ChinaPower

This episode explores China’s ambitions to reform and influence global governance, and the resulting effects on the international system. Our guest, Dr. Melanie Hart, discusses the main takeaways from her February 2019 co-authored report titled Mapping China’s Global Governance Ambitions. She analyzes China’s intentions behind its challenges to the liberal international order, and the role that democracies can play in preserving the democratic principles that currently shape global governance. Dr. Melanie Hart is a senior fellow and director of China Policy at the Center for American Progress. Her research focuses on U.S. foreign policy toward China, particularly around issues of energy, climate change, and cross-border investment. Dr. Hart currently serves on the board of the American Mandarin Society, as well as a charter member of the East Coast Advancement Committee of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

This episode assesses China’s development of unmanned systems, especially its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their role in China’s military capacity and international commercial export markets. Our guest, Mr. Tate Nurkin, analyzes the impact of UAVs on new military and security practices in China. He also provides insight into how Chinese drone manufacturers such as DJI have been able to dominate the commercial UAV market. Tate Nurkin is the founder of OTH Intelligence Group LLC and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. Mr. Nurkin spent 12 years at Jane’s by IHS Markit and also has previously worked for Joint Management Services, the Strategic Assessment Center of SAIC, and the Modeling, Simulation, Wargaming, and Analysis team of Booz Allen Hamilton. His research and analysis focuses on China’s military modernization and technology development, US-China competition, and the global defense industry.

This episode explores China’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) market and draws from the November 2018 CSIS report entitled China’s Risky Drive into New-Energy Vehicles. We are joined by the author of the report, Dr. Scott Kennedy, who examines the strategic and economic motivations behind Beijing’s prioritization of NEVs. Dr. Kennedy discusses the positive results of China becoming the world’s largest NEV market, as well as issues the industry faces in China, such as overcapacity, environmental ramifications, and the challenges posed by international competitors. He also offers his assessment of how the industry will evolve and China’s role moving forward. Dr. Scott Kennedy is a senior adviser of the Freeman Chair in China Studies and director of Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy at CSIS. Prior to joining CSIS, he was a professor at Indiana University (IU) for over 14 years. His work focuses on China’s economic policy and its global economic relations, including industrial policy, technology innovation, and US-China commercial relations.

This episode examines recent developments in Sino-Russian relations and the effects on the United States. Our guest, Mr. Alexander Gabuev, explains the impetus behind the growing geostrategic and military collaborations between China and Russia. He discusses how mutual economic interests and close relations between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have strengthened and diversified the partnership between the two countries. Mr. Gabuev also evaluates critical areas of political and economic friction in the relationship, including the protection of technology and intellectual property, management of influence in Central Asia, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.   Mr. Alexander Gabuev is a senior fellow and the chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center. He is a Munich Young Leader of the Munich International Security Conference as well as a member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (Russia). His research is focused on Russia’s policy toward East and Southeast Asia, political and ideological trends in China, and China’s relations with its neighbors, especially those in Central Asia.

This episode explores the relationship between China and the current postwar international order, drawing from the RAND Corporation’s May 2018 report titled China and the International Order. Our guest and the report’s co-author, Mr. Timothy Heath, analyzes China’s perceived challenges to the current order, including the development of multilateral institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as policies like the Belt and Road Initiative. He also details policy recommendations for US strategy toward China and how China’s approach to the international order may evolve in the future. Mr. Timothy Heath is a senior international defense research analyst at the RAND Corporation in Washington DC. Prior to joining RAND, he served as the senior analyst for the USPACOM China Strategic Focus Group for five years. He has extensive experience analyzing China's national strategy, politics, ideology, and military, as well as Asian regional security developments.

This episode examines recent developments in Southeast Asian attitudes toward competing great powers in the region, especially China and the US, and what it might mean for the future of ASEAN’s ties with these actors. Our guest, Dr. Tang Siew Mun, explains the factors behind the results of his organization’s recent survey titled “State of Southeast Asia: 2019.” He discusses the respondents’ views on the reemergence of Chinese influence in the region, potential roles for powers such as Japan and the EU, and uncertainty about US commitment to and staying power in the region. Dr. Tang also explores the role of projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative, and how perspectives toward the regional players may change moving forward. Dr. Tang Siew Mun is the Head of the ASEAN Studies Centre and a Senior Fellow at the Regional Strategic and Political Studies program at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He was previously Director for Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia and Senior Lecturer at the National University of Malaysia. His primary research interests are Asian security, ASEAN’s relations with major powers, and Japanese foreign policy.

This episode explores the major defeat of the ruling DPP in Taiwan’s recent nine-in-one local elections and what these results mean for the future of cross-Strait relations. Our guest, Dr. Shelley Rigger, explains the current economic and political climate in Taiwan and provides insights into the economic drivers that helped KMT candidates win 15 of Taiwan’s 22 mayoral and county magistrate seats. She also examines Beijing’s response to the election results and how it may use the DPP’s loss to its advantage. Dr. Shelley Rigger is the Brown Professor of East Asian Politics in the Department of Political Science at Davidson College. She was previously a visiting associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai as well as a visiting research scholar at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Dr. Rigger has written extensively on Taiwan and cross-Strait relations.

This episode explores the significant increase in friction between the United States and China since the Trump administration came to power in 2017, and analyzes the implications for both countries and the rest of the world. Our guest, Dr. Wu Xinbo, examines the issues in the bilateral relationship where both sides do not see eye to eye, such as trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the international order. He also offers his views on the essence of US-China competition and the future trajectory of bilateral ties.   Dr. Wu Xinbo is Professor and Dean at the Institute of International Studies, and Director at the Center for American Studies, at Fudan University. He teaches and researches China’s foreign and security policy, Sino-US relations, and US Asia-Pacific policy. Dr. Wu is on the editorial board of The Washington Quarterly and European Journal of International Security, and on the International Advisory Board of International Affairs.

This episode explores the rapid modernization of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its growing naval capacity. Our guest, Dr. Andrew Erickson, explains the motivations behind this effort as well as the most recent capabilities of the PLAN’s expanding naval fleet. He also discusses the synergies between commercial and military shipbuilding in China and revisits the current state of China’s aircraft carrier program, which he discussed with ChinaPower several years ago. Dr. Andrew Erickson is a Professor of Strategy in the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute. He is the author of a study published in 2017 titled Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course. Since 2008, Dr. Erickson has been an Associate in Research at Harvard University’s John King Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. He is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

This episode explores the current state of cross-Strait relations between Taiwan and mainland China, as well as the Trump administration’s approach to this complex relationship. Our guest, Dr. Richard Bush, explains how and why the relationship has deteriorated since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, as well as how her approach to relations with Beijing differs from that of former President Ma Ying-jeou. Dr. Bush also examines the unique role that the US plays in the present-day relationship, in light of its ongoing trade war with Beijing yet lack of official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Dr. Richard Bush is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and holds The Michael H. Armacost Chair and Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies (CEAP). He also holds a joint appointment as a senior fellow in the Brookings John L. Thornton China Center. Dr. Bush is the author of a number of books and articles on China’s relations with its neighbors, particularly Taiwan.