MERICS China Podcast

In this episode of the MERICS China Podcast, former MERICS German Chancellor fellow Michael Laha talks to Prof. Taylor Fravel, Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), about the recently published MIT China Strategy. The document puts forth a set of guidelines for one of the world’s most important research university’s engagement with China. 

In 2022, Chinese global outbound foreign direct investment (or FDI) has fallen to an 8-year low. Accordingly, figures for Chinese investment in Europe are also down, hitting the lowest mark since 2013. This episode accompanies a new report by MERICS and Rhodium Group on Chinese FDI in Europe.Two of its authors, Agatha Kratz, Director at Rhodium Group and leader of its research on Europe-China relations and China’s economic statecraft, and Gregor Sebastian, Analyst at MERICS, talk about the scope and distribution of Chinese FDI in Europe, the reasons for the lowest FDI figures in the last decade, and how the key role of Europe in China’s electric vehicle expansion served as a saving grace. The conversation was led by Johannes Heller-John.

How to handle relations with China is an important aspect of the trade and tech coordination between the EU and the US. Ahead of the coming Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting in late May, we ask where the transatlantic cooperation on trade and technology currently stands, what de-risking and decoupling relations with China would mean for Europe, and how the EU and the US aim to promote tech innovation.To answer these questions, we are joined by Rebecca Arcesati, Lead Analyst at MERICS working on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, as well as Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy. He has advised European member states on issues relating to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization and published on Chinese digital trade and its Information and Communication Technology sector. Johannes Heller-John moderated the conversation. 

The internet is the great connector that brings together people from around the world. For now, it is governed by a fairly standardized set of rules and principles of technology. However, this may be subject to change as China is actively pushing to create a version of the internet more amenable to the central control of the one-party state and national sovereignty. This may lead to a fragmentation of the internet – where different internets would coexist alongside each other.To talk about this issue, Johannes Heller-John is joined by Kai von Carnap, Analyst at MERICS and leader of the project on the future of the internet. A series of articles by experts from this project can be found here.

The Chinese Communist Party has long shaped China’s domestic debates and its value system. At the same time, Beijing increasingly acts as an important norm-entrepreneur in international forums and presents itself as an alternative systemic model. When China’s leadership uses terms like multilateralism, development or security it employs its own interpretations of them. To understand those, we turn to the Decoding China Dictionary – a tool to decipher the official Chinese narrative. In this episode of the MERICS China Podcast two of its editors, Katja Drinhausen, Head of Program Politics and Society at MERICS, and Malin Oud, Director of the Stockholm office of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, talk to Johannes Heller-John about China’s discursive power.The Decoding China Dictionary is compiled and edited by Malin Oud, Katja Drinhausen, Marina Rudyak, David Bandurski and Jerker Hellström. Back on popular demand, the second edition published in March 2023 now covers 26 terms. It is available online here and can be downloaded as PDF here.

On February 24, 2022 – one year ago – Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – escalating a territorial conflict that has been simmering since the occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region in 2014. The Kremlin’s aims of a swift occupation of Ukraine did not materialize and after 12 months of aerial bombardments, civilian suffering and trench warfare, Ukraine is still defending its country and West is still keeping up sanctions and support for Ukraine. This episode looks at China’s role in the conflict and its impact in China’s global standing and agency. Johannes Heller-John discusses these issues with Helena Legarda, Lead Analyst at MERICS, and Jakub Jakóbowski, Deputy Director of the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Warsaw. Since the recording of the episode a 12-point Chinese peace plan has been put forth. Accordingly, its contents do not feature in the discussion.-----This episode has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700.   Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 

Following a breakdown in direct diplomatic exchanges during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, China and Europe have stepped up their diplomatic activity again leading to various high-level meetings in the last months like German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Beijing. In this episode we look at the chances for a reestablishment of closer ties between China and the EU with a special focus on the view from and role of the Central and Eastern European member states. To discuss this issue, Johannes Heller-John is joined by Katja Drinhausen, Head of Program Politics and Society at MERICS, and former MERICS Futures Fellow Alicja Bachulska.

2022 war ein turbulentes Jahr für Chinas Wirtschaft, die strikte Null-Covid-Politik der chinesischen Regierung und sich ständig ändernde Vorgaben und Regeln sorgten für Unsicherheit. Mit dem Ende der Corona-Lockdowns wächst nun die Hoffnung auf eine Erholung. Mit MERICS Chief Economist Max J. Zenglein blickt Johannes Heller-John auf die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung im vierten Quartal 2022, die Aussichten für Chinas Wirtschaft in den kommenden Monaten und die Auswirkungen auf deutsche und europäische Unternehmen. Chinas Wirtschaftsentwicklung ist auch Thema der MERICS Economic Indicators. MERICS Members haben Zugriff auf die gesamte Analyse und Veranstaltungen zum Thema.

2023 will be a critical year for China. The party leadership around Xi Jinping is faced with an unprecedented health crisis and a troubled economy, while it must balance its relationships with the US and Europe with its "no-limits" partnership with Russia.To anticipate what 2023 might have in store for us, we conducted the 4th MERICS China Forecast Survey involving 880 China experts and members of the public. In a conference on January 18, 2023, our experts and a line-up of high-level speakers discussed the survey’s findings and their expectations.Roderick Kefferpütz, Senior Analyst at MERICS who led the compilation of this year’s forecast, joins Johannes Heller-John to discuss the results.  -----The MERICS China Forecast 2023 has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 

Since the invasion by Russia in February 2022, the quality and focus of Ukraine’s relationship with China has undergone important changes. China’s “pro-Russian neutrality” has given rise to a more critical perception of China in Ukraine. However, the government in Kyiv refrains from being too confrontational. To trace the development of Ukraine’s relationship with China, the impact of the war and the effect on relations with Taiwan, we are joined by MERICS Futures Fellow Yurii Poita. He heads the Asia-Pacific Section at the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies (CACDS) in Kyiv and is head of the Asian Section at the New Geopolitics Research Network (NGRN). The episode was recorded by Johannes Heller-John.