:  French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

This week on Sinica, I welcome back Jeremy Goldkorn, co-founder of the show and my longtime co-host, to revisit the "vibe shift" we first discussed back in February. Seven months on, what we sensed then has fully borne out — there's been a measurable softening in American attitudes toward China, reflected not just in polling data but in media coverage, podcast discussions, and public discourse. We dig into what's driving this shift: the chaos of American politics making China look competent by comparison, the end of Wolf Warrior diplomacy, the gutting of China hawks in the Trump administration, Trump's own transactional G2 enthusiasm, and the generational divide in how younger Americans encounter China through TikTok rather than legacy media. We also discuss the limits of this shift, the dangers of overcorrection, and what it feels like to watch the fever break after years of panic and absolutism in U.S.-China discourse.5:29 – The [beep] show in America as the biggest factor 8:38 – China hawks deflated: from Pompeo to Navarro's pivot to India 11:21 – Ben Smith's piece on the end of a decade of China hawkism 13:30 – Eric Schmidt and Selina Xu's Atlantic piece on tech decoupling 17:17 – Long-form China podcasts: Dwarkesh Patel with Arthur Kroeber, Lex Fridman with Keyu Jin 19:35 – Jeremy's personal vibe shift: distance from The China Project and renewed perspective 23:33 – The world turning to predictability and stability 26:05 – The Chicago Council poll: dramatic shift away from containment 29:09 – The generational shift: TikTok, infrastructure porn, and Gen Z's globalized worldview 31:15 – The end of Wolf Warrior diplomacy and why it mattered 37:03 – Kaiser's "Great Reckoning" essay and why it didn't get the usual hate 39:00 – The destruction of Twitter and the vicious China discourse culture 41:10 – The pendulum swinging too far: China fanboys and new hubris 43:20 – How the vibe shift looks from inside China Paying it forward: Echo Tang (Berlin Independent Chinese Film Festival organizer) and Zhu Rikun (New York Chinese Independent Film Festival organizer)Recommendations: Jeremy: Ja No Man: Growing Up in Apartheid Era South Africa by Richard Poplak Kaiser: Rhyming Chaos podcast with Jeremy Goldkorn and Maria RepnikovaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, I chat with Lizzi Lee, a fellow on the Chinese economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute and one of the sharpest China analysts working today. We dig into the 4th Plenary Session of the 20th Party Congress and what it reveals about China's evolving growth model — particularly the much-discussed but often misunderstood push against "involution" in key sectors like EVs and solar. Lizzi walks us through the structural incentives driving overcompetition, from local government finance and VAT collection to the challenges of rebalancing supply and demand. We also discuss her recent Foreign Affairs piece on China's manufacturing model, why "overcapacity" is a misleading frame, the unexpected upsides of China's industrial strategy for the global green transition, and what happened at the Trump-Xi meeting in Busan. This is a conversation about getting beyond the binaries and understanding the actual mechanisms — and contradictions — shaping China's economic trajectory.4:43 – What Western reporting missed in the 4th Plenum communique 6:34 – The "anti-involution" push and what it really means 9:57 – Is China's domestic demand abnormally low? Context and comparisons 12:41 – Why cash transfers and consumption subsidies are running out of steam 15:00 – The supply-side approach: creating better products to drive demand 18:33 – GDP vs. GNI: why China is focusing on global corporate footprints 20:13 – Service exports and China's ascent along the global supply chain 24:02 – The People's Daily editorial on price wars and profit margins 27:31 – Why addressing involution is harder now than in 2015 29:56 – How China's VAT system incentivizes local governments to build entire supply chains 33:20 – The difficulty of reforming fiscal structures and local government finance 35:12 – What got lost in the Foreign Affairs editing process 38:14 – Why "overcapacity" is a misleading and morally loaded term 40:02 – The underappreciated upside: China's model and the global green transition 43:14 – How politically potent deindustrialization fears are in Washington and Brussels 46:29 – Industry self-discipline vs. structural reform: can moral suasion work? 50:15 – BYD's negotiating power and the squeeze on suppliers 53:54 – The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan: genuine thaw or tactical pause? 57:23 – Pete Hegseth's "God bless both China and the USA" tweet 1:00:01 – How China's leadership views Trump: transactional or unpredictable? 1:03:32 – The pragmatic off-ramp and what Paul Triolo predicted 1:05:26 – China's AI strategy: labor-augmenting vs. labor-replacing technology 1:08:13 – What systemic changes could realistically fix involution? 1:10:26 – Capital market reform and the challenge of decelerating slowly 1:12:36 – The "health first" strategy and investing in peoplePaying it forward: Paul TrioloRecommendations: Lizzi: Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare by Edward Fishman Kaiser: Morning Coffee guitar practice book by Alex RockwellSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, I chat with Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, editor of Foreign Affairs, about how the journal has both shaped and reflected American discourse on China during a period of dramatic shifts in the relationship. We discuss his deliberate editorial choices to include heterodox voices, the changing nature of the supposed "consensus" on China policy, and what I've called the "vibe shift" in how Americans across the political spectrum think about China. Daniel also reflects on his own intellectual formation, including his work on George Marshall's failed mission to mediate China's Civil War and the cautionary lessons that history holds for today's debates. We explore the challenges of bringing Chinese voices into Foreign Affairs, the balance between driving and reflecting policy debates, and whether we're witnessing a genuine opening of the Overton window on China discussions.7:15 – Foreign Affairs in the era of Iraq and "China's peaceful rise" 12:09 – The Marshall mission and the "Who Lost China?" debate 17:17 – China's changing role and the journal's coverage density 19:43 – The Campbell-Ratner "China Reckoning" and subsequent debates 25:00 – The challenge of including authentic Chinese voices 29:42 – How Chinese leadership perceives and reads Foreign Affairs 32:12 – The "vibe shift" on China across the American political spectrum 35:56 – Cultivating contrarian voices: Van Jackson, Jonathan Czin, and David Kang 40:17 – Avoiding the trap of making everything about U.S.-China competition 43:12 – Diversifying perspectives beyond the Washington-Beijing binary 48:18 – The big questions: American exceptionalism and Chinese identity in a new era 51:42 – The dangers of cutting off U.S.-China scholarly conversations 56:26 – The uses and misuses of historical analogies 58:09 – Spain's Golden Age and late Qing memes as contemporary analogiesPaying it forward: The unsung editorial staff at Foreign AffairsRecommendations: Daniel: Equator.org; The Rise of the Meritocracy by Michael Young; Granta's new India issue; The Party's Interests Come First by Joseph Torigian; The Coming Storm by Odd Arne Westad Kaiser: The Spoils of Time by C.V. WedgwoodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, I speak with Jonathan Czin, the Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and a fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L. Thornton China Center. His new essay in Foreign Affairs, “China Against China: Xi Jinping Confronts the Downsides of Success,” challenges the dominant Western narrative of Xi Jinping as either Mao reincarnate or a brittle autocrat presiding over imminent collapse. Instead, Czin argues that Xi's most illiberal reforms can be understood as attempts to cure the pathologies of China's own success. We discuss his framing of Xi's “Counterreformation,” how it helps explain China's current political direction, and what it reveals about our own analytical blind spots in the West.7:15 – Xi's “reformation” and Carl Minzner's “end of reform and opening”12:18 – Corruption, decentralization, and the “lost decade” under Hu and Wen20:12 – Defining “resilience” and what Xi means by “eating bitterness”29:45 – The “downsides of success”: property, corruption, and governance contradictions45:30 – Counter-reformation vs. counterrevolution: what Xi wants to preserve and discard54:20 – The myth of yes-men: triangulation and feedback in Xi's leadership style1:07:07 – Cognitive empathy and why most U.S. analysis of Xi falls short1:15:35 – Systems that can't course-correct: comparing the U.S. and China1:22:05 – Cognitive empathy, ideology, and the problem of American exceptionalismPaying it forward:Jonathan: Allie Mathias and Dinny McMahonRecommendations:Jonathan: The Thirty Years War by C.V. Wedgewood; The Betrothed by Alessandro ManzoniKaiser: Transplants by Daniel Tam-ClaiborneSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.