China 21

Caixin's Managing Editor Wang Shuo 王烁 describes the challenge for investigative journalists in China in the context of a changing media landscape and state control of information. He also discusses the stories his team has worked on, from high-speed rail accidents, to the one-child policy, to shadow banking - and Caixin's growing international audience.

Wang Shuo 王烁 is the co-founder and managing editor of Caixin, a leading Chinese business and finance media group. Wang Shuo provides high-quality news reports and leads an award-winning editorial team, which was honored by Stanford University with the Shorenstein Journalism Award. Wang Shuo is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He received degrees in Philosophy from Renmin University and Peking University, an Executive MBA from Fordham and a Master’s in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins.

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
Restoration Project
Episode photo credit: Caixin Global

Director Evans Chan (陳耀成) talks about his latest documentary “Raise the Umbrellas,” the politicization of Hong Kong identity and media, and the city's democratic future and implications for Greater China. (Trailer: https://youtu.be/Q2kxtQW-nAA)

Chan is an independent filmmaker, who has been described by critics as one who "has made a singular contribution to Hong Kong cinema and at the same time a major contribution to the whole spectrum of contemporary film-making." He draws on everything from literature and political studies to journalism and social-activist campaigns for his subjects – and on everything from film history to performance art for his images.

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
Photo Credit: NYHK Productions, Ltd.

Gordon Hanson and Charlene Barshefsky discuss China’s commitments and market reforms since joining the WTO and the path ahead in the trade relationship between the world’s two biggest economies. They explore the policy and enforcement tools the US has to confront China over the imbalance and lack of reciprocity, and the immediate political pressure on US policy makers to address the loss of jobs due to trade.

Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky served as the US Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001, she was responsible for the negotiation of hundreds of complex market access, regulatory and investment agreements with virtually every major country in the world. She is best known internationally as the architect and chief negotiator of China's historic World Trade Organization Agreement. She is currently WilmerHale's Senior International Partner, where she continues her legal career in international litigation, commercial negotiations, investment and regulatory advice, and dispute resolution.

Dr. Gordon Hanson is the Acting Dean and Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations at the School of Global Policy & Strategy at UC San Diego, where he also directs the Center on Global Transformation. Dr. Hanson specializes in the economics of international trade, international migration and foreign direct investment. His recent research project on the effect of China’s rise on US workers, firms and markets spurred a wide discussion on US trade policy at the height of 2016 US presidential elections that is still being debated.
This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
Restoration Project Episode photo credit: CNN Money

China is now the biggest auto market, including electric vehicles. Michael Dunne discusses the government's role in guiding the car industry, competition and cross-border investment among Western and Chinese firms, and implication for clean energy, infrastructure and job-creation in both countries.

Dunne is the author of the book titled “American Wheels, Chinese Roads” and is a commentator on major outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Forbes. He’s originally from the Motor City and a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he received an MBA and a Masters in Chinese History.

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
Episode photo credit: Reuters

Dr. Karl Gerth interviews Dr. Tom Mullaney about his journey in building a digital humanities community for Asian studies and how a new set of analytic tools are disrupting and transforming the practice of teaching history and understanding various phenomena in China.

Karl Gerth is a professor of Modern Chinese history and holds the Hwei-Chih and Julia Hsiu Endowed Chair here at UC San Diego, he is writes on the history and contemporary implications of Chinese consumerism. His latest book is titled As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers are Transforming Everything. It explores the wide-ranging ramifications and future implications of China’s shift toward a market economy over the past thirty years.

Tom Mullaney is a historian of China and of technology from Stanford University, and is currently working on a fascinating project examining Chinese typewriters and computers, with two books in the works through MIT Press. Tom’s collection of Chinese typewriters is now a museum exhibition called “Radical Machines: Chinese in the Information Age,” which will run through mid-April at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. He also directs Digital Humanities Asia, and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Dissertation Reviews.

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
Episode photo credit: Michelle Fredricks

Two China policy veterans: Prof. Susan Shirk and Amb. Winston Lord are members of a high-level bipartisan task force that launched a report on US Policy Toward China, with detailed policy recommendations for the Trump administration. They offer an overview of the comprehensive list of issues covered in the report, and discuss the priorities that 45th President must address in his first year, such as the North Korean nuclear threat, climate change leadership, Asia Pacific alliances, and trade and civil society reciprocity.

The task force comprises a group of 20 prominent China specialists that include policymakers, scholars, and trade representatives, many of whom served under both political parties and every U.S. president since Nixon. Watch the panel discussion with task force co-chair Orville Schell of Asia Society and read the full report on china.ucsd.edu

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
Episode photo credit: Michelle Fredricks

Intercultural comedian Jesse Appell, founder of US-China Comedy Center in Beijing, shares his fun and educational journey of learning what makes Chinese people laugh, and bridging cultural gaps with humor. www.ChinaFocus.us hosted Jesse's performance at UC San Diego on Feb. 6 as part of his “Great LOL of China” North American tour.

Jesse Appell (艾杰西) is a Fulbright Scholar alumni whose research focuses on Chinese humor and performance. He is a disciple of master Xiangsheng performer Ding Guangquan, and regularly perform Xiangsheng (a form of Chinese comedy also known as crosstalk), bilingual improv comedy, and Chinese stand-up live and on TV. Jesse creates comedic online videos intended for the Chinese audience; one of these, “Laowai Style,” gathered 2 million hits across several media platforms.

Jesse’s performances, writing, and commentary on Chinese comedy, media, and culture have been seen and heard on CBS, TEDx, PBS, NPR and PRI, as well as Chinese media such as CCTV, BTV, and CRI.

Jesse founded www.laughbeijing.com, with the focus of using comedy to bridge cultural gaps by focusing on storytelling and character rather than surface differences and stereotypes.

China 21 is produced by the 21st Century China Center, at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. This podcast features expert voices, insights and stories about China’s economy, politics, society, and the implications for international affairs. Learn more at china.ucsd.edu

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi, Jack Zhang
Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project, Jesse Appell remix of Bad Boy Records
Episode photo credit: Susetta Bozzi/The Boston Globe

Dr. Julio Friedmann unpacks the environmental and energy challenges in China - the world’s largest energy user, largest emitter, largest market and largest cleantech enterprise. Interview is followed by excerpt from conversation with Dr. David Victor

Dr. Friedmann is the senior advisor for energy innovation at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has extensive experience at the intersection of clean energy, public policy and global cooperation. Previously, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal at U.S. Department of Energy. He also advised the US-China Clean Energy Research Center.

Following ratification of Paris, they have undertaken an ambitious set of commitments to dramatically change their energy supply, infrastructure, use and efficiency. These large efforts and commitments are backed by substantial actions and investments. At the same time, they are undercut by retractions, shifting targets, a government reform agenda and complex geopolitical forces — converting these investments into both deep decarbonization and economic growth is contingent on technological, financial and human forces. Deep reduction of pollution and GHG emissions will only be achieved through innovation, sustained government action and triumph of this agenda in a complex national context. The chance of success is hard to assess, but required for the global climate accords to have any chance of success.

China 21 is produced by the 21st Century China Center, at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. This podcast features expert voices, insights and stories about China’s economy, politics, society, and the implications for international affairs. Learn more at china.ucsd.edu

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

• Host: Samuel Tsoi
• Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
• Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
• Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
• Episode photo credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Dr. Melanie Hart reviews America's foreign policy towards China in the last eight years, and looks ahead to opportunities and challenges in US-China Relations in light of constructive milestones and the US presidential elections.

Dr. Hart is currently a Senior Fellow and Director of China Policy at the Center for American Progress, a think-tank based in Washington D.C. She focuses on U.S. foreign policy toward China and works to identify new opportunities for bilateral cooperation, particularly on energy, climate change, and cross-border investment. Her research also covers China’s political system, market regulatory reforms, and how China’s domestic and foreign policy developments affect the United States.

In this podcast, she describes the recent progress from the U.S.-China Rising Scholar Strategic Dialogue, hosted by the Center for American Progress. The report "Charting a New Course for the U.S.-China Relationship" is available at [https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2016/08/30/143147/charting-a-new-course-for-the-u-s-china-relationship/]

China 21 is produced by the 21st Century China Center, at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. This podcast features expert voices, insights and stories about China’s economy, politics, society, and the implications for international affairs. Learn more at china.ucsd.edu

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

• Host: Samuel Tsoi
• Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
• Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
• Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
• Episode photo credit: Feng Li/Getty Images

The Chinese Communist Party issued new directives for religious affairs earlier this year, especially calling for religions to serve national interests. What does this new project to “sinicize” religions imply for religious practice in China? For Christians in China, how are they adapting as rising nationalism clashes with religions that have foreign roots?

Sociologist Richard Madsen reflects on the takeaways from a recent gathering to discuss China's new policy on religion, which convened some of the key thinkers who formulated the new regulations and practitioners such as Catholic priests whose work are impacted by the regulations.

Prof. Madsen is the Distinguished Professor of Sociology at UC San Diego, and the Director of the Fudan-UC Center on Contmpoerary China. Prof. Madsen has been called “one of the modern-day founders of the study of Chinese religion.” He authored 12 books, including Democracy's Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Develpment in Taiwan, China's Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil Society, and The Many and the One: Religious and Secular Perspectives on Ethical Pluralism in the Modern World. Prof. Madsen is currently working on a book about happiness in China, which he describes as an exploration on the “search for a good life in China in an age of anxiety.”

China 21 is produced by the 21st Century China Center, at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. This podcast features expert voices, insights and stories about China’s economy, politics, society, and the implications for international affairs. Learn more at china.ucsd.edu

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

• Host: Samuel Tsoi
• Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King
• Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks
• Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project
• Episode photo credit: Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press