China in the World

Indonesia has been trying to find its footing as a major international player over the past decade. These efforts include trying to deepen investment and trade relationships with the People's Republic of China while skirting around differences over territorial claims and addressing Beijing’s rising prominence across Southeast Asia. Of concern as well is the pressure Chinese exports are placing on small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia, along with the safety of the hundreds of thousands of Indonesian citizens working in Taiwan should Beijing escalate the use of force across the Taiwan Strait. Host Ian Chong examines these issues with guests Natalie Sambhi and Yohanes Sulaiman. Natalie Sambhi is Founder and Executive Director of Verve Research, Señor Policy Fellow at the Asia Society Australia, and Non-Resident Fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program. She is also a lecturer with the Australian War College. Yohanes Sulaiman is an associate professor of international relations at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani in Bandung, Indonesia and a non-resident fellow with the National Bureau of Asian Research.

Ian Chong explores how Malaysia adjusts its domestic concerns and external relations in an increasingly contested environment with guests - Khoo Ying Hooi and Shahriman Lockman.

Join Ian Chong as he explores how Japan seeks to evaluate its economic and security ties with the People's Republic of China.

What role has China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) played in Southeast Asia so far? In this episode, Dr. Ian Chong holds an in-depth dialogue with Dr. Ngeow Chow Bing, another nonresident scholar at Carnegie China; and Muhammad Habib, a researcher at the Department of International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. The three scholars discuss how the BRI has affected perceptions of China in Southeast Asia and the China-Southeast Asia relations. Dr. Ian Chong is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. He is also an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Ngeow Chow Bing is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China. He focuses on China's relations with Southeast Asian countries. Muhammad Habib is a researcher at the Department of International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. His main research areas include international political economy, Indonesia-U.S. bilateral relations, and Indonesia-China bilateral relations.

In this episode of the China in the World podcast, Dr. Ian Chong speaks with Dr. Ratih Kabinawa, adjunct research fellow at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia, and Julio S. Amador III, executive director of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation, on Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The three scholars discuss how tensions over the Taiwan Strait affect Southeast Asia, and how the regional states and ASEAN look at the current dynamics. Dr. Ian Chong is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. He is also an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Ratih Kabinawa is an adjunct research fellow at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia. She is a recipient of the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2024 Fellowship. Her research interests include transnational democracy, Taiwan’s international relations, Taiwan-Southeast Asia relations, and foreign policy of non-state actors. She is currently working on her first monograph on Taiwan’s use of informal diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Julio S. Amador III is the executive director of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation, the interim president of the Foundation for the National Interest, and founder and trustee of the non-profit FACTS Asia. He previously worked in the Office of the President of the Philippines and served as deputy director-general of the Foreign Service Institute. He was a Fulbright scholar and was with the East-West Center in Washington.

In this episode of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle speaks with Dr. Ian Chong, non-resident scholar at Carnegie China and Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. The two experts discuss President Biden and Xi's upcoming meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Leaders' Meeting in San Francisco. The two also discuss the current state of U.S.-China relations and how the two powers are viewed from Southeast Asia as well as Dr. Chong's recent article published by Carnegie China, "Amid Contending Narratives, A Read on U.S. and PRC Messaging in Singapore." https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/11/08/amid-contending-narratives-read-on-u.s.-and-prc-messaging-in-singapore-pub-90942 Dr. Chong is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. Chong is also an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2008 and previously taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research covers the intersection of international and domestic politics, with a focus on the externalities of major power competition, nationalism, regional order, security, contentious politics, and state formation. He also works on U.S.-China relations, security and order in Northeast and Southeast Asia, cross-strait relations, and Taiwan’s politics.

In this episode of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle speaks with Dr. Huong Le Thu, non-resident fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The two discuss Dr. Le Thu’s recent Foreign Affairs article on Vietnam’s “multialignment” strategy, the recent announcement of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, China-Vietnam relations, the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and how Southeast Asia is responding to China's Global Security Initiative, Global Development Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative. Dr. Huong Le Thu, non-resident fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Most recently, she was a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and a member of the advisory board of the Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) at Griffith University. Her research interests include Vietnam’s defense and foreign policy, Southeast Asia’s security, ASEAN regionalism, and China-Southeast Asia relations.

In June, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his first visit to China since the Biden administration entered office, and in July, Treasury Secretary Yellen and Climate Envoy John Kerry travelled to China to engage in discussions with Chinese officials. As the United States and China begin to restart high-level dialogues, there continue to be many unaddressed issues in the relationship, from trade to technology. Will the two sides be able to reopen military dialogues? Can they manage tensions over Taiwan? How will the bilateral relationship evolve ahead of the 2024 U.S. election? On this live Twitter Spaces event, Paul Haenle discusses all these issues and more with Evan Medeiros, Dennis Wilder, Amanda Hsiao, and Chong Ja Ian.

After more than one year of conflict, the Russia-Ukraine War continues to drag on. Last week, China’s envoy, Li Hui, traveled throughout European capitals to discuss the potential for a “political settlement” of the Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, Kiev has launched a counteroffensive in five areas along the front in Donetsk. In the background, China-Russia diplomatic, economic, and military relations remain robust. How is the Ukraine war impacting China-Russia relations? Are there limits to the China-Russia partnership? Will relations between Moscow and Beijing grow more or less asymmetrical in the years to come? This China in the World podcast was recorded as a live Twitter Spaces discussion featuring Alexander Gabuev, Amy Chew, and Paul Haenle on the state of the Ukraine War and China-Russia relations.

In this episode of the China in the World podcast, Paul Haenle speaks with William C. Kirby, T.M. Chang Professor of China Studies and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University. The discussion highlights Dr. Kirby’s new book, Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China (Harvard University Press: 2022). Kirby’s book chronicles two revolutions in higher education over the last two centuries–the birth of the research university and its integration with the liberal education model–drawing illuminating comparisons between notable universities in the United States, Germany, and China. Haenle and Kirby also discuss current events such as the Biden administration’s economic policy toward China, articulated in recent speeches by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, as well as rising U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan. William C. Kirby is the T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. He serves as Chairman of the Harvard China Fund, the University's academic venture fund for China, and Faculty Chair of the Harvard Center Shanghai, Harvard's first University-wide center located outside the United States. A historian of modern China, Kirby's work examines contemporary China's business, economic, and political development in an international context. He writes and teaches on the growth of modern companies in China (Chinese and foreign; state-owned and private); Chinese corporate law and company structure; business relations across Greater China (PRC, Taiwan, Hong Kong); and China's relations with the United States and Europe. Empire of Ideas can be purchased here: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674737716

As the war in Ukraine drags on, China-EU relations face mounting uncertainties. Beijing has attempted to tread a fine line between maintaining its strategic partnership with Russia, while mitigating downward pressure on relations with the European Union. China’s 12-point position paper is the latest sign of Beijing’s attempt to portray itself as a neutral party to the conflict in Ukraine. On the other hand, China’s failure to use its influence on Russia to respect the UN Charter has cast doubt in Brussels on the sincerity of Beijing’s plan. Despite their differences, China and the EU maintain common interests in promoting global trade and addressing challenges like climate change. How is Beijing’s position on the Ukraine war impacting China-EU relations? Can Brussels and Beijing cooperate on transnational issues, while managing their differences? What role can Europe play in rising U.S.-China competition? Paul spoke with Dan Baer, senior vice president for policy research and director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore and Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre, and Yawei Liu, senior advisor on China at The Carter Center and an adjunct professor of political science at Emory University. This panel is the fourth of the Carnegie Global Dialogue Series 2022-2023 and is available to be viewed on the Carnegie Endowment's website. https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/04/19/china-eu-relations-one-year-into-ukraine-war-event-8073

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the China in the World podcast, Carnegie China is launching a series of lookback episodes, using clips from previous interviews to put current international issues in context. For the third episode in this series, the podcast looks back on 10 years of dealing with the North Korea challenge. Developments on the Korean Peninsula have undergone major changes since the launch of the China in the World podcast. In 2011, Kim Jong-un succeeded his father, Kim Jong-il, as supreme leader of North Korea, beginning his tenure with a series of internal purges and a more assertive military posture. While the Obama administration was able to reach a moratorium agreement with North Korea on nuclear and long-range missile tests in February 2012, the agreement was quickly broken in April 2012 with an attempted space launch of the Unha-3. Between 2013 and 2016, North Korea held three nuclear tests, followed in 2017 by North Korea’s first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the United States, the Hwasong-15. A subsequent “war of words” between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump resulted in the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader in Singapore in 2018, followed by Kim’s “self-imposed” moratorium on nuclear and long-range tests, which was broken in February 2022. Since the Biden administration entered office, North Korea has conducted over 40 missile tests, including 5 ICBM launches, while spurning unconditional diplomatic overtures from Washington. This episode helps shed light on the evolution of geopolitics on the Korean Peninsula over the past 10 years.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the China in the World podcast, Carnegie China is launching a series of lookback episodes, using clips from previous interviews to put current international issues in context. For the second episode in this series, the podcast looks back on ten years of China-Russia relations, one year into the war in Ukraine. China-Russia relations have evolved significantly since the launch of the China in the World podcast. In 2014, Russia announced its annexation of Crimea, which at the time was viewed with ambivalence in China. While Beijing abstained from the UN Security Council resolution to invalidate the 2014 Crimean referendum, China simultaneously criticized the Western sanctions regime imposed on Russia. Over the course of the following 10 years, Moscow and Beijing gradually expanded their economic, diplomatic, and security exchanges to the point where, today, many view the China-Russia relationship as the strongest it has been since before the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s. This episode helps shed light on how the China-Russia relationship evolved throughout Xi Jinping’s first decade in power, and during the lead-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.