Sinica Podcast

Guest Alex Wang, a UCLA law professor and climate policy expert, shares insights from COP25 in Madrid. He discusses China's progress and setbacks in decarbonization efforts, including a rise in coal plant construction and the role of the Belt and Road Initiative in fossil fuel investments. Wang also highlights China's leadership in renewable energy and electric vehicles, while addressing challenges like subsidy rollbacks. He emphasizes the need for California-China collaboration on climate strategies and critiques simplified narratives around China's climate impact.

From the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 that ended the Qing dynasty to the Second Sino-Japanese War to Tiananmen in 1989 and Hong Kong 30 years later, songs have inspired and united people in protest and political movements in China. In this episode, Kaiser chats with Jeff Wasserstrom of the University of California, Irvine, about the anthems that have animated activism, and about Jeff’s new book, Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink.The episode is part of the Serica Initiative’s series of California-based podcasts. 7:18: “Wolf,” by Chyi Chin13:37: “Nothing to My Name,” by Cui Jian30:47: “Glory to Hong Kong,” by Thomas dgx yhl44:33: A preview of Jeff’s book, Vigil: Hong Kong on the BrinkRecommendations:Jeff: 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, From Billie Holiday to Green Day, by Dorian Lynskey.Kaiser: The albums Making Movies, by Dire Straits, and Voyage of the Acolyte, by Steve Hackett.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a live show taped at the Asia Society, in partnership with ChinaFile, Kaiser sat down to chat with prolific author Mara Hvistendahl at the launch event of her latest book, The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage. Written in the style of a thriller, this page-turner is well researched, admirably balanced, and incredibly timely. 12:49: Accusations against the scientists featured in the book21:54: Instances of racial profiling against Chinese scientists28:14: How to promote competitiveness with China42:04: A passage from The Scientist and the SpyRecommendations:Mara: Thread of the Silkworm, by Iris Chang. Kaiser: How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we feature an episode from the newest member of our Sinica Podcast Network: the China in Africa Podcast, hosted by Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden. The United States sees Africa as a key arena to confront China's rising influence in the developing world. With its $60 billion International Development Finance Corporation and its Prosper Africa policy framework unveiled last year, the Trump administration is working hard to present African governments with an alternative development model. The problem is that U.S. officials don't have a lot to show for their efforts. This week, the China in Africa Podcast explores the complex U.S.-China-Africa relationship with two of Washington's leading experts on the issue. W. Gyude Moore is a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development and the former public works minister of Liberia and Aubrey Hruby is a senior fellow at the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kaiser and Jeremy chat with Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he directs the Global Health Governance roundtable series. In addition to his role at CFR, Yanzhong is also a professor at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations, making him an ideal guest to talk about a pathogen with major domestic and international political implications. Recommendations:Jeremy: Three pieces from SupChina: Kenyan students in Wuhan plead for evacuation, by April Zhu; The disappearance of Perhat Tursun, one of the Uyghur world’s greatest authors, by Darren Byler; and Chinese moms in America’s illicit massage parlors, by Teng Chen. Yanzhong: Two movies, Outbreak and 28 Days Later. Kaiser: The subtle muckrakers of the coronavirus epidemic, by Maria Repnikova.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the United States now in a presidential election year, how should an incoming administration — whether a Democratic presidency or a second Trump administration — approach China policy? This week, Kaiser chats with eminent scholars Susan Shirk and Barry Naughton of the University of California, San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, and asks them how they would advise the future occupant of the Oval Office. This episode is part of the California series, produced with the assistance of the Serica Initiative, SupChina’s nonprofit program.23:18: Relitigating the case for engagement26:44: The biggest economic hurdles for the U.S. and China39:33: Addressing technological concerns with the P.R.C.44:54: Shaping China policy for the future: Rebuild as it was, or begin anew? Recommendations:Barry: Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century, by George Packer.Susan: Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, by Ezra F. Vogel.Kaiser: The New China Scare, in the January/February edition of Foreign Affairs, by Fareed Zakaria. This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the aftermath of the targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani in early January, Kaiser talked to Jeff Prescott, a veteran China-watcher who now serves as a senior advisor to the Penn Biden Center. Jeff previously served as Special Assistant to President Obama, Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf States on the National Security Council, and Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden.This show was taped live at the inaugural U.S.-China Series conference in Seattle, Washington, on January 15, 2020. 6:05: Bringing China into the Iran Nuclear Deal12:31: The role of oil in China-Iran relations21:36: Reflections on the trade war and phase one trade deal32:49: Creating a grand strategy while China looms largeRecommendations:Jeff: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson.Kaiser: Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power (The Lamar Series in Western History), by Pekka Hämäläinen. This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Maggie Lewis, a law professor at Seton Hall University, discusses the recent presidential election in Taiwan, where she and other Chinese and Taiwanese legal scholars took part as independent observers. Maggie and Kaiser also discuss domestic Taiwanese politics, the impact of demographic and social trends within the context of the election, and cross-Strait relations in 2020.4:49: Political posturing toward the P.R.C.14:51: How the Hong Kong protests affected the election in Taiwan24:48: China, and Taiwanese independence32:18: The political views of Tsai Ing-wen37:00: Did China interfere in Taiwan’s presidential election?Recommendations:Maggie: Two recommendations related to the Pacific Northwest, where Maggie went to school: the band Sleater-Kinney and the Portland bookstore Powell’s.Kaiser: The Light That Failed: Why the West Is Losing the Fight for Democracy, by Ivan Krasnev and Stephen Holmes.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See 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, Kaiser chats with Professor Tai Ming Cheung of the University of California, San Diego. Tai is the director of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and also a leading expert on Chinese national security and defense modernization. This episode is part of a nine-part series taped in California in December 2019, made possible by the Serica Initiative, SupChina's nonprofit arm.5:30: What the international security environment looks like to Xi Jinping14:47: How prioritization on national security is implemented22:38: How the PLA is funded, and where the money is going28:36: Made in China 2025’s military counterpart37:33: Beijing’s long march to technological self-relianceRecommendations:Tai: In the Shadow of the Garrison State, by Aaron L. Friedberg. Kaiser: A new podcast, The Industrial Revolutions, by David Broker.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s show, Kaiser chats with Alejandro Reyes, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong and a former senior policy adviser to Canada’s assistant deputy minister for Asia Pacific, about the ongoing Hong Kong protests and the spread of violence to some of Hong Kong’s best-known universities in November. Alejandro offers his take on this phase of the protests, and on how half a year of incessant protests has impacted the mental health of young Hongkongers.Recommendations:Alejandro: Talking to my mother about Hong Kong, by SupChina columnist Yangyang Cheng. You can find more of her work here.Kaiser: The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, by Timothy C. Winegard.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.