The China-Global South Podcast

U.S. public attitudes toward China are becoming less hawkish, widening the gap between Washington's national security establishment and a public increasingly favoring cooperation. A Chicago Council survey found 57% of Americans support engagement with China, compared with 85% of surveyed national security professionals favoring competition and containment. The shift is being driven partly by generational change, growing admiration for Chinese technology and infrastructure, and frustration with domestic dysfunction in the United States. But the underlying rivalry remains intact, with trade, technology, geopolitical alignments, and structural economic tensions continuing to constrain the fragile détente. Kaiser Kuo, host of the Sinica podcast, joins Eric to examine changing perceptions of China, including generational attitudes, performance legitimacy, and whether the current U.S.-China détente can endure. Show Notes Foreign Affairs: How China Is Winning Friends and Influencing People by Eric Olander and Lizzi Lee Sinica: Sinica Podcast Substack by Kaiser Kuo Sinica: The Fever Has Broken — For Now by Kaiser Kuo 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode Shifting American Attitudes Toward China and Cooperation Chinamaxxing and the Rise of China's Appeal Generational Divides in U.S.-China Relations Today The Fragile Détente Between Washington and Beijing China's Performance Legitimacy and American Dysfunction Why Greater China Literacy Matters for Policymakers Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @KaiserKuo Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

China's relationship with Venezuela has shifted from a cornerstone of its South American strategy to a visibly diminished partnership. After more than two decades of oil-backed lending, infrastructure investment, and strategic cooperation, Beijing has responded cautiously as U.S. control over Venezuelan oil assets displaces Chinese interests. The relationship now appears to occupy a gray zone: neither a full continuation of the pre-2026 partnership nor a formal rupture. China's limited response reflects the declining importance of Venezuela relative to Brazil, Peru, and Chile, while its remaining assets and longstanding interests give Beijing reasons to preserve a smaller presence. Andrea Freites, China researcher at the Millennium Nucleus on the Impacts of China in Latin America and the Caribbean, joins Eric to talk about the future of China-Venezuela relations, including Beijing's response to the political transition, the fate of Chinese oil interests, and the prospects for a smaller but enduring Chinese presence. 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode China's changing role in Venezuela The fate of Chinese oil interests Beijing's response to Maduro's removal The future of China-Venezuela relations Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @afreitesh Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

Natalie Sambhi, Verve Research founder, and Blake Berger, its deputy director, discuss Southeast Asia’s push for more effective global institutions, ASEAN’s future, and navigating U.S.-China rivalry. Thammasat professor Prapimphan Chiengkul examines rare-earth mining’s costs for marginalized communities. The conversation also explores human-centered security, data centers’ environmental impacts, and how the region can shape fairer development.

Andrew Polk, co-founder of Trivium China and an analyst of Chinese policy and geopolitics, examines Beijing’s renewed diplomacy and its vision of a multipolar order. He explores the India-China thaw, BRICS’ future, and the strategic limits of the SCO. The conversation also turns to Chinese open-source AI, Global South hedging, and the emerging fragmentation of global technology.

For generations of Chinese readers, Taiwanese writer Sanmao offered a rare window into Africa through her bestselling stories of life in the Western Sahara. But her accounts also carried colonial-era stereotypes, romanticized her role in the region, and included stories that historical evidence suggests were embellished or never happened. Sanmao's legacy reveals a more complicated history of how Africa has been imagined in Chinese popular culture. From her 1970s writing to films such as Wolf Warrior 2, Chinese depictions have sometimes reproduced a familiar colonial framework in which Africans become backdrops, objects of fascination, or people in need of saving. Jacob Kushner, an international journalist and author, joins Eric to examine Sanmao's enduring influence, the myths and colonial perspectives embedded in her writing, and what her legacy reveals about China's evolving views of Africa. Show Notes Now Voyager Magazine: Storyteller of the Sahara by Jacob Kushner 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode: 🇹🇼 Sanmao's enduring influence on Chinese views of Africa 🏜️ How she portrayed life in the Western Sahara 📖 The myths and embellishments in her stories 🇪🇸 Colonialism and the Spanish Sahara 🌍 Chinese literature and colonial stereotypes about Africa 🎬 From Sanmao to Wolf Warrior 2: Changing images of Africa 🔎 The challenges of fact-checking stories from distant places 📰 The case for deeper, long-form international journalism Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @JacobKushner Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: chinaglobalsouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

China's growing commercial footprint across the Global South is creating new opportunities, but major knowledge gaps remain over how Chinese businesses build trust, negotiate, and form partnerships. Guanxi, institutional norms, and long-term relationships can matter as much as contracts and competitive pricing. At the same time, Chinese companies are still adapting unevenly to local cultures. Firms operating in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East increasingly recognize the value of local relationships and cultural knowledge, but many continue to prioritize speed and product specifications over local expectations. Sun Muyang, author of How Chinese Business Actually Works: 15 Themes on the Institutional, Historical, and Human Logic Beneath the Surface, joins Eric to discuss the logic of Chinese business, including guanxi and trust-building, competitive pricing, and Chinese companies' adaptation to Global South markets. Show Notes How Chinese Business Actually Works: 15 Themes on the Institutional, Historical, and Human Logic Beneath the Surface (English Edition) by Muyang SUN and Joyce XIE 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode Guanxi and Trust in Chinese Business The Hidden Logic Behind Chinese Business Practices Reading Chinese Business Signals Understanding Chinese Pricing and Competitiveness Chinese Companies Adapting to Global South Markets Practical Advice for Doing Business With China Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: chinaglobalsouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

Latin America is facing intensifying pressure from Washington to distance itself from China even as Beijing remains the region's leading trading partner. Governments are increasingly caught between U.S. strategic demands and the economic opportunities offered by China, making geopolitical balancing more difficult. The shift from a rules-based order toward one defined by power is reinforcing the case for "active non-alignment," allowing countries to work with both powers according to their interests. At the same time, Latin America faces a deeper economic challenge: moving beyond exports of raw materials such as copper and lithium toward greater value addition and industrial development. Ambassador Jorge Heine, honorary professor at the University of Chile's Institute of International Studies and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, joins Eric to examine Latin America's balancing act, including U.S. pressure on China ties, active non-alignment, and opportunities for deeper China-Latin America economic integration. Show Notes ECLAC - Ruptures and opportunities: proposals for Latin America and the Caribbean to thrive in the new geopolitical era 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode How U.S. pressure is reshaping China-Latin America relations The rise of active non-alignment as a strategy between Washington and Beijing Why China's role as Latin America's leading trading partner limits U.S. influence The challenge of moving beyond raw-material exports toward greater value-added production How China and Latin America could cooperate on copper, lithium, EVs, and green technology Why stronger China literacy is becoming essential for Latin American policymakers Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @jorgeheine Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: chinaglobalsouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

China's influence in Africa's media landscape increasingly operates through content-sharing agreements, journalist training, paid placements, and support for local broadcasters. These "below-the-line" strategies give Chinese narratives a pathway into African newsrooms that extends well beyond the reach of traditional state outlets such as CGTN and Xinhua. But the push for greater Chinese influence raises a deeper question about decolonization. While Beijing presents its media engagement as an alternative to Western dominance, African journalists can be exposed to models of reporting that do not necessarily fit local political and social realities. At the same time, the shift toward social media makes the actual impact of these efforts increasingly difficult to measure. Emeka Umejei, a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the arguments from his book China in African Media: Between Influence Operations and Decolonization, content-sharing agreements, journalist training, and the future of African media independence. Show Notes China in African Media: Between Influence Operations and Decolonization by Emeka Umejei 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode China's evolving media influence across Africa The rise of content-sharing agreements with African news outlets Journalist training, media exchanges, and the spread of Chinese reporting models The tension between China's "decolonization" narrative and African media independence How Chinese economic engagement strengthens its media influence The shift toward social media and the uncertain impact of foreign media campaigns on African audiences Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @stadenesque I @emekaumejei Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: chinaglobalsouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

China's influence in Latin America is increasingly being built through smaller, less visible deals rather than the headline-grabbing infrastructure projects that defined its engagement in the 2010s. Surveillance technology, electric buses, power networks, critical minerals and subnational partnerships are creating a decentralized web of economic and political ties that can be harder to scrutinize or unwind. For Washington, the challenge is that pressure on governments to reduce Chinese ties often comes without credible alternatives. Latin American countries, meanwhile, are balancing U.S. security pressure against China's economic complementarity, while seeking to preserve strategic autonomy. Natalia Cote-Muñoz, the Managing Partner and CEO of Vantage Point Strategies, joins Eric to discuss China's evolving influence in Latin America, the risks of technological dependence, and how the U.S. and regional governments can respond. Show Notes Foreign Affairs - China's Quiet Quest to Dominate Latin America: Small Projects, Big Influence by Natalia Cote-Muñoz 📌 Topics Covered in This Episode China's shift from mega-projects to smaller, less visible investments in Latin America How subnational partnerships are becoming a key tool of Chinese influence The growing risks of technological and infrastructure dependence on China Why U.S. efforts to push back against China are often falling short Latin American countries' balancing act between China and the United States What China, the U.S., and Latin American governments should do differently to manage long-term geopolitical risks Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @CNASdc I @ncotemunoz Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: chinaglobalsouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

Lizzi C. Lee, an analyst of China’s economy and global commercial expansion, and Zhuoning Li, a researcher on Chinese brands and diaspora networks, explore “China-maxing” beyond the meme. They discuss social media’s idealized China, the everyday reach of phones, EVs, apps and infrastructure, diaspora-fueled market entry, and the tension between affordable Chinese goods and pressure on local industries across the Global South.