China’s New Economic Weapons: Statecraft, Strategy, and the Future of U.S.-China Economic Relations 

VIDEO: Evan Medeiros and Andrew Polk examine how China’s growing use of economic coercion is reshaping the U.S.-China relationship.

Read More

How the U.S. and China Use Deterrence to Preserve Peace 

Oriana Skylar Mastro and Joel Wuthnow discuss the role of deterrence in preventing military conflict between the U.S. and China.

Read More

Education for Employment: Opportunities and Obstacles for Chinese Youth  

VIDEO: Eli Friedman and Yun Zhou discuss youth unemployment in China and Chinese government policies to address workforce disengagement.

Read More

How the U.S. and China Run the Global Economy 

Ka Zeng and Wendy Edelberg join us to examine the dramatically different visions the U.S. and China have for the global economy.

Read More

For more media, visit our video page.

The post Podcast Directory & Media Archive Update appeared first on NCUSCR.

On January 10, 2025, DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence (AI) platform founded in 2023, released its first free chatbot app, which is said to match the capabilities of models from its U.S. counterparts, including OpenAI and Google, while using a fraction of their computing power. This milestone underscores China’s rapid AI progress despite U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductors, potentially narrowing the technological gap between the two countries and challenging U.S. dominance in the field.

With AI being a key area in technological development and trade, understanding the dynamics of this race is more urgent than ever. On February 4, 2025, Kevin Xu and Jimmy Goodrich join Lizzi Lee to discuss the implications of China’s AI advances and the future of U.S.-China AI competition. 

About the speakers

The post DeepSeek and U.S.-China AI Competition appeared first on NCUSCR.

For decades, China’s reform and opening-up era brought economic growth, political stability, and greater openness to both ideas and investment from the outside world. But in recent years, the country has shifted into what Professor Carl Minzner describes as an “age of counterreform.” What defines this new era, and how are China’s leadership and society adapting? 

In an interview recorded on November 21, 2024, Carl Minzner joins the National Committee to discuss the evolution of political norms, the future challenges China will face, and the return to centralized party control under Xi Jinping’s leadership.  

About the speaker: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/counterreform-carl-minzner/

The post From Reform to Control: What Lies Ahead for China in 2025? appeared first on NCUSCR.

Over two billion people on the planet experienced food insecurity in 2023, including 18 million households in the United States. The actions of one country can affect the food security of others, and global issues such as climate change, military conflicts, and rising food prices can cause supply chain instabilities and shortages. How can we lower the barriers preventing people from accessing stable sources of nutritious food? How do the United States and China, two of the largest food importers and exporters, contribute to local, regional, and global food security? 

Sophia Murphy joins the National Committee in an interview recorded on November 25, 2024, to discuss the meaning and history of food security and how countries, like the United States and China, shape the future of global food security. 

About the speaker.

The post The Fight for Food Security: U.S.-China & the World appeared first on NCUSCR.

The Mekong River provides millions of people in and beyond Southeast Asia with food, water, and agricultural productivity. Twenty percent of the world’s freshwater fish comes from the Mekong River, supplying the shelves of stores across the globe. However, the river system is threatened by climate change and upstream dams. While many countries of the Mekong basin prioritize the health of the river, China places economic growth above those concerns. How can the United States, China, and Lower Mekong River (LMR) countries work together to keep the Mekong healthy? 

Brian Eyler joins the National Committee in an interview recorded on October 11, 2024 to explain the global significance of the Mekong River, pressing threats to the region, and how U.S.-China collaboration can keep the river healthy. 

About the speaker.

The post How the Mekong River Feeds the U.S., China, & the World appeared first on NCUSCR.

Sheng Lu joins the National Committee in an interview recorded in October 11, 2024 to discuss how fast fashion is a global phenomenon and how the United States and China can cooperate on common areas of concern. 

Click here to learn more about the speaker

The post The Geopolitics of Fast Fashion: U.S.-China & the World appeared first on NCUSCR.

Although Chinese marriage law states that men and women are equal, implementation of the law in divorce cases reveal gender disparities. In divorce lawsuits, women are often left without remedies for domestic violence and mothers lose custody of their children. Rural women face the additional disadvantage of lacking resources to help them navigate the divorce process. How are gender disparities revealed when women seek divorce in China? 

Ke Li joins the National Committee in an interview recorded on November 21, 2024 to share her research into the processes and challenges rural women go through to obtain a divorce in China. 

About the speaker: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/divorce-in-china/

The post Divorce in China: Gender Disparities in China’s Legal System appeared first on NCUSCR.

As tensions continue to mount in the U.S.-China relationship, concerns have grown among U.S. political and military leaders regarding China’s defense spending, which is often said to be significantly higher than it actually is. In a new report, M. Taylor Fravel, George Gilboy, and Eric Heginbotham argue that the estimate that China’s military spending has surged to $700 billion depends on flawed assumptions and miscalculations. The claim has gained traction in various circles, including in the U.S. Congress and the media, where some suggest China’s military budget is comparable to that of the United States.

In an interview conducted on October 9, 2024, M. Taylor Fravel, George Gilboy, and Eric Heginbotham, in conversation with Maryanne Kivlehan-Wise, discuss the implications of overestimating China’s defense spending and offer alternative methods to gauge China’s spending more accurately.

About the speakers

The post China’s Defense Spending – The $700 Billion Distraction appeared first on NCUSCR.

The fentanyl crisis is a serious public health and security issue, particularly in the United States, with its high number of overdose deaths. Chinese entities play a significant role in the fentanyl supply chain, from chemical precursors to money laundering. While efforts to regulate production in China have been inconsistent, Beijing’s recent move to restrict fentanyl-related chemicals, after years of U.S. pressure, shows potential cooperation ahead of the U.S. election.  

In an interview conducted on October 8, 2024, Zongyuan Zoe Liu and Rick Waters, in conversation with Tobias Smith, explore the critical intersection of the U.S. fentanyl crisis and its impact on U.S.-China relations, particularly in the context of the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election.

About the speakers

The post Fentanyl and U.S.-China Relations in 2024 appeared first on NCUSCR.

What is a traditional Chinese farmhouse doing in West Virginia? Rather than allow the historic home to be demolished, Dr. John Flower and a team of Chinese and U.S. volunteers moved the house over eight thousand miles from China to the United States. China Folk House rebuilt the traditional Yunnan-style home in West Virginia with over 22 thousand hours of volunteer labor from community members and students. China Folk House aims to serve as a cultural exchange project, connecting U.S. and Chinese rural communities in cultural exchange, as well as spreading and preserving knowledge of local issues and traditional practices. 

In an interview recorded on August 30, 2024, John Flower discusses his vision for the China Folk House project and its purpose to bridge rural communities in West Virginia and Yunnan through architecture and craftsmanship. 

John Flower

Dr. John Flower (right) is the Director of the China Folk House, along with his wife Dr. Pam Leonard (left). He saved a Yunnan farmhouse saved from a dam and rebuilt as a site for experiential learning, environmental sustainability and people-to-people cultural exchange in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He is the retired Director of the Sidwell Friends School Chinese Studies Program, a former associate professor of East Asian History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and fellow at the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. Dr. Flower’s scholarship focuses on local history and folklife in China and Tibet and he teaches courses on China and East Asian History including the “China Fieldwork” summer and semester experiential learning programs in Yunnan.

The post How Does China Folk House Bridge Rural Communities? appeared first on NCUSCR.