How does reading the People‘s Daily change your brain?

How the Chinese Government Buys Western Social Media

<p>Red Roulette, Desmond Shum’s memoir of a fast life, deep in the bowels of Chinese politics, is the bombshell China book of 2021. It tells the story of his rise from an impoverished childhood in cultural revolution-era Shanghai and Hong Kong to his marriage to his social climbing wife with ties to the premier of China, and ultimate downfall as Xi’s anti-corruption push caught up with him.&nbsp;</p><br><p>New York Times reporter Mike Forsythe (@PekingMike) and Lizzi C Lee (@wstv_lizzi), a journalist at the independent Chinese outlet Wall St TV, join me to discuss. We get into:</p><ul><li>Corruption crackdowns under Xi Jinping</li><li>Western reporters reporting on China</li><li>The not-so-well-hidden fortunes of Politburo members</li><li>The dietary habits of traveling Chinese officials</li></ul><p><br></p><p>For an ad-free feed, please consider supporting ChinaTalk on Patreon at <a href="https://patreon.com/chinatalk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://patreon.com/chinatalk</a></p><br><p>Outtro music: The Reform Group is Two Years Old by CCTV feat. Xi Jinping <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhU8C5RCbBs&amp;t=3s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhU8C5RCbBs&amp;t=3s</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>China's energy problems are back in the news. Joining me to discuss them is <a href="https://twitter.com/YanQinyq?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yan Qin</a>, lead analyst at Refinitiv, with my Rhodium colleague Irina Liu as co-host.</p><br><p>We discuss</p><ul><li>Whether China is serious about its climate pledge</li><li>Why Chinese industry is moving westwards</li><li>How "carbon neutral" became a hot topic</li><li>The importance of global cooperation on climate change</li></ul><p><br></p><p>For an ad-free feed, please consider supporting ChinaTalk on Patreon here <a href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352</a></p><br><p>check out <a href="masterworks.io/chinatalk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">masterworks.io/chinatalk</a> to buy some art!</p><br><p>Outtro music: 020 by Tizzy T <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqjZMA-F88" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqjZMA-F88</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

DoD vet explores the underbelly of America's R&D and acquisitions ecosystems

<p>Hosts of the Dongfang Hour (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UXwB0UbUIg4z4vssUHPBw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UXwB0UbUIg4z4vssUHPBw</a>), a podcast focusing on the Chinese aerospace industry, Blain Curcio and Jean Deville join me in another ChinaTalk space episode to talk about launches in China and public enthusiasm for space projects.</p><br><p>We discuss</p><ul><li>The Belt and Road in space</li><li>The differences between the Starlink and Guowang networks</li><li>Europe’s dilemma on selling to the US and China</li><li>China’s ambitious space projects in the 2020s</li><li>Why the vibe in the Chinese private space industry is “smiley and optimistic”</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Check out https://www.masterworks.io/chinatalk </strong></p><br><p><strong>Please consider supporting the show</strong> at <strong>https://www.patreon.com/ChinaTalk</strong></p><br><p>Outtro Music: Young Thug ft Elton Jon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIyH_9uaOQ</p><p><br></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>Logan Wright of the Rhodium Group returns to the pod to discuss Evergrande's implosion, how we got here, and what this week means for China's economy. </p><br><p>Read Credit and Credibility! https://www.csis.org/analysis/credit-and-credibility-risks-chinas-economic-resilience If you only have time for one section, start with section 6. </p><br><p>Check out Jon's substack here https://jonathonpsine.substack.com/</p><br><p>Come work for Rhodium! https://rhg.com/careers/</p><br><p>My email is jorschneider @ gmail or on twitter at https://twitter.com/jordanschnyc </p><br><p>Outtro music: 朱添澤 - 想 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfRvjlcMuoY</p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>Julia Lovell, author of <em>Maoism: A Global History</em> and <em>The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China</em>, discusses translating <em>Journey to the West (</em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Monkey-King-Journey-Classics-Hardcover/dp/0143107186" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Monkey-King-Journey-Classics-Hardcover/dp/0143107186</a>), for English audiences.</p><br><p>Joined by translator Brendan O'Kane as co-host, on this episode we discuss:</p><ul><li>The origins of <em>Journey to the West</em> and the exploits of its primate protagonist Sun Wukong.</li><li>Mao's relationship to the novel and how he saw himself in the Monkey King.</li><li>Why performances of the story in the Mao era cut out more than 90% of the story</li></ul><p>Outtro music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvA78U8sWn0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvA78U8sWn0</a> Great Sage Equal to Heaven by Hua Chenyu</p><br><p>Want to meet up in the bay Oct 5-10th? Hit me up on twitter or at jorschneider @ gmail</p><br><p>Outtro music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvA78U8sWn0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvA78U8sWn0</a> Great Sage Equal to Heaven by Hua Chenyu</p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>How did Russian imperial ambitions and expansionism eastward change over time?</p><br><p>Joining me on this episode is <a href="https://twitter.com/crmiller1?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chris Miller</a>, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/We-Shall-Be-Masters-Russian/dp/0674916441" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivots to East Asia from Peter the Great to Putin</a>. Chris is a history professor at the <a href="http://fletcher.tufts.edu/Fletcher_Directory/Directory/Faculty%20Profile?personkey=65A0F72B-6D23-479D-860F-DDDDEC8B5D5F" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fletcher School </a>and Eurasia Director at the <a href="https://www.fpri.org/research/eurasia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Foreign Policy Research Institute</a>.</p><p>Cohosting is independent researcher, journalist and fellow at the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kamilkazani?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kamil Galeev</a>. Reach out to him <a href="https://twitter.com/kamilkazani?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on twitter</a> if you have a place for him to live in DC!</p><p>We also look at:</p><ul><li>How the fur trade spurred Russian interest in Alaska, California and Hawaii</li><li>Russia, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party</li><li>Why Xinjiang didn’t end up like Mongolia</li><li>Chairman Mao’s new shoes</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Outtro music: Kamil's suggestion of what he tells me was a Soviet anti-Japanese war song (it slaps) </p><p>Три танкиста (three tank men) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp22_BHJDJk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp22_BHJDJk</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>I was a guest on the Compounding Curiosity podcast, a new show founded by a ChinaTalk fan that focuses on ASEAN, and we had a halfway decent conversation! Hope you enjoy.</p><br><p>Mentioned Content:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/after-xi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">After Xi: Future Scenarios for Leadership Succession in Post-xi Jinping Era</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/China-Under-Mao-Revolution-Derailed/dp/0674975499" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China Under Mao: A Revolution Derailed by Andrew G. Walder</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Outtro Music: 功夫胖KUNGFU-PEN -《阿修罗》https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRAO-f6LxUI</p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>How much credit can the CCP claim post-1949 for the higher level of human development relative to the level of visible capital in China? To discuss, historian <a href="https://adamtooze.substack.com/'" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adam Tooze</a> and Matt Klein of <a href="https://theovershoot.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Overshoot</a> come for their third ChinaTalk appearance. We go back to the oft-forgotten hyperinflation of the 1940s to why in the 80s the World Bank believed a little bit of policy tinkering would lead China’s economy to skyrocket.</p><br><p><strong>Please consider supporting ChinaTalk at </strong><a href="https://patreon.com/chinatalk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>https://patreon.com/chinatalk</strong></a><strong> for an ad-free feed!</strong></p><br><p>For a transcript and links to the stuff we talked about, check out the newsletter at https://chinatalk.substack.com/</p><br><p>Wanna cohost a ChinaTalk episode? <a href="https://forms.gle/NA9TZDE9zvUfURMW8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Submit ideas for shows here</a>!</p><br><p>Outtro music: Capper - "牧羊少年/Ἐνδυμίων" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRQoE6dRGSo</p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>How did SpaceX revolutionize the global space industry? To discuss SpaceX's origin story and secret sauce, guest Eric Berger, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Liftoff-Desperate-Early-Launched-SpaceX/dp/0062979973" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX</a>, joins the show. Cory Fitz, author of the TaikoNautica newsletter on China's space industry (<a href="http://taikonautica.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://taikonautica.substack.com</a>), cohosts and shares his perspective on the Chinese launch ecosystem.</p><br><p>We discuss:</p><ul><li>How SpaceX almost didn't succeed</li><li>The role of government in the commercial space industry</li><li>996 culture vs SpaceX engineers</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Please consider supporting ChinaTalk at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChinaTalk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/ChinaTalk</a> </p><br><p>Outro music: Space Oddity by David Bowie</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

<p>@BadChinaTake, an anonymous twitter account that combined vicious takedowns of, well, bad china takes with a blog <a href="https://wokeglobaltimes.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://wokeglobaltimes.com/</a> that does deep dives into everything from tankie subcultures to China’s xinjiang policy, is one of the best things to hit China twitter. BadChinaTake was recently unmasked as Jake Eberts, a young DC-based China analyst. He joins us today to talk about his journey to twitter infamy. We get into</p><ul><li>Whether the CIA, Chinese government, or George Soros fund him</li><li>Crisis, danger and opportunity</li><li>Whether you should argue with children online</li><li>The DC think tank complex and China Twitter’s redeemable qualities</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Please consider supporting ChinaTalk at <a href="https://glow.fm/chinatalk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://glow.fm/chinatalk/</a></p><p>Outro music: 不再是少年 by 猛虎巧克力</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wuSbUl2gM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wuSbUl2gM</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/1959352">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

China’s space startups can't find their customer base

How do Roombas illustrate the promise and peril of translational research? Which valley of death is really the worst valley of death? And how can woolly mammoths save the planet from climate change?   To discuss, I have on: Andrew Sosanya,...

Chris Miller of Tufts and I discuss our report Labs over Fabs, our case for the US to be spending money more broadly than currently conceived by the CHIPS act. ()   Please consider supporting ChinaTalk!   JP Kleinhans (@JPKleinhans) joins to...

Why does Xi govern like he's running out of time? Rhodium's Dan Rosen and CSIS' Jude Blanchette discuss their recent Foreign Affairs pieces recapping the past years of Xi's rule from an economic and political perspective. We get into failed...

How did Chinese firms come to dominate the global solar industry? Now that the Biden administration has banned imports for some key components of solar panels made in Xinjiang, how will global solar buyers adapt? Andy Klump, CEO of Clean Energy...

Is China different? Does secular stagnation apply?  How have Chinese economic policymakers changed over time? Should industrial policy be a thing? What should American academia navigate its relationship with China? To discuss, ChinaTalk welcomes...

Xi Jinping will not rule China forever. What have CCP leadership transitions looked like in the past, and what can we expect when Xi exits stage left? To discuss we have today Richard McGregor, an Aussie journalist with decades of experience in East...

Dave Aitel, who started his career at NSA and spent the past twenty years in offensive cybersecurity,  comes on ChinaTalk to discuss What he's learned in his quest to read every cyber policy paper What blindspots remain in the field How China...

, an independent researcher and robotics PhD, discusses Why DARPA has so many hits to its name Why NASA wasted the past two decades What needs to be subtracted from the US research ecosystem Sci-fi book recommendations Please consider supporting...

Dr. Yan Zheng, senior technical staff specializing in microelectronics at In-Q-Tel, discusses What it's like to invest in startups for the CIA and the rest of the US intelligence community What's broken in the early stage chip ecosystem and how to...

And an Endless Frontier Update!

The Endless Frontier Act, the most important piece of legislation no one's heard of, got blown to bits in committee this week. Sam Hammond of the Niskanen Center joins to discuss.  My recent coverage in the ChinaTalk newsletter Sam's coverage:...