China Studies

Amidst various commentaries on the 10th anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake, this past summer, a prominent theme has been the sense of possibility for civil society in China that was initially generated by the outpouring of social volunteerism, unprecedented in Chinese history, which followed the disaster.  That earlier optimism about civil society appears less robust in China today, within an overall context of further tightening of the space for independent social organizations and advocacy in recent years.  In this episode, Emory University sociologist Bin Xu discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the general landscape of civil society and civic engagement in China, through the particular lens of his widely celebrated new book on the Sichuan earthquake.  The episode was recorded on February 22, 2018. Bin Xu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Emory University.  His book, “The Politics of Compassion: the Sichuan Earthquake and Civic Engagement in China,” published by Stanford University Press, combines cultural sociology with extensive interviews to examine how engaged citizens acted on the ground in the aftermath of the earthquake, how they understood the meaning of their actions, and how the wider political context shaped both.  Reviewed as “riveting, provocative, and ultimately heart breaking,” and as “required reading for all students of contemporary Chinese society and politics,” the book has been awarded the Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book in the Sociology of Culture from the American Sociological Association (2018).  In addition to this book, Prof. Xu’s work has appeared in many of the leading journals in sociology and China studies.  He also was selected as one of 21 Public Intellectuals in the likewise named fellowship program of the National Committee on US-China Relations for 2016-18. Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Nick Marziani and Justin Melnick

Current headlines about how authoritarian regimes have come to harness and even weaponize the internet may obscure how this technology, at one time, was more typically understood to be a democratizing force, across a range of different contexts. In the early days of Chinese cyberspace, for example, popular expression on various internet forums seemed to herald a new stage in political activism, that was pressing the boundaries of traditional state control. In this episode, University of Pennsylvania Professor Guobin Yang, the preeminent scholar of the sociology of the internet in China, discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the evolution of social media platforms on the Chinese internet, over the past 20 years, and their changing political implications. The episode was recorded on March 1, 2018. Guobin Yang is the Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Communication and Sociology at the Annenberg School for Communication and the Department of Sociology, at the University of Pennsylvania.  His research generally covers social movements, cultural sociology, political sociology, digital media, global communication, and modern China. His prolific scholarship includes the classic "The Power of the Internet in China: Citizen Activism Online" (2009) and, more recently, "The Red Guard Generation and Political Activism in China" (2016). He is the editor or co-editor of four additional books which explore similar themes. He is also active on social media, and tweets at @Yangguobin.  Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Nick Marziani and Alex Schein

Launched by China in June 2015, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ("AIIB") currently has eighty-six members and, with $100 billion in capital, has lent around $4 billion to infrastructure projects throughout Asia. The AIIB's very creation is an important marker in China's economic and strategic rise over the past forty years, from a poor country that was entirely outside of the Bretton Woods financial system, to the largest borrower from the World Bank, and now, to the creator of a competitor institution designed to address some of the World Bank's deficiencies. In this episode, the inaugural general counsel of the AIIB, Natalie Lichtenstein, discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the background and early history of the Bank, informed by her distinguished thirty-year career in the legal department of the World Bank, where she advised on lending operations in China from their inception. The episode was recorded on January 23, 2018. Natalie Lichtenstein was chief counsel for the establishment of the AIIB, and the principal drafter for its Charter, before serving as the Bank's inaugural general counsel. She has just published a new book with Oxford University Press, A Comparative Guide to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is the most comprehensive account of the AIIB thus far. Earlier in her career, she served in the legal department of the World Bank for thirty years, including as Chief Counsel for East Asia. Before that, as a junior attorney in the U.S. Treasury Department, she worked on legal issues related to normalization of relations between the U.S. and China. She has taught Chinese law as an adjunct professor since the 1980s, most recently at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Kaiser Kuo and Nick Marziani

As the nuclear standoff between North Korea and the United States dominates global headlines, the relationship between North Korea and China, though little understood, has attracted ever greater interest. In this episode, the Harvard Kennedy School's John Park, a leading expert on security issues relating to Northeast Asia, discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the complex relationship between North Korea and China, with special attention to the economic dynamics at play since China established diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1992. The episode was recorded on February 23, 2018 at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, following Dr. Park's lecture on "The Legacy of Beijing’s Sunshine Policy with Chinese Characteristics: What are the Implications for U.S. Policy towards North Korea?" John Park is a Lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School, where he is Director of the Korea Working Group, as well as a Faculty Affiliate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He previously directed Northeast Asia Track 1.5 projects at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and currently advises Northeast Asia policy-focused officials in the U.S. government. Dr. Park is a frequent media commentator on Asian geopolitical issues, including on CNN, CNBC, BBC, and Bloomberg TV, and he has testified on these issues before both House and Senate committees in the past year. His publications include "Stopping North Korea, Inc.: Sanctions Effectiveness and Unintended Consequences" (with Jim Walsh); "The Key to the North Korean Targeted Sanctions Puzzle"; and "North Korea, Inc.: Gaining Insights into North Korean Regime Stability from Recent Commercial Activities". Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Seung-Youn Oh and Nick Marziani

China's economy is currently the world's second largest, by GDP, and is generally expected to overtake the U.S. economy within the next decade. In this episode, the Paulson Institute's Damien Ma, a leading expert on Chinese economic trends, discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the key features defining China's economy today, and some likely forecasts for the near future, with particular attention to the policy and personnel implications of the recent 19th Party Congress. This episode was recorded on December 1, 2017 at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, in connection with the Center's post-Congress policy roundtable featuring Damien Ma and other experts.  Damien Ma is Fellow and Associate Director of the Think Tank at the Paulson Institute, focused on investment and policy programs and leads on various research projects and activities. He is co-author of the book, In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China's Ascent in the Next Decade; he is editor of The Economics of Air Pollution in China by Ma Jun, who was the chief economist of China's central bank; and he has written on the Chinese economy for many outlets including The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and Slate. He is also co-creator of MacroPolo, a digital hub for cutting edge research on China's political economy. Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Wendy Leutert and Nick Marziani

China’s 19th Party Congress, held in October 2017, drew significant anticipation and attention, not only among professional China watchers, for its domestic meaning and foreign policy signals, at a time when the PRC is staking out a new role on the world stage. In this episode, Boston University Professor Joseph Fewsmith, one of the leading experts on Chinese elite politics, discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the politics surrounding this latest Congress, from specific personnel decisions to broad policy implications, with special attention to the position of Xi Jinping. The episode was recorded on November 30, 2017 at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, in connection with the Center’s post-Congress policy roundtable featuring Prof. Fewsmith and other experts. Joseph Fewsmith is Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, specializing in Comparative Politics, Chinese Domestic Politics, and Chinese Foreign Policy. He is the author or editor of eight books, including, most recently, The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China (Cambridge 2013). His articles have appeared in such journals as Asian Survey, Comparative Studies in Society and History, The China Journal, The China Quarterly, Current History, The Journal of Contemporary China, Problems of Communism, and Modern China. He is also one of the seven regular contributors to the China Leadership Monitor, a quarterly web publication sponsored by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Wendy Leutert and Nick Marziani

President Trump's November 2017 visit to China, and four other Asian countries, comes at a charged time in US-China relations, when its perennial challenges and opportunities appear in particularly sharp relief. In this episode, Penn experts Avery Goldstein, Jacques deLisle, and Amy Gadsden discuss with Neysun Mahboubi the President's upcoming trip, with special attention to key topic areas that will be implicated by this week's meetings in Beijing and other Asian capitals. The episode was recorded on November 2, 2017 at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China. Avery Goldstein is the David M. Knott Professor of Global Politics and International Relations in the Political Science Department, Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, and Associate Director of the Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on international relations, security studies, and Chinese politics. Jacques deLisle is the Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law & Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is also Deputy Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, as well as Director of the Center for East Asian Studies. His research focuses on contemporary Chinese law and politics, the international status of Taiwan and cross-Strait relations, China’s engagement with the international order, legal and political issues in Hong Kong under Chinese rule, and U.S.-China relations. Amy Gadsden is Executive Director for Penn Global, in which capacity she works with Penn’s schools and centers to develop and implement strategies to increase Penn’s global engagement both on campus and overseas. In 2016, she was named executive director of Penn China Initiatives to coordinate and develop University strategy and activity in China. In this role she works closely with the Penn Wharton China Center and directs the Penn China Research and Engagement Fund. Before coming to Penn, Dr. Gadsden spent more than a decade working in the foreign policy field with a focus on China.  She served as a Country Director for the International Republican Institute and as a Special Advisor for China at the United States Department of State.  Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Nick Marziani

China and India share many historical similarities, as well as a complicated relationship shaped by political differences, growing economic ties, ongoing border disputes, and regional competition more generally. In this episode, Georgetown University Professor Oriana Skylar Mastro discusses the Sino-Indian relationship with CSCC Research Scholar Neysun Mahboubi, with particular attention to the recent Doklam standoff that was resolved in August 2017, as well as implications for U.S. security policy. The interview was recorded on September 27, 2017, in advance of Prof. Mastro's lecture at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, on "Autocratic Underbalancing, Regime Legitimacy, and China’s Responses to India’s Rise." Oriana Skylar Mastro is an assistant professor of security studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where her research focuses on Chinese military and security policy, Asia-Pacific security issues, war termination, and coercive diplomacy. This year, she is a Jeanne Kirpatrick Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she is working on a book about China's approach to global leadership. Prof. Mastro also continues to serve as an officer in the United States Air Force Reserve, for which she works as a Political Military Affairs Strategist at PACAF. You can read more about her work at https://www.orianaskylarmastro.com Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Itai Barsade, Kaiser Kuo, and Nick Marziani