China Insider

The US Department of Energy has assessed that COVID-19 mostly likely originated in a lab leak in Wuhan, and last week the Chinese Communist Party released its twelve-point "peace plan" for Ukraine. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what the DOE's assessment means and the history of the lab-leak investigations, going back to early 2020. They then dive into China's long and complicated history with Ukraine in light of Beijing's peace plan, tracing from the fall of the Soviet Union to the current no-limits partnership between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.Read Miles's WSJ op-ed on the lab leak here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-reckless-labs-put-the-world-at-risk-11614102828Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

The Chinese retiree protests that began in Wuhan have spread to other cities as local governments cut back on health-care subsidies. Miles and Wilson discuss where these protests are headed, and how Xi Jinping's policies have undermined government budgets throughout China. They follow up with a conversation about the disappearance of Bao Fan, one of China's top technology investors, before finishing with key takeaways from the Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi's meeting with Antony Blinken, and the future of China-Russia relations.Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

Protests broke out last week in the city of Wuhan over drastic cuts to healthcare subsidies. An unusual protest, driven mostly by retirees against the Municipal government in Wuhan, resulted in nearly ten thousand Chinese citizens sieging the city government, vowing to return in 10 days with much larger numbers and eventually receiving capitulation from local officials.  In light of this, Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley reflect on the glaring issues within the PRCs healthcare system writ large, and in particular, how decades of the One Child Policy and the bleak outlook for today’s Chinese youth places enormous stress on the system’s capacity to care for the elderly. They discuss how the Wuhan government's decision to cut costs points to larger economic issues for the PRC, as local governments who were previously bearing the brunt of Zero-covid costs are now running troubling deficits, and it is unclear whether the central government plans to bail them out. They then turn to discuss the "Hong Kong 47" standing trial under accusations of subversion under the National Security Law and reflect on the history of Hong Kong and its place in relation to the PRC and the world. Finally, Miles and Wilson reflect on the inspiring show of bipartisanship from the House of Representatives in response to the CCP's recent violation of U.S. sovereignty. Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

The Chinese Communist Party’s spy balloon may be a Sputnik moment for the United States, as millions of Americans saw pictures of a surveillance device sent by the United States’ top geopolitical rival flying freely over the heartland. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss the history of Chinese spy operations and what the downed balloon means for US-China relations, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponed trip to Beijing. Then they return to a story that’s gone largely unreported in the US press but that continues to go viral in China—a missing boy whose body was found recently. The incident raises questions about human trafficking, organ harvesting, and how trustworthy the Chinese people think their government really is.

The definitive memoir of foreign policy in the Trump administration is out: former Director of the CIA and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Never Give an Inch. Miles and Wilson discuss the China-related highlights from the book, before delving into two big stories from inside China this week. The first is the increasingly nationalist rhetoric out of Beijing around the Lunar New Year, and the second is the terrible case of a 15-year-old Chinese boy who went missing for three months, and what it tells us about human trafficking in the People's Republic of China.  

The chief epidemiologist of the PRC's Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims that 80% of China's population has been infected with COVID-19. Miles and Wilson discuss what that means for the toll the pandemic continues to take throughout the country. Then, they cover Beijing's charm offensive at Davos and at other international forums, before finishing up with a discussion of who really controls China's top technology and social media companies, and what that means for Americans' security. Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

China's latest economic and demographic numbers show that the country is facing significant headwinds. But are they still too good to be true? Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what to make of the latest statistics before diving into Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's leadership and G7 world tour and finishing with a conversation on the recent revelations about China's more than 100 overseas police stations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and elsewhere. Follow the China Center's work at: https://www.hudson.org/china-center

The big story out of China this week is that COVID-19 is ripping through the country and that Beijing’s lack of transparency has the World Health Organization urging the People’s Republic of China to change course. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss the state of the pandemic and the Chinese Communist Party playing politics with vaccines, China reopening its borders to the world, and what the United States’ policy toward China looks like now that the 118th Congress has been sworn in and is getting to work.Follow the China Center's work at https://www.hudson.org/china-center 

Miles and Wilson discuss new developments in the relationship between China and Russia, the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases throughout China and what they mean for the rest of the world, and what to expect in 2023. They also cover a strange Christmas present to Miles from the Chinese Communist Party. Follow the China Center's work at https://www.hudson.org/china-center

December has been a bad month for the People’s Republic’s global ambitions. Miles and Wilson discuss Japan’s historic defense buildup and what it means for the global balance of power, China’s clashes with India along the Line of Actual Control, and how Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia undermined his long-term strategy with Iran.