China Considered

Host Dr. Elizabeth Economy interviews Oliver Melton, who shares insider perspectives on China's complex economy, drawing from his years as a diplomat in Beijing and his current role at the Rhodium Group. Economy and Melton discuss how China's structural imbalances, high savings rates, and over-investment in real estate have created fundamental economic challenges that the leadership struggles to address through consumption-boosting...

Host Dr. Elizabeth Economy interviews Noah Barkin, senior advisor with the Rhodium Group, about the evolving EU-China relationship following their July 2025 summit celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties. Barkin traces Europe's awakening to the China challenge and China's designation as a "systemic rival" in 2019, explaining how the EU has developed its own distinct approach to managing Chinese economic competition. The conversatio...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy interviews Professor David Shambaugh about his new book Breaking the Engagement: How China Won & Lost America, which examines the collapse of America's four-decade engagement strategy with China. Shambaugh argues that China initially "won over" American constituencies during the reform era, but starting around 2010, these groups faced increasing obstacles in China, leading to the breakdown of the "engageme...

Hoover Fellows Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Dr. Amy Zegart discuss the "DeepSeek moment"— when China's DeepSeek AI model surprised U.S. markets by replicating OpenAI's performance using fewer resources and an open-source approach. The two explore the strategic implications of open versus closed AI models, with there being an argument that the U.S. should embrace more open research approaches rather than closed models. They highlight h...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Ely Ratner sit down to discuss challenging security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the specific goals and ambitions of China in the Western Pacific and East Asia, their experiences in the Biden Administration and the state of the alliance system in the region, based off his recent Foreign Affairs Piece, “The Case for a Pacific Defense Pact”. The two scholars touch on continuity between both the Bi...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Michael McFaul sit down to discuss the relationship between the United States, China, and Russia, the history of US engagement with Russia, his experience as the United States Ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama, and the increasing cooperation between China and Russia. McFaul begins by discussing early engagement with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the early Obama years, namely the ...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Šumit Ganguly sit down to discuss the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, the roots of the conflict between the two nations, and how the United States and China fit into the relationship. Ganguly starts out by giving listeners an overview of the cross-border clashes in early May, where the tension from the two nations stems from; originating over a land dispute along religious lines in the state...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Susan Schwab sit down to discuss the current global trade environment and the outlook for US-China trade relations in the aftermath of negotiations in Geneva. The two discuss the magnitude and reaction to President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, along with the motivations and scale behind the actions. Schwab then explains the dynamics of negotiating within a presidential administration and the importanc...

Longtime friends Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Michael Dunne sit down to discuss the transformation of the Chinese automobile industry, the roots of electric vehicles in China, the demand for electric vehicles (EV) both in the United States and globally, and how the United States can best compete in a rapidly changing environment. Dunne details the early days of the Chinese EV revolution, a quiet transformation that came to a head at t...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with Gary Rieschel to discuss his two decades-plus working in venture capital in China, his experience starting his own firm, Qiming Venture Partners, in the country, and the evolution of the business and entrepreneurial space in the 21st century. Rieschel illustrates the early challenges in the VC sector, from a lack of infrastructure and difficulty in finding reliable partners to being part of a su...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with Patrick Jenevein to discuss his career in the energy industry in China, the outlook for foreign individuals and companies seeking to do business in the country, and his new book - Dancing with the Dragon. Jenevein, who worked in the country for more than 20 years, recounts a collection of stories ranging from one of his company’s first deal in the country’s far west, negotiating with one of Deng...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with Matthew Turpin to discuss his road to becoming a China specialist, the US government’s strategy to compete with China, the role of China and the United States in international institutions, and the likelihood of a deal between President Trump and President Xi over the next four years. Turpin describes how his path led him from a European History major at West Point, to Indo-Pacific Command and e...

Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with NED’s Christopher Walker to discuss the importance of democratic systems, how they benefit a given country’s citizens, and the challenges democracy faces in a new era. Walker argues that political rights often lead to economic prosperity and while China is one of the few countries where that does not apply, he states that China’s fastest period of economic growth came during a period of liberali...

In a wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Leland Miller talk about his experiences running China Beige Book, his insights on the Chinese economy, and conclude with a discussion about the Trump Administration’s trade policy.

Miller discusses the early skepticism surrounding the China Beige Book and the process of transforming it into a valuable tool that gathers data from across the Chinese economy while serving as a...

In a broad and insightful conversation, Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Dr. Adam Segal discuss the impact of China’s DeepSeek breakthrough, the cyber challenge China poses to the United States, international norms around cyber warfare and how the US can best respond.

Segal provides insight into the “typhoon” cyber attacks from Chinese malign actors, illustrating how China is seeking to embed itself in critical American infrastructure. Th...

In a wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Professor Diana Fu talk about activism and protest in China, how this has changed under the regime of Xi Jinping along with Fu’s upcoming book on how China governs its global diaspora. 

The two scholars discuss how a civil society that was allowed to exist during Hu Jintao’s rule has slowly been decimated in the 12 years Xi has been in power as the central government in Beij...

In a wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Elizabeth Economy and Dr. Melanie Hart discuss China’s economic coercion, its impact globally, and how the United States can most effectively respond. Hart draws on cases from her time at the State Department to illustrate how her team successfully combatted Chinese efforts to use the power of their market to force political alignment by other countries. She also stresses, however, that this is a...

Host Elizabeth Economy sits down with Jimmy Goodrich to discuss the technology competition between the United States and China.  Goodrich argues that the competition is far from settled with leadership in many emerging technologies still up for grabs. 

He describes China’s model as one defined by state-led investment in key sectors, tremendous depth in their ability to innovate, and leading the race in advanced technology and paten...

Host Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with Joerg Wuttke to discuss his 30+ years doing business in China, the systemic challenges facing the Chinese economy, what the future holds for the China-EU relationship, and buying 160 million masks for then German Prime Minister Angela Merkel during the pandemic.

Wuttke provides insight into the dramatic changes in China’s business environment from his seat as BASF’s chief representative in ...