The US-China Podcast

As AI technologies become increasingly sophisticated, the United States and China are vying to win this technology competition. Both countries have different approaches and strengths in their development, deployment, and regulation of AI – the United States is recognized as leading in advanced AI development and China in industrial AI integration. Although perceptions of AI differ between people, companies, and the government in the United States and China, a shared anxiety exists among both populations over the effects this technology will have on their lives. Yi-Ling Liu joined us on June 10, 2026 to share similarities and differences between the ways people in the United States and China view AI and who the narrative of a U.S.-China AI race neglects. Further reading: Yi-Ling Liu's recent book The Wall Dancers: Searching For Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet traces the evolution of the Chinese internet, following entrepreneurs, activists, and artists as they navigate surveillance and censorship within the Great Firewall. Liu draws on years of firsthand reporting and interviews in China to examine online subcultures, shifting state policies, and tech innovations over the last three decades

🚨 Check out the new China & the Hill Legislation Database! 🚨 China & the Hill is now on Substack China & the Hill is a weekly newsletter covering Washington DC's China-focused debates, actions, and reactions. Readers will receive a curated digest of each week's most pressing U.S.-China news and its impact on businesses and policy, and can listen to the top stories in podcast form on the U.S.-China Podcast.

100,000 fewer Chinese international students are in the United States compared to 2019, and this trend is showing no signs of slowing. These students are a major economic driver in small college towns and large cities across the United States. In 2024, Chinese international students had an estimated $14.6 billion-dollar economic impact in the United States through tuition and living costs alone. They also greatly add to the science and engineering fields in the United States, particularly in AI and quantum computing. The cost of Chinese international students' contribution to the U.S. economy and academic institutions is difficult to calculate, but what impact does fewer Chinese international students have for the United States? Yingyi Ma joined us in November 2025 to uncover why fewer Chinese students are coming to the United States and what that means for the U.S. economy and higher education. Watch the video and learn more about the speaker here

Smart Rabbits: American Small Businesspeople, Trade Wars, and the Future of U.S.-China Relations looks at how small businesses navigate the intricate web of U.S.-China relations. Author Douglas Barry captures the voices of entrepreneurs whose daily lives reflect the larger narrative of economic interdependence and geopolitical tension, profiling American small business owners who forge connections, foster trade, and find innovative solutions despite trade wars, policy shifts, and cultural barriers. The book offers insights into how small businesses are affected by and influence global politics, and provides fresh perspectives on the U.S.-China relationship and why bilateral cooperation matters. In an interview conducted on July 21, 2025, Douglas Barry, in conversation with Min Fan, discusses how small businesses are shaping the future of U.S.-China relations. About the speakers

On December 8, 2025, President Donald Trump stated that NVIDIA would be allowed to sell its advanced H200 chips to China. This decision departs from previous U.S. policy that prevented the export of H200 chips to China to preserve the United States' lead over China in the AI race. Industry leaders touted economic incentives, such as U.S. companies' desire to strengthen market shares in China, urging President Trump to change the course of the United States' advance compute export policy. Some experts fear that this decision will yield negative national security implications for the United States and pave the way for Chinese AI companies to catch up to American ones, narrowing the gap between the two countries in the AI competition. How should the U.S.-China tech competition be viewed amid these changing dynamics? Paul Triolo joined us on December 12, 2025 to discuss the economic and national security implications of selling NVIDA's H200 chips to China and how the decision fits into the larger picture of U.S. AI policy.

The death of Pope Francis came at a delicate moment in the Vatican's relationship with China. Since 2018, the Holy See has pursued a cautious and often controversial diplomatic engagement with Beijing to maintain the Church's relevance in China while navigating the Chinese Communist Party's strict control over religion. This approach has unfolded against a backdrop of repression of underground clergy and growing pressure from Beijing for the Vatican to sever ties with Taiwan. For observers, this period offers insight into how a global religious institution operates within a system in which space for religion and civil society is tightly constrained. With the new pope's first hundred days behind him, long-standing questions about religious freedom, geopolitical recognition, and the boundaries of engagement remain central, and may take on new dimensions under his leadership. In a conversation recorded on August 17, Ian Johnson, Francesco Sisci, and Karrie Koessel discuss the key issues currently shaping China–Vatican relations and how they may evolve under the new pope. About this program

🚨 Check out the new China & the Hill Legislation Database! 🚨 China & the Hill is now on Substack China & the Hill is a weekly newsletter covering Washington DC's China-focused debates, actions, and reactions. Readers will receive a curated digest of each week's most pressing U.S.-China news and its impact on businesses and policy, and can listen to the top stories in podcast form on the U.S.-China Podcast.

How has China added so much green energy to its grid in such a short time? As energy demand increases in China's industrial, commercial, and residential sectors, energy providers are adding wind and solar sources to the grid at record rates. However, China's power sector needs to manage the precarious balance between market liberalization, decarbonization, and energy security to ensure everyone, from policymakers to the people, is happy. Chinese local government officials navigate these complex situations through hundreds of thousands of experiments – the results of which could have lessons for the rest of the world. David Fishman joined us in October 2025 to discuss China's the achievements produced and challenged faced by the power sector.