Center for Strategic and International Studies

Pekingology

China is one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, and it has never been more important to understand how the country is governed. Pekingology is the podcast that unpacks Chinese politics, the inner workings of the Communist Party, and how China's domestic and foreign policy will impact the world. Pekingology is hosted by Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS. It is produced by Gina Kim.

Author

Center for Strategic and International Studies

Category

Government

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

China’s Role in UN Peacekeeping Operations 22.08.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Courtney Fung, Associate Professor in the Department of Security Studies & Criminology at Macquarie University. She is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Asia Society Australia and at the Lowy Institute. They discuss her article “Peace by piece: China’s policy leadership on peacekeeping fatalities” (Contempo...

Sino-India Relations 08.08.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Manoj Kewalramani, Fellow for China Studies and the Chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at the Takshashila Institution. He is also a non-resident Senior Associate with the Freeman Chair in China Studies, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They discuss interpreting Beijing's...

Ambassador Nicholas Burns on the U.S.-China Relationship 25.07.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns. They discuss his time spent in China and his perception of current and future U.S.-China relations.   

Preference Falsification and Regime Stability 11.07.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Rory Truex, Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. They discuss Timur Kuran’s seminal 1991 paper Now Out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989. (World Politics, October 1991)

Authoritarian Deliberation 27.06.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Jessica Teets, Professor at Middlebury College and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Political Science. They discuss her work on resilient authoritarianism and information flows in contemporary China.

Does China’s Foreign Ministry Matter? 13.06.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Dylan Loh Ming Hui, Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. They discuss his book “China’s Rising Foreign Ministry: Practices and Representations of Assertive Diplomacy” (Stanford University Press, April 2024.)

Disaggregating China Inc 30.05.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Yeling Tan, Professor of Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. They discuss her book Disaggregating China, Inc.: State Strategies in the Liberal Economic Order. (Cornell Univer...

Beyond China's Black Box 16.05.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Jacob Stokes, Senior Fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. They discuss China’s foreign policy decision making and his new report “Beyond China’s Black Box: Five Trends Shaping Beijing’s Foreign and Security Policy Decision-Making Under Xi Jinping.” (April,...

Mobilizing Patriotic Consumers 02.05.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Audrye Wong, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California, and Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. They discuss her recent article: “Mobilizing patriotic consumers: China’s new strategy of economic coercion,” publish...

China's Extreme Inequality 18.04.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by the Andrew Walder, Denise O'Leary & Kent Thiry Professor at Stanford University, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies. Today they discuss his article “China’s Extreme Inequality: The Structural Legacies of State Socialism.” (The China Journal, July 2023)

Understanding China's Regionally Administered Totalitarianism 04.04.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Chenggang Xu, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions and Visiting Fellow at Hoover Institution of Stanford University to discuss the institutional underpinnings of China’s political economy. What explains the Communist Party’s ongoing resilience? Why did China piv...

Overcapacity 29.02.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette,is joined by Yanmei Xie, Geopolitics Analyst with Gavekal Research, who has recently been publishing articles at Gavekal and the Financial Times. Today, Jude and Yanmei discuss her recent client notes on Chinese overcapacity and its EV sector.

China's New Domestic Politics 15.02.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Evan Medeiros, The Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies at Georgetown University. During the Obama Administration, Evan was on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia and special assistant to the president and Senior Director for Asia. They discuss his recent re...

Xi’s New Growth Synthesis 18.01.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Andrew Batson, China Research Director at Gavekal Dragonomics to discuss his recent blog post entitled “Xi’s New Growth Synthesis.” He also publishes The Tangled Woof blog, and wrote the enlightening post “Some Cadres Cannot Keep Up.”  

Will Sanctions Deter China? 05.01.2024

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security to discuss her recent report entitled “No Winners in This Game: Assessing the U.S. Playbook for Sanctioning China.”  

The Gilded Cage 14.12.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Ya-Wen Lei, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University to discuss her recent book entitled “The Gilded Cage: Technology, Development and State Capitalism in China.”  

The Party Knows Best: Aligning Economic Actors with China’s Strategic Goals 22.11.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Max Zenglein, Chief Economist at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) to discuss his recent report, co-authored with MERICS Lead Analyst Jacob Gunter, entitled “The Party Knows Best: Aligning Economic Actors with China’s Strategic Goals.” 

What’s Next for US-China Relations? The View from Congress 09.11.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to discuss U.S.-China policy and the Select Committee’s work to address the strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China...

The Administrative Foundations of the Chinese Fiscal State 26.10.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Wei Cui, professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Colombia to discuss his recent book The Administrative Foundations of the Chinese Fiscal State.

China’s New Navy 12.10.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Xiaobing Li, professor of history and Don Betz Endowed Chair in International Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma to discuss his new book China’s New Navy: The Evolution of PLAN from the People’s Revolution to a 21st Century Cold War.  

Party of One 08.09.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Chun Han Wong, a China reporter for the Wall Street Journal, to discuss his new book Party of One: The Rise of Xi Jinping and China’s Superpower Future. 

Reshaping Corporate China 25.08.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Thomas Gatley, China Strategist at Gavekal Dragonomics, to discuss his recent report “Reshaping Corporate China.” 

How Loyal is the PLA? 10.08.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Eric Hundman, senior research analyst at BluePath Labs, to discuss his article “Fearing Hardships and Fatigue? Refusals to Serve in China’s Military, 2009-2018,” which was recently published in the Journal of Contemporary China.

How the CCP Finances its Global Ambitions 06.07.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a fellow for international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the new book Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances Its Global Ambitions. 

The National Security Commission Meets 15.06.2023

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Gerard Dipippo – Senior Fellow in the Economics Program at CSIS, and Andrew Polk – Co-founder of Trivium China and Senior associate with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS. This week they discuss China’s national security and the readout from the recent convening of China’s National Security Commission.

Listen to the Pekingology podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.