Sinica Podcast

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Indiana University political scientist Jason Wu about his work on China's ideological landscape. With so many now framing the contest between the U.S. (or, more broadly, "the West") and China in terms of ideology, it makes sense to examine what "ideology" means to each party, to get a sense of what China's actual ideology consists of, and how Chinese people understand their own ideological positioning relative to concepts like "left" and "right" that are familiar in the West. Wu's research yields some very surprising results: In most countries that have been studied, the degree of ideological constraint — coherence or consistency among different issue positions — tends to be higher among people with greater knowledge of politics. But in China, as with so many other things, just the opposite appears to be true.4:23 – What is the meaning of "ideology"?15:37 – What is China's ideology?20:17 – On "The Nature of Ideology in Urban China" and the odd inverse correlation between political knowledge and ideological consistency in China40:18 – On "Categorical Confusion: Ideological Labels in China" and the meaning of "left" and "right" in ChinaA transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Jason: The campus novels Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis and Straight Man by Richard Russo; and the two-person board game Twilight StruggleKaiser: The Magic Mountain by Thomas MannSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Jeremy Daum, senior research scholar in law and senior fellow at Yale University's Paul Tsai China Center. Jeremy runs ChinaLawTranslate.com, a Wiki-style resource for translations of Chinese laws and regulations and an invaluable resource not just for legal scholars but for anyone interested in understanding China's policy direction. In a wide-ranging conversation, Jeremy talks about why the law remains important despite frequent assertions that there is no rule of law in China, critiques the "techno-authoritarian" narrative on China, and offers an informed take on the much-maligned "social credit system." Jeremy's work on the social credit system has earned him a reputation as a debunker, and in this episode, he makes clear what the system is and is not.3:28 – The ChinaLawTranslate.com project and its origins5:21 – Why does the law matter in China?10:09 – The technology narrative in Xinjiang13:12 – Can the U.S. learn anything from Chinese law?17:59 – Juvenile law and the Chinese conception of the state's role in the family24:13 – The paternalistic conception of law and the COVID-19 response in China28:49 – Mythbusting and the social credit system42:21 – China's Plea Leniency System and the case for engagement in jurisprudenceA transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Jeremy: The Fixer, a novel by Bernard MalamudKaiser: Going back to basics: Chinese stir-fry lessons on the YouTube channel "Chinese Cooking Demystified"See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser welcomes back Rory Truex, who teaches politics and international affairs at Princeton. In a fascinating as-yet-unpublished paper, Rory draws on extensive survey research that examines both political attitudes and personalities among Chinese participants and finds a strong correlation between political discontent and "isolating personality traits," like introversion, disagreeableness, and lack of close personal ties with others. Rory and Kaiser discuss the paper, the fascination with authoritarian resilience among Rory's cohort of China scholars, and the fertile intersection of psychology and politics.4:03 – What's with the obsession among young China-focused political scientists with authoritarian resilience?10:02 – The problem of "preference falsification" in social science research in China — and the solution!16:29 – Rory describes the dataset and the approach behind his paper on personality and political discontent33:14 – What do the personalities of Party members look like?42:15 – Personality and politics in Russia vs. ChinaA transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.com.Recommendations: Rory: The work of the Center for Security in Emerging Technology (CSET); and the Fan Brothers' oeuvre of children's books, including The Night Gardner and The Barnabus ProjectKaiser: The immensely popular daily word game WordleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser welcomes back Dan Wang, technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, to talk about this year's annual letter. Dan's letters have become something of an institution: wide-ranging, insightful, and always contentious, his missives are read by a great many observers of contemporary China and spark some lively conversations. This year's letter contrasts the major megacities that Dan has lived in (Beijing, Shanghai, and the "Greater Bay Area" of the Pearl River Delta), examines Xi Jinping's efforts to shift the energies of China's technologists and entrepreneurs away from the consumer internet and toward deep tech, ponders the causes of China's "cultural stunting" and the challenges that China faces, and has not yet overcome, in creating cultural products that the rest of the world wants, and warns of the dangers of focusing only on China's weaknesses and problems and ignoring its prodigious capabilities. Tune in for a fascinating conversation with one of the Sinosphere's more original thinkers.4:15 – Dan appraises Beijing, Shanghai, and the PRD Greater Bay Area20:48 – How to think about the "common prosperity" agenda (a.k.a. the Red New Deal)39:21 – The tradeoff between efficiency and resilience: China as an inefficient but anti-fragile economy45:34 – Should the United States be learning from China? The case for reform of American institutions50:38 – A technocratic resurgence in China? The rise of a "Beihang Clique"58:17 – The causes of "cultural stunting" in ChinaA transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Dan: Charles Dickens, Bleak House, and Jurgen Osterhammel, Unfabling the East: The Enlightenment's Encounter with AsiaKaiser: Ritchie Robertson, The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680 to 1790See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What we think about China depends in large measure on how we think about China. As a nation of 1.4 billion people in the throes of world-historic change, it's more important than ever to examine our own mental models when it comes to our understanding of China. This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser kicks off an informal series on "thinking about thinking about China" with a conversation with Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp, co-authors of the book Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why it Matters. While the book focuses on globalization, in which China has been a central actor, it's really a book about ways to approach all complex issues — and will equip you with immensely useful ways to conceptualize any number of problems related to China. Kaiser calls the book "an upgrade to [his] mental operating system." Please enjoy this fascinating discussion with two brilliant scholars.5:36 – What are the building blocks of a "narrative?"8:08 – The six main narratives on globalization laid out26:23 – The challenge of articulating problematic or objectionable narratives in good faith53:54 – How China fits into the six "Western" narratives on globalization56:55 – Chinese perspectives on globalization1:11:58 – Different metaphors for integrative complexity1:21:01 – Disciplines and training that prepare or predispose people toward complexity1:24:33 – Name-checking the influencesA transcript of this conversation is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Anthea: The Master and His Emissary, by Ian McGilchristNicolas: The Once and Future Worker, by Oren Cass; and the China Trade Monitor website, run by Simon Lester and Huan Zhu.Kaiser: "China's Reform Generation Adapts to Life in the Middle Class," by Peter HesslerOther Links: This episode mentions a great many books and authors. Here's a partial list!Isaiah Berlin, The Hedgehog and the FoxDaniel Kahneman, Thinking, Slow and FastHoward Gardner, Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice; and his memoir, A Synthesizing MindPhilip Tetlock and Dan Gardner, Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and ReligionPaul Blustein, Schism: China, America, and the Fracturing of the Global Trading SystemJulia Galef, The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don'tDavid Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized WorldC.P. Snow, The Two Cultures and the Scientific RevolutionEdward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge George Lakoff, Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives ThinkGareth Morgan, Images of OrganizationSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with David McCourt, associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Davis. For the last several years, David — who is not himself a China specialist — has undertaken a sociological study of "China-watchers," and has presented his findings to date in a series of papers as he prepares to publish a book. Focusing on China-watchers as a community, he offers fascinating insights into how they interact to shape the major narratives of "engagement" and "strategic competition.5:24 – Who counts as a “China-watcher”?13:53 – A taxonomy of China-watchers 21:43 – Small e engagement and capital E Engagement 28:35 – The sociological sources of China policy 37:54 – What China policy positions tell us about America 45:14 – Habitus and China policy orientation 55:19 – The China-watching community and American presidential administrations, Obama to Biden A transcript of this conversation is available at SupChina.com. Recommendations:  David: Gregoire Chamayou, The Ungovernable Society: A Genealogy of Authoritarian Liberalism Kaiser: The works of the great American political scientist Robert Jervis, who died on December 9, especially Perception and Misperception in International Politics and System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social LifeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Damien Ma, managing director and co-founder of the Paulson Institute’s think-tank, MacroPolo. Damien discusses MacroPolo's new forecast of the property market in China and the likely impact of the predicted contraction of that market. Damien also offers advice on what smart China-watchers will be keeping their eyes on in the coming, highly political year in China in the leadup to the 20th Party Congress. And he shares the amusing story of what happened the evening after he last appeared on Sinica way back when.2:58 – Damien recalls how he nearly led Sinica's interns to their doom one fateful night in 20147:23 – MacroPolo's forecast of the property market through 202516:28 – How will local governments fund themselves without land sales?20:11 – Damien's take on Xi Jinping's "common prosperity" agenda28:53 – Understanding China today through the lens of scarcity30:49 – Tips for watching developments in China in this political year40:00 – Cool stuff from MacroPoloA transcript of this conversation is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Damien: Derek Thompson, "America is Running on Fumes," in The Atlantic.Kaiser: Peter Jackson's epic Beatles documentary Get Back on Disney+See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser chats with Eileen Guo and Jess Aloe, two members of the three-person team of reporters at the MIT Technology Review who took a data-centered look at the U.S. Department of Justice's China Initiative and uncovered serious problems: an ill-defined mission, low conviction rates, post hoc efforts to remove cases previously described as falling under the China Initiative, and strong evidence of racial profiling.3:03 – The genesis of the report9:15 – How the Department of Justice defines — or doesn't define — the China Initiative19:00 – The deletion of China Initiative cases from the DoJ's website22:34 – Was the Anming Hu case a watershed?30:57 – The evidence for racial profiling38:26 – Biden's conundrumA transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Eileen: America for Beginners, a novel by Leah FranquiJess: The Expanse, a science fiction series on Amazon PrimeKaiser: Cloud Cuckoo Land, a novel by Anthony DoerrSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The recently-concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting in Dakar, Senegal, generated surprisingly little international press coverage — except for a few stories that seized on what looked, at first blush, like a significant decrease in Beijing's overall investment commitment on the continent. If Beijing sees a concerted effort by the U.S. and Europe to diminish, tarnish, or counteract China's position in Africa, it might well be excused: Its triannual Sino-African love fest, after all, didn't receive nearly as much attention as two problematic stories did: one centering on the alleged Chinese seizure of Uganda's Entebbe Airport, and another claiming that China plans to build a military base in Equatorial Guinea — a base that could threaten the East Coast of the United States, as reports suggested.And then there's the U.S.-led "Build Back Better World" (B3W) initiative, which was launched at the G7 summit in June, and the European Commission's own answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative: the Global Gateway Strategy, which was announced on the final day of FOCAC. This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy speak with the Nairobi-based development economist Anzetse Were and Eric Olander, host of the China in Africa Podcast. They both have a lot to say about FOCAC coverage, media narratives on China in Africa, and the likelihood that programs like B3W and Global Gateway can move the needle when it comes to China's position on the continent.5:08 – Major takeaways from FOCAC 20217:19 – Just how much money did China commit this time?15:57 – FOCAC 2021 as an inflection point in China-Africa relations19:05 – Media disconnects on the China-Africa story and "psychological self-soothing"23:33 – The mistaken reports on China's alleged seizure of Entebbe Airport in Uganda30:28 – The Wall Street Journal's report on China's alleged plans to build a military base in Equatorial Guinea44:55 – China's vaccine diplomacy in Africa52:12 – B3W (Build Back Better World) and Global Gateway as counters to the BRIA transcript of this episode is available on SupChina.comRecommendations:Jeremy: Political Pilgrims: Western Intellectuals in Search of the Good Society by Paul HollanderAnzetse: Market Power and Role of the Private Sector by the China-Africa Business Council; and "Africa's economic transformation: the role of Chinese investment," by Linda Calabrese and Xiaoyang TangEric: "Guānxì: Power, Networking, and Influence in China-Africa Relations," by Paul NantulyaKaiser: Beware of Pity, a novel by Stefan ZweigSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we bring you a selection of the best of our China Stories podcast. Launched in late January this year, it has published nearly 400 narrated pieces from the best English-language media outlets focused on China: Sixth Tone, Caixin Global, The Wire China, Protocol China, The World of Chinese, and Week in China — plus, of course, SupChina. The stories are read by Chinese-speaking narrators who won't badly mispronounce Chinese names and other words. If you enjoy this sampling, please make sure to subscribe to China Stories wherever you get your podcasts.3:04 – Peter Hessler's last class, published in Sixth Tone, written by He Yujia, and read by Elyse Ribbons25:07 – Luo Jialing, a.k.a. Liza Hardoon, and the height of global Shanghai, written by James Carter, published in SupChina, and read by John D. Van Fleet37:22 – Qianlong Emperor: The worst poet in Chinese history?, written by Sun Jiahui, published in The World of Chinese, and read by Cliff Larsen46:52 – Partners in profit, published by Week in China, and read by Sylvia Franke52:36 – Shot heard round the world: China's Olympic return, written by Sam Davies, published in The World of Chinese, and read by Sarah Kutulakos58:32 – China's culture wars, now playing on Bilibili, written by Shen Lu, published in Protocol China, and read by Kaiser Kuo1:07:23 – I sacrificed 16 years to the mines, as told to Gushi FM in Chinese by Chen Nianxi, translated by Nathaniel J. Gan, published in The World of Chinese, and read by Elyse Ribbons1:34:50 – Family values, excerpted from One Thousand Years of Joys and Sorrows, by Ai Weiwei, published in The Wire China, and read by Kaiser KuoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.