MERICS China Podcast

China has been quick to signal its acceptance of renewed Taliban rule over Afghanistan, stating that it respects the quote, “the will and decision of the people of Afghanistan” on August 16 – one day after the Taliban leadership announced their victory in the presidential palace in Kabul.What are China’s interests in Afghanistan? How do the new circumstances impact Xinjiang? And what can decisionmakers in Europe do? In our interview Angela Stanzel, associate researcher in the Asia division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) shares her analysis. In her view China is mainly interested in protecting its own border. Beyond that, Stanzel does not expect China to offer Afghanistan significant security or economic cooperation.

China is radically changing the way it regulates data environments. With a new Data Security Law passed and a Personal Information Protection Law in the works, China is moving from a largely unregulated data environment to a highly regulated one.Rebecca Arcesati and John Lee, Analyst and Senior Analyst at MERICS respectively, join the podcast to talk about the effects and implications of these laws as well as two recent publications on the evolving data governance regime in China, specifically on AI ethics and governance in China as well as China and the Internet of Things.

Die G7-, NATO- und EU-US-Gipfeltreffen im Juni haben gezeigt, wie wichtig das Thema China auch in den transatlantischen Beziehungen ist. Während die USA auf eine härtere Gangart gegenüber China drängen, tendiert zum Beispiel Deutschland zu einem weniger konfrontativen Ansatz. In dieser Folge des MERICS-Podcasts diskutiert Claudia Wessling, Leiterin Kommunikation und Publikationen, mit Jan Weidenfeld, Leiter Policy und Advisory bei MERICS. Jan ist einer der Autoren eines neuen Berichts der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz, der Aspen Strategy Group und von MERICS. Die Studie skizziert Prioritäten und gibt Empfehlungen für Strategien zur Gestaltung der transatlantischen China-Politik und ist online verfügbar unter: https://securityconference.org/en/publications/report-of-the-transatlantic-reflection-group-on-china/

The summits in June, G7, NATO and the EU-US top-level meeting, have shown that China is a crucial topic in transatlantic relations. While we currently see the US pushing for a tougher stance towards China, German approaches could be described as more careful and less confrontational. In this episode of our podcast, Claudia Wessling, Director Communications and Publications, discusses transatlantic China policy with Jan Weidenfeld, Director Policy and Advisory at MERICS. He is one of the contributors to a new report by the Munich Security Conference, the Aspen Strategy Group and MERICS. The study outlines priorities and provides recommendations for strategies to shape transatlantic China policy and is available at: https://securityconference.org/en/publications/report-of-the-transatlantic-reflection-group-on-china/

The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) considers itself as being in the midst of the most challenging period of its rule. In the eyes of party leaders, potential threats to regime security wait behind every corner and all matters are, therefore, seen through the prism of national security. This behavior is no longer limited to the domestic sphere but has expanded to the international stage. In this episode of the MERICS Podcast, Helena Legarda explains what drives China’s international behavior. Helena is a Senior Analyst at MERICS and an expert on China’s foreign and security policies.She has analyzed CCP securitization of international relations in a chapter for the new MERICS report on China’s Communist Party that is available here: https://merics.org/en/report/ccps-next-century-expanding-economic-control-digital-governance-and-national-security

Digitalization is a crucial element of the Chinese Communist Party’s governance approach. It serves to improve governance and public service, but also enhances the party state’s surveillance and monitoring capabilities. In this episode of the MERICS experts podcast, MERICS Senior Analyst Katja Drinhausen explains how the CCP has embraced digitization as a governance tool, the extent of digital surveillance in China, the party’s vision for a digitalized China, and its global implications. Katja is one of the authors “The CCP in 2021: smart governance, cyber sovereignty and tech supremacy”, a chapter in our MERICS Paper on China on the “CCP’s next century.” Read more here: https://merics.org/en/ccp-2021-smart-governance-cyber-sovereignty-and-tech-supremacy

Mikko Huotari, Executive Director of MERICS, answers questions about the challenges the CCP is faced with in its 100th year and what Europe should be prepared for in relations with China. Beijing will be overseeing multiple challenges in the coming years: Productivity crisis, a crisis of social and regional inequality, high leverage in the financial system and social insecurity. European actors, Huotari argues, need to be prepared for a China in 'struggle mode': “We will see a CCP-led government that seeks to further limit and control access to information and political actors in China. Europeans need to be prepared for crisis and further politicization of doing business and interacting with China. In many cases this requires investing in China competence and policy coordination,” says Huotari. Visit our website for more analysis on the CCP's centenary: www.merics.org/en/ccp-100.

China’s economic success and its achievements in poverty reduction are often perceived as inspiring to other countries, especially in the global south. Beijing itself actively promotes its state capitalism as the China model – and as an alternative for Western liberal democracy. But increased Chinese engagement has also led to criticism in neighboring countries. To talk about the issue of informal activities and actors in Chinese overseas engagement, MERICS Experts is joined by Matt Ferchen, Head of Global China Research at MERICS.

Die sechsten deutsch-chinesischen Regierungskonsultationen finden in diesem Jahr in einem schwierigen Kontext statt. Wegen Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Xinjiang hatte die EU vor fünf Wochen Sanktionen gegen China verhängt. Die Führung in Beijing reagierte umgehend mit weitaus schärferen Sanktionen. Die Reaktion der Bundesregierung fiel bisher verhalten aus. Über die deutsch-chinesischen Beziehungen sprechen in unserem neuen Podcast Ariane Reimers, ARD-Korrespondentin und MERICS Senior Fellow, und MERICS-Direktor Mikko Huotari. Trotz einer Vertiefung der deutsch-chinesischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen sei bei zentralen Fragen der Kooperation zu wenig passiert, sagt Huotari.

“The EU's policy towards China should be based on the following principles: cooperate where possible, compete where needed, confront where necessary.” This is the vision of the European People’s Party’s (EPP) strategy paper on European relations with China released in the beginning of March. In this episode of MERICS Experts we talk to its author, Radosław Sikorski, Member of the European Parliament for the European People’s Party and chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States.The conversation touches on a range of strategic issues related to EU-China relations including the implications of the exchange of sanctions between the EU and China, the prospects for transatlantic cooperation on China and the logic behind the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy that is now in the works. The interview was led by MERICS analyst Grzegorz Stec.If you are interested in our research on EU-China topics you may want to subscribe for free to our EU-China Weekly Review or become a paying subscriber to receive our Briefings, including the monthly EU-China Briefing: https://merics.org/de/merics-eu-china-hub