Sharp China Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the fate of TikTok after a wild week of updates. Topics include: A ByteDance investor who says that TikTok may continue in the U.S. without a full divestiture, lessons for the PRC and US from the past few weeks, and why potential TikTok buyers might be wary of any deal...

Thanks everyone who tuned into today’s live video with Andrew Sharp to discuss the SCOTUS decision about TikTok and what may be next for the app in the US. We are still in beta please so excuse the chatter for the first 40 seconds or so This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sinocism.com/subscribe

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today’s show Bill and Andrew begin with multiple reports that Chinese officials have considered working with Elon Musk to find a resolution for TikTok in the U.S., while TikTok‘s users have flocked to Xiaohongshu and inspired a few more questions for the future. Then: Parsing Xi Jinping’s speech in the first 2025 issue of Qiushi, why...

We decided to do a short, free episode to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to take up TikTok’s case before the January 19th deadline. Show Notes: On a bonus episode following up on Wednesday morning's show, Andrew and Bill react to the news—which broke later Wednesday morning—that the Supreme Court has granted cert to TikTok in its appeal of the D.C. Circuit's decision earlier this month uphol...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with a few updates on the Central Economic Work Conference, economic headwinds facing the PRC economy, including weaker-than-expected retail data, mixed data from the real estate market, and concerns from an economist assessing the conditions on the ground. From there: React...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the latest messaging from Beijing on efforts to stimulate the economy in 2025 and beyond. Topics include: Politburo language that echoes 2008, muted reactions from the mainland markets, why the ultimate policy decisions may not be made until the PRC has more clarity on Trump's inte...

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill return from the holiday break with reactions to the latest round updates to the US export controls on semiconductors. Topics include: Why some think the updates are weaker than they should’ve been, takeaways from the past two years of chip controls, TikTok’s new hopes, and whether the U.S. has now passed...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin by parsing the PRC readout from this weekend's meeting between XI Jinping and President Joe Biden, including the four red lines communicated by the PRC to the US, PRC language surrounding enhanced security ties between the US and pacific allies, and a farewell to the San Fra...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with Friday's announcement from the NPC standing committee and more incremental stabilization measures from PRC leadership. Topics include: Foreign investors (again) hoping for more, "deepening reforms" and domestic consumption, the trade surplus with the US exceeds the tril...

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill talk through a second Donald Trump presidency and what it might mean for US-China relations. Topics include: a note of congratulations from Xi Jinping Thursday morning, memories of the first Trump presidency, the calculus from both sides as tariffs loom, a larger toolkit of responses to trade policy for t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with an excellent report from Semi Analysis , and the state of the U.S. export controls on semiconductors and chipmaking equipment. Topics include: New reports of TSMC sales to Huawei-linked firms, the Commerce Department's oversight of chip controls, the various loopholes b...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with Xi Jinping's visit to the16th BRICS Summit and Russia's rumored effort to build a platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions. From there: The Power of Siberia-2 pipeline that may or may not materialize, waiting for news on the next mee...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the news that the PRC has sent two pandas to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., as Qing Bao, a 3-year-old year-old female, and Bao Li, a 3-year-old male, begin a 30-day quarantine in the Panda House. Then: Takeaways from Monday's Operation Joint Sword 2024B around Tai...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the market's reactions to the NDRC press briefing on Tuesday, as Hong Kong saw all of last week's gains erased, while the PRC markets continued to see gains. Topics include: Misplaced expectations on the NDRC press conference, a National People's Congress meeting later...

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with revived animal spirits and the market response to the stimulus measures emerging from Beijing. Topics include: The September Politburo meeting as a sign of the government's commitment, why the capital markets may be a security priority for Xi, what might have motivated the sudden policy shift a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with a raft of measures announced this week to stimulate the economy. Topics include: A pop to the stock market just in time for the PRC's 75th anniversary, stimulating mergers and acquisitions, whether this week's measures indicate more relief in the months to come, and mor...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin by wishing a happy mid-autumn festival to all. Then: The PRC government implements the Decision on Gradually Raising the Statutory Retirement Ages. Why was this necessary, why were the changes made now, and what might this signal about the rest of goals and reforms announced...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with reactions to last week's arrest of Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to governor Kathy Hochul. Topics include: The allegations contained in the Department of Justice indictment of Sun and her husband, the PRC efforts to influence local government officials aroun...

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with a look at the dialogue between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi. Topics include: Why meetings with Wang are valuable to the U.S. side, the progress the meetings have (and have not) yielded, and the strategy goin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill return from the Beidaihe break with an update on a raft of Xi rumors and a programming note. Then: Back to the South China Sea, where good news at Second Thomas Shoal has quickly been overshadowed by an aerial incident at Scarborough Shoal and Monday's collision between PRC coast...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill start with a programming note for the next few weeks and various questions for the next few months of the Biden Administration. Topics include: A meeting between Secretary of State of Anthony Blinken and Wang Yi, more threats of escalating sanctions if the PRC supports Russian war...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with the Third Plenum resolution, Xi’s explainer, and its reception among the investment community and China observers. Topics include: Why Xi staying the course should surprise no one, the significance of the five-year timeline set forth for reforms, specific domestic probl...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with an overview of the third plenum and its significance before turning to Thursday's communique in the wake of the plenum. Topics include: Official news on Qin Gang and Li Shangfu twelve months after they each disappeared, the wide-range of goals throughout the communique,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sinocism.com Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill prepare for next week’s Third Plenum by talking through expectations and themes to watch. Topics include: The signals from April's Xinhua readout announcing the plenary session, remembering third plenums of the past, why Common Prosperity is on the agenda, why this year's plenum m...

This episode of Sharp China is free for everyone. Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill are joined by Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democratic representative for the 8th District of Illinois, and the ranking member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Topics include: The Select Committee's work to draft and pass legislation to...