ChinaPower

This episode examines China’s ambitions to lead the world in setting technical standards for emerging technologies. Our guest, Emily de La Bruyère, analyzes how China is advocating for its own technical standards to be adopted worldwide, and its concerted efforts to gain leverage in critical international standard-setting institutions. Ms. de La Bruyère explains Beijing’s China Standards 2035 plan and its close links to Made in China 2025. She also details the risks that China’s standard-setting agenda poses, and how the US and other Western democracies have responded.Emily de La Bruyère is co-founder of Horizon Advisory, a strategic consulting firm focused on the implications of China’s competitive approach to geopolitics. She is also a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies with a focus on China policy. Ms. de La Bruyère has led extensive China research programs and developed novel analysis tools and techniques. Her public commentaries have been published in The New York Times, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal.

This episode examines China’s engagement with Nepal and the trajectory of the China-Nepal bilateral relationship. Our guest, Mr. Gaurab Shumsher Thapa analyzes the impact of Xi Jinping’s 2019 visit to Nepal as well as China’s evolving political, security, and strategic interests in Nepal. Mr. Thapa explains the Nepalese government’s support of the “One-China Policy” and the importance of Nepal’s foreign policy of non-alignment. He also discusses China’s growing investment in Nepal and the ways in which China’s Belt and Road Initiative may improve the two countries’ economic relations in the future and promote the development of Nepal.Mr. Gaurab Shumsher Thapa is the president and managing director of the Nepal Forum of International Relations Studies (Nepal FIRST). Mr. Thapa is a member of the Nepal Council of World Affairs and a regular opinion writer for Asia Times.

This episode examines the key challenges in, and future direction of, China-Sweden relations. Our guest, The Honorable Carl Bildt, analyzes the role of the Gui Minhai case and other diplomatic rows as catalysts in the deterioration of the bilateral relationship. Mr. Bildt explains the changing views of China from within the Swedish government and other constituencies, as well as the key takeaways from Sweden's China strategy paper published in late 2019. He also discusses Chinese-Swedish economic relations and outlines what future developments could have the biggest impact on the relationship.The Honorable Carl Bildt was Sweden’s Foreign Minister from 2006 to 2014 and Prime Minister from 1991 to 1994, when he negotiated Sweden’s accession to the European Union (EU). He served as EU Special Envoy to the Former Yugoslavia, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, UN Special Envoy to the Balkans, and Co-Chairman of the Dayton Peace Conference. He is currently Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

This episode unpacks China’s push to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Our guest, Dr. Kevin Desouza, explains Beijing's motives and compares China’s plans for creating its own national digital currency with those of other countries that have undertaken similar initiatives. Dr. Desouza explores how a national digital currency can be used to bolster China’s finance and technology sectors, as well as its economy as a whole. He also offers his views on what China’s timeline might be for rolling out its own CBDC, particularly in light of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Kevin Desouza is a professor of Business, Technology and Strategy in the School of Management at the Queensland University of Technology Business School. Dr. Desouza is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the China Institute for Urban Governance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has held tenured faculty appointments at the University of Washington, Virginia Tech, and Arizona State University.

This episode explores China’s efforts to integrate its military and civilian sectors to support its military development and broader national security agenda. Our guest, Mr. Greg Levesque, discusses how Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) fits into China’s grand strategy and evaluates how effectively it has implemented the program to date. Mr. Levesque also weighs the risks and rewards of MCF in Beijing’s strategic calculus, and offers a path for how the US and its allies can respond to the growing nexus between military and civil development in China.Greg Levesque is co-founder and CEO of Strider, a technology company enabling organizations to combat intellectual property theft and supply chain vulnerabilities outside of the cyber domain. Greg has advised and supported Fortune 500 companies as well as US and European government agencies on matters of economic statecraft, particularly around China.

This episode examines China’s role in the World Health Organization (WHO), and how its relationship with the organization has changed over time. Our guest, Dr. Jeremy Youde, discusses how China has influenced how the WHO responds to global health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Youde also explores the challenges WHO leadership faces when balancing public health concerns with sensitive geopolitical issues, best illustrated by China’s opposition to Taiwan’s inclusion in the organization. Dr. Jeremy Youde is Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a member of the editorial board of Global Health Governance and is the current chair of the Global Health Section of the International Studies Association. Previously, Dr. Youde was an associate professor in the Department of International Relations at the Australian National University.

This episode explores the potential for China to join a strategic nuclear dialogue with the United States and Russia. Our guest, Dr. David Santoro, details China’s perspective on arms control issues, and underscores the difficulties in forging a trilateral nuclear agreement in today’s strategic environment. Dr. Santoro also discusses how the US can engage China bilaterally to enhance the prospects for a trilateral agreement in the long run.Dr. David Santoro is Vice President and Director for Nuclear Policy Programs at Pacific Forum. He specializes in strategic and deterrence issues, as well as nonproliferation and nuclear security, with a regional focus on the Asia Pacific and Europe. He recently co-authored a report for the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg titled, Trilateral Arms Control? Perspectives from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing.

This episode explores China’s efforts to establish itself as a major player in the Arctic region. Our guest, Dr. Anne-Marie Brady, details China’s key interests in the region as they relate to its broader strategic, economic, and political objectives. Dr. Brady also discusses how China has engaged with Arctic countries and Arctic governance, and offers several important insights into how the international community should respond to China’s growing presence in the region. Dr. Anne-Marie Brady is a professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and a global fellow with the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States’ Polar Initiative at the Wilson Center. Dr. Brady is also founding and executive editor of The Polar Journal (Taylor and Francis Publishers). Her research focuses on Chinese domestic and foreign politics as well as polar politics.

This episode explores the evolution of the e-commerce market in China, the challenges it presents, and its impact on the Chinese economy. Our guest, Mr. Jacob Cooke, examines fundamental differences between the e-commerce markets in China and the United States, and discusses the shifting consumer landscape toward digital trends. He also analyzes the outlook for e-commerce in China, including the potential impact of outside events like the COVID-19 epidemic and the US-China phase one trade deal.Jacob Cooke is co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, a digital marketing and consulting firm based in Beijing. Mr. Cooke started WPIC in 2004 as an alternative for the many Western organizations frustrated by China’s obstacles to brick and mortar sales. He graduated from Beijing Jiaotong University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and participated in MIT Sloan School of Management’s executive education program focusing on artificial intelligence.

This episode explores China’s key interests and investments in Africa, as well as how China-Africa relations are likely to evolve in the future. Our guest, Dr. Joshua Eisenman, breaks down the political and economic toolkit China is using to achieve its core interests in Africa. Dr. Eisenman offers his insights on the impact of U.S. engagement on China-Africa ties, as well as analyzes the feasibility of African countries following China’s development model.Dr. Joshua Eisenman is an Associate Professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, and Senior Fellow for China Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council. Dr. Eisenman’s research focuses on the political economy of China’s development and its foreign relations with the U.S. and the developing world—particularly Africa. He is working with Ambassador David Shinn on their second co-authored book on China-Africa relations, examining the political and security aspects of China's engagement on the continent.