This episode explores the relationship between China and the current postwar international order, drawing from the RAND Corporation’s May 2018 report titled China and the International Order. Our guest and the report’s co-author, Mr. Timothy Heath, analyzes China’s perceived challenges to the current order, including the development of multilateral institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as policies like the Belt and Road Initiative. He also details policy recommendations for US strategy toward China and how China’s approach to the international order may evolve in the future.

Mr. Timothy Heath is a senior international defense research analyst at the RAND Corporation in Washington DC. Prior to joining RAND, he served as the senior analyst for the USPACOM China Strategic Focus Group for five years. He has extensive experience analyzing China's national strategy, politics, ideology, and military, as well as Asian regional security developments.
 

This episode examines recent developments in Southeast Asian attitudes toward competing great powers in the region, especially China and the US, and what it might mean for the future of ASEAN’s ties with these actors. Our guest, Dr. Tang Siew Mun, explains the factors behind the results of his organization’s recent survey titled “State of Southeast Asia: 2019.” He discusses the respondents’ views on the reemergence of Chinese influence in the region, potential roles for powers such as Japan and the EU, and uncertainty about US commitment to and staying power in the region. Dr. Tang also explores the role of projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative, and how perspectives toward the regional players may change moving forward.

Dr. Tang Siew Mun is the Head of the ASEAN Studies Centre and a Senior Fellow at the Regional Strategic and Political Studies program at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He was previously Director for Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia and Senior Lecturer at the National University of Malaysia. His primary research interests are Asian security, ASEAN’s relations with major powers, and Japanese foreign policy.

This episode explores the major defeat of the ruling DPP in Taiwan’s recent nine-in-one local elections and what these results mean for the future of cross-Strait relations. Our guest, Dr. Shelley Rigger, explains the current economic and political climate in Taiwan and provides insights into the economic drivers that helped KMT candidates win 15 of Taiwan’s 22 mayoral and county magistrate seats. She also examines Beijing’s response to the election results and how it may use the DPP’s loss to its advantage.

Dr. Shelley Rigger is the Brown Professor of East Asian Politics in the Department of Political Science at Davidson College. She was previously a visiting associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai as well as a visiting research scholar at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Dr. Rigger has written extensively on Taiwan and cross-Strait relations.

This episode explores the significant increase in friction between the United States and China since the Trump administration came to power in 2017, and analyzes the implications for both countries and the rest of the world. Our guest, Dr. Wu Xinbo, examines the issues in the bilateral relationship where both sides do not see eye to eye, such as trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the international order. He also offers his views on the essence of US-China competition and the future trajectory of bilateral ties.
 
Dr. Wu Xinbo is Professor and Dean at the Institute of International Studies, and Director at the Center for American Studies, at Fudan University. He teaches and researches China’s foreign and security policy, Sino-US relations, and US Asia-Pacific policy. Dr. Wu is on the editorial board of The Washington Quarterly and European Journal of International Security, and on the International Advisory Board of International Affairs.

This episode explores the rapid modernization of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its growing naval capacity. Our guest, Dr. Andrew Erickson, explains the motivations behind this effort as well as the most recent capabilities of the PLAN’s expanding naval fleet. He also discusses the synergies between commercial and military shipbuilding in China and revisits the current state of China’s aircraft carrier program, which he discussed with ChinaPower several years ago.

Dr. Andrew Erickson is a Professor of Strategy in the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute. He is the author of a study published in 2017 titled Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course. Since 2008, Dr. Erickson has been an Associate in Research at Harvard University’s John King Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. He is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
 

This episode explores the current state of cross-Strait relations between Taiwan and mainland China, as well as the Trump administration’s approach to this complex relationship. Our guest, Dr. Richard Bush, explains how and why the relationship has deteriorated since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, as well as how her approach to relations with Beijing differs from that of former President Ma Ying-jeou. Dr. Bush also examines the unique role that the US plays in the present-day relationship, in light of its ongoing trade war with Beijing yet lack of official diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Dr. Richard Bush is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and holds The Michael H. Armacost Chair and Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies (CEAP). He also holds a joint appointment as a senior fellow in the Brookings John L. Thornton China Center. Dr. Bush is the author of a number of books and articles on China’s relations with its neighbors, particularly Taiwan.
 

This episode explores China’s approach to the Central and Eastern Europe region through its 16+1 mechanism, which brings together eleven EU member states, five Balkan countries, and China. Our guest, Justyna Szczudlik, explains China’s political and economic goals in the region and describes the major outcomes of the recent 16+1 Summit in Bulgaria. She also examines the appeal of the Belt and Road Initiative to different European countries and analyzes the potential effects of China’s “one size fits all” approach to the various 16+1 participants.
 
Justyna Szczudlik is Head of the Asia-Pacific Programme and a China analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Warsaw, MA in Chinese Studies from the University of Warsaw, and MA in Political Science from the University of Wroclaw. Dr. Szczudlik’s research focuses on China’s foreign policy, especially China-Central and Eastern Europe relations including China-Poland relations.

This episode explores the latest developments in China’s relationship with India, especially how the relationship has evolved since the Doklam border standoff in 2017. Our guest, Dr. Jagannath Panda, explains the lessons each side learned from the Doklam incident and evaluates Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China policy. He also analyzes how India has attempted to avoid conflict with China, even as contentious issues persist such as border disputes, the Dalai Lama, and China’s expanding presence in the Indian Ocean.
 
Dr. Jagannath Panda is a Research Fellow and Coordinator of the East Asia Centre at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, India. He has written extensively on East and South Asia as well as India-China relations. Dr. Panda has held fellowships at the Ministry of Unification (Republic of Korea), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the Shanghai Institute of International Studies.

This episode explores the evolving relationship between China and Africa, especially the 53 African states that participate in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Our guest, Professor Chris Alden, joins us to discuss the outcomes of the most recent FOCAC Summit, as well as China’s role as an infrastructure financier on the continent. He also examines the growing importance of security issues in Sino-African relations and envisions how the China-Africa relationship may develop in the future.

Professor Chris Alden is a Professor in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is a Senior Research Fellow with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). He has written numerous books and articles in internationally recognized journals, and most recently co-edited China and Africa – Building Peace and Security Cooperation on the Continent. Prof. Alden has held fellowships at institutions including Cambridge University, the Institute of Social Science, and the University of Tokyo.

This episode explores the relationship between China and the European Union’s 28 member states, as well as the impact of the US on China-EU ties. Our guest, Ms. Theresa Fallon, analyzes China’s increased interest in the region amid tension with the US and assesses the efficacy of initiatives such as the 16+1 Summit and Belt and Road Initiative in strengthening China-EU ties. She also predicts where the relationship is headed and how the US should view a closer China-EU relationship.
 
Ms. Theresa Fallon is the founder and director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies (CREAS) in Brussels. She is concurrently a member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Ms. Fallon’s current research is focused on EU-Asia relations, Sino-Russian relations, maritime security, global governance, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. She has testified numerous times to the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Security and Defense, and has been featured in international media including the BBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.