China Insider

Two events last week made the priorities and positions of Beijing and Washington clearer. First, thousands of delegates came together for the opening of the annual Two Sessions, which includes China’s National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Second, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist...

The US Department of Energy has assessed that COVID-19 mostly likely originated in a lab leak in Wuhan, and last week the Chinese Communist Party released its twelve-point "peace plan" for Ukraine. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what the DOE's assessment means and the history of the lab-leak investigations, going back to early 2020. They then dive into China's long and complicated history wit...

The Chinese retiree protests that began in Wuhan have spread to other cities as local governments cut back on health-care subsidies. Miles and Wilson discuss where these protests are headed, and how Xi Jinping's policies have undermined government budgets throughout China. They follow up with a conversation about the disappearance of Bao Fan, one of China's top technology investors, before finishi...

Protests broke out last week in the city of Wuhan over drastic cuts to healthcare subsidies. An unusual protest, driven mostly by retirees against the Municipal government in Wuhan, resulted in nearly ten thousand Chinese citizens sieging the city government, vowing to return in 10 days with much larger numbers and eventually receiving capitulation from local officials.   In light of this, Miles Y...

The Chinese Communist Party’s spy balloon may be a Sputnik moment for the United States, as millions of Americans saw pictures of a surveillance device sent by the United States’ top geopolitical rival flying freely over the heartland. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss the history of Chinese spy operations and what the downed balloon means for US-China relations, including Secretary of State Ant...

The definitive memoir of foreign policy in the Trump administration is out: former Director of the CIA and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Never Give an Inch. Miles and Wilson discuss the China-related highlights from the book, before delving into two big stories from inside China this week. The first is the increasingly nationalist rhetoric out of Beijing around the Lunar New Year, and the secon...

The chief epidemiologist of the PRC's Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims that 80% of China's population has been infected with COVID-19. Miles and Wilson discuss what that means for the toll the pandemic continues to take throughout the country. Then, they cover Beijing's charm offensive at Davos and at other international forums, before finishing up with a discussion of who really c...

China's latest economic and demographic numbers show that the country is facing significant headwinds. But are they still too good to be true? Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss what to make of the latest statistics before diving into Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's leadership and G7 world tour and finishing with a conversation on the recent revelations about China's more than 100 oversea...

The big story out of China this week is that COVID-19 is ripping through the country and that Beijing’s lack of transparency has the World Health Organization urging the People’s Republic of China to change course. Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley discuss the state of the pandemic and the Chinese Communist Party playing politics with vaccines, China reopening its borders to the world, and what the Unit...

Miles and Wilson discuss new developments in the relationship between China and Russia, the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases throughout China and what they mean for the rest of the world, and what to expect in 2023. They also cover a strange Christmas present to Miles from the Chinese Communist Party.   Follow the China Center's work at https://www.hudson.org/china-center

December has been a bad month for the People’s Republic’s global ambitions. Miles and Wilson discuss Japan’s historic defense buildup and what it means for the global balance of power, China’s clashes with India along the Line of Actual Control, and how Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia undermined his long-term strategy with Iran.

Miles and Wilson discuss the Chinese Communist Party's use of high-tech surveillance technologies to repress the Chinese people and the pro-freedom demonstrations at Apple's facilities in China and California. They also evaluate General Secretary Xi Jinping's plans as he charts the way forward in a possible post-Zero-COVID world. Finally they analyze China's nationwide state funeral for former Gen...

Miles and Wilson discuss one of the most consequential periods of General Secretary Xi Jinping's tenure as the head of the Chinese Communist Party. From the 20th Party Congress, to popular protests over repression and Zero-Covid, to Xi's reentry into global forums like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, there's a lot going on in China. In the first episode...

China Insider is a weekly podcast project from the Hudson Institute's China Center, hosted by Miles Yu and Wilson Shirley who provide weekly news that mainstream American outlets often miss, as well as in-depth commentary and analysis on the China challenge and the free world’s future.