How China’s Rise is Changing Economics, Technology, and War | April Herlevi, Ph.D. (Podcast #20)

Mar 8, 2025

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Is China the new global superpower?

April Herlevi, a senior research scientist at CNA and non-resident fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research, joins us to break down China’s economic statecraft, military expansion, and defense tech strategy.

We discuss China’s growing arms exports, the role of drones in modern warfare, Taiwan’s response to military threats, and how China’s global reach extends from Africa to AI development.

China’s military exports & influence in Africa
The role of drones & AI in modern warfare
Taiwan’s defense strategy & lessons from Ukraine
The rise of China’s special economic zones
Overfishing, economic statecraft, and global impact

Notes on April's Work

Intersections, CNA’s US-China Technology Competition Newsletter: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections

Taiwan Lessons Learned from the Russia-Ukraine War:

https://www.cna.org/reports/2024/12/taiwan-lessons-learned-from-the-russia-ukraine-warTaiwan

Lessons Learned Executive Summary:

https://www.cna.org/quick-looks/2024/10/Taiwan-Lessons-Learned-from-Russia-Ukraine.pdf

China as a Niche Arms Exporter Article:

https://www.cna.org/our-media/indepth/2021/08/china-as-a-niche-arms-exporter

Map of recipient countries:

https://www.cna.org/reports/2021/10/CHINAS-DEFENSE-EXPORTS-Small-Volume-but-room-for-growth.pdf

China’s arms export data (From SIPRI, updated for 2022-23):

https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/CSVResult

US-China Security and Economic Commission (USCC) Testimony on China’s Arms Exports:

https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/April_Herlevi_Testimony.pdf

Book Project Summary:

https://herlevi.weebly.com/current-projects.html

April A. Herlevi is an expert on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) foreign and security policy, economic statecraft for technology acquisition, and the increasing role of PRC commercial, economic and military actors globally.

Her research focuses on PRC technology and innovation, global infrastructure development, and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).For CNA, Herlevi has published research on port operations along China’s Maritime Silk Road, PLA views of Oceania, and China-Middle East relations, and she continues to research PRC technological upgrading.

She regularly participates in CNA-led wargames and was on a team that won the CNA CEO Teamwork Award for supporting the CNA wargaming team.

Follow April on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herlevi

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