Pekingology

ตอน

• Can China Control North Korea? 28.05.2026 38นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Adam Farrar, who previously served as Special Advisor to the Vice President for the Indo-Pacific, Space, and Intelligence as well as Director for the Korean Peninsula and Mongolia at the White House National Security Council. Adam is currently a Senior Geoeconomics Analyst at Bloomberg and Non-Resident Senior Associate with the CSIS Korea Chair. As Xi Jinping prepares for a rare trip to Pyongyang, Henrietta and Adam unpack China’s complex relationship with North Korea. They discuss what the Trump-Xi summit revealed about Beijing’s position on denuclearization, how much leverage China actually has over Pyongyang, and why Kim Jong Un keeps creating problems for Xi. The conversation also explores how Beijing balances its desire for stability on the Korean Peninsula with Moscow's growing influence there, and what all of this means for U.S. strategy in Asia.
• BONUS POD: Trump and Xi Meet in China 15.05.2026 43นาที

  In this bonus episode of Pekingology, host Henrietta Levin is joined by Jon Czin to discuss the May 14-15 summit between President Trump and President Xi in Beijing. Henrietta and Jon unpack the personal relationship between Trump and Xi, as well as the full range of issues on the bilateral agenda - Taiwan, technology, trade, the war in Iran, soybeans, and more. Jon previously served as Director for China at the White House National Security Council and a member of the Senior Analytic Service at the CIA. He is currently Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and a fellow at the Brookings Institution. To learn more about U.S.-China summitry, check out these Pekingology episodes: How to Win a Summit: China’s Economic and Commercial Leverage (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/pekingology/how-win-summit-chinas-economic-and-commercial-leverage) Behind the Scenes of U.S.-China Summitry (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/pekingology/behind-scenes-us-china-summitry) Kurt Campbell on China Strategy and Diplomacy (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/pekingology/kurt-campbell-china-strategy-and-diplomacy)
• How to Win a Summit: China’s Economic and Commercial Leverage 14.05.2026 44นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Philip Luck, Director of the CSIS Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business. Phil was previously the deputy chief economist at the U.S. Department of State. Phil and Henrietta discuss the economic and commercial context for the big summit between President Trump and President Xi in Beijing, what it means to have “managed trade,” the trajectory of U.S. tariff rates and export controls, and how soybeans may shape the future of U.S.-China relations. Tune in tomorrow (May 15) for a special bonus episode unpacking the outcomes from President Trump's visit to China, featuring Jon Czin, fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Director for China at the White House National Security Council.
• China and the Iran War: Beijing's Ambitions in the Middle East 30.04.2026 39นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Aaron Glasserman, an expert on China's Middle East strategy and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China. Aaron and Henrietta unpack what China is really trying to achieve in the Middle East, how China is approaching the U.S. war against Iran, and what this all means for the upcoming summit between President Trump and President Xi.
• Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China 16.04.2026 46นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Eyck Freymann, a Hoover Fellow at Stanford University and author of the new book, Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China. Eyck unpacks Beijing’s real goals vis-à-vis Taiwan, how Taiwan fits into the Party’s domestic and international ambitions, and how the United States and its allies can manage the bedeviling challenge of gray zone coercion while also deterring high-end conflict.
• How the Chinese Communist Party Stays in Power 02.04.2026 41นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Ben Hillman, Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World at Australian National University and co-editor of the new book, The Communist Party of China: Understanding the Durability of the World's Most Powerful Political Organization. Ben explains how the Party has managed to stay in power, becoming the world's second-longest ruling party (barely losing out to North Korea's communist party) and maintaining an iron grip on power across vastly different phases in China's development. Ben addresses the role of ideology in Party governance, the utility of linguistic engineering and patriotic symbols in bolstering political legitimacy, the role of the United Front Work Department in manufacturing buy-in, and the Party's tremendous capacity for coercion.
• Decoding China's Two Sessions: Politics, Purges, and a New Five Year Plan 19.03.2026 48นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Neil Thomas, Fellow on Chinese Politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. They discuss the significance of China's recent "Two Sessions," where the National People's Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference come together with great pageantry to announce new policies. Neil unpacks the state of China's elite politics and purges, the highlights of the 15th Five-Year Plan, President Xi's conservative approach to policymaking, and who might rise to important roles during Xi's fourth term. 
• Understanding Chinese Power 05.03.2026 51นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Zoe Liu, Fellow in China Studies with the Council on Foreign Relations. They discuss Zoe’s new Foreign Affairs piece, China’s Long Economic War: How Beijing Builds Leverage for Indefinite Competition. Zoe offers a new framework for understanding China’s national power, evaluating the country’s evolving capacity, capital, character, and credibility.
• Can China Sway Australia? 19.02.2026 50นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Charlie Edel, Senior Adviser and Australia Chair at CSIS. Charlie unpacks China’s strategy towards Australia, an influential, democratic middle power that maintains strong economic ties to China and a security alliance with the United States. How has Beijing used economic coercion and inducements to try and sway Australian policy? Why has Australian public opinion turned sharply against China? And why has Australia come to see Chinese actions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait – thousands of miles from the Australian coast – as a threat to Australia’s national security?
• China’s Growing Influence in Latin America 05.02.2026 43นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Francisco Urdinez, Associate Professor at the Political Science Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and author of the new book Economic Displacement: China and the End of US Primacy in Latin America. Francisco unpacks China’s strategy in Latin America, how regional countries have experienced China’s growing influence, how Chinese firms are replicating U.S. companies’ playbook from the early 20th century, and Chinese banks’ bad bet on Venezuela.
• How Experts Shape Chinese Foreign Policy 22.01.2026 31นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Sabine Mokry, Postdoctoral Researcher with the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg and author of the new book Chinese Scholars and Think Tanks’ Construction of China's National Interest. Sabine unpacks the process through which outside expertise can shape the Party’s national security concepts, the relevance of Chinese think tanks and scholars in policymaking, and how China – nearly a thousand miles from the Arctic – became a “near-Arctic State.”
• China's Church Divided 08.01.2026 40นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Paul Mariani, Professor at Santa Clara University and author of the new book, China’s Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival. Paul unpacks the Communist Party's views on religion, how the Catholic Church navigated the turbulent politics of 1980's China, and why the Vatican has renewed a controversial deal with Beijing. 
• The Broken China Dream 11.12.2025 39นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Minxin Pei, author of the new book, "The Broken China Dream: How Reform Revived Totalitarianism." Minxin traces the evolution of China's political and economic system through the post-Mao era, highlighting key moments in which the Party's efforts to strengthen collective leadership inadvertently planted the seeds of Xi Jinping's eventual power grab. To hear more from Minxin, check out the 2024 episode of Pekingology: The Sentinel State.
• China's Demographic Dilemma 25.11.2025 45นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Philip O’Keefe, Professor of Practice at the University of New South Wales Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research and one of the world's leading experts on demographic trends in China and across Asia. They unpack the rapid aging of Chinese society, exploring the impact of a shrinking population on China's politics, economy, and innovation ecosystem, as well as its trade imbalances and Beijing's global ambitions.
• China's Africa Strategy 13.11.2025 35นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Cobus van Staden, Managing Editor of the China Global South Project, host of the China in Africa podcast, and a leading scholar of China–Africa relations. Ahead of the Johannesburg G20 Summit, they unpack China’s Africa strategy as well as China's bilateral ties with South Africa. Henrietta and Cobus discuss Beijing's diplomatic ground game, key trends in Chinese investment and BRI projects in Africa, how China's slowing economy is shaping its engagement, and what China is ultimately seeking to achieve on the continent.
• How Firms Serve the Party-State 30.10.2025 31นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Ning Leng, assistant professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy and a Wilson Center China Fellow. They discuss her new book Politicizing Business: How Firms Are Made to Serve the Party-State in China. Henrietta and Ning explore the relationship between politics and business in China, what the Party really wants from Chinese firms, and why a malfunctioning wastewater treatment plant in southwest China has so many decorative fish.
• Behind the Scenes of U.S.-China Summitry 16.10.2025 38นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Sarah Beran, who managed the U.S.-China relationship in senior roles at the State Department, the American Embassy in Beijing, and the White House National Security Council. Ahead of President Trump's potential meeting with President Xi on the margins of the 2025 APEC Leaders Meeting, Sarah explains how U.S.-China diplomacy and summitry actually work. Sarah unpacks the tough negotiations that set the stage for conversations between the two nations' leaders, what Chinese officials want most from these dialogues, and how President Xi has evolved as a diplomat over his long tenure.
• China's Economic Transition 02.10.2025 48นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Dinny McMahon, Head of China Markets Research at Trivium China, and Andrew Polk, Co-Founder and Head of Economic Research at Trivium China. Dinny and Andrew discuss their new Freeman Chair report, China’s Economic Transition: Debt, Demography, Deglobalization, and Scenarios for 2035. The conversation unpacks the structural challenges facing China’s economy, why the next decade will be decisive in whether China can escape the middle-income trap, and who really matters when it comes to economic policy-making in Beijing.
• Who does Xi Jinping trust? 18.09.2025 42นาที

  In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Jon Czin, the Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and a fellow with the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. Jon is a former member of the Senior Analytic Service at CIA, where he was one of the intelligence community’s top China experts, and he also served as Director for China at the White House National Security Council. Jon and Henrietta discuss his recent China Leadership Monitor article “Plotting the Course to Xi’s Fourth Term: Preparations, Predictions, and Possibilities.” The conversation dives into who President Xi actually trusts, what to expect from Xi's fourth term, his succession dilemma, and what it all means for the U.S.-China relationship.
• State of Play: Are U.S. tariffs bringing India and China together? 05.09.2025 28นาที

  Pekingology is excited to feature a new CSIS podcast called State of Play, where CSIS experts unpack the biggest geopolitical developments of the week. In this State of Play episode, Henrietta Levin and Rick Rosso discuss the China-India relationship, alongside host Will Todman. President Xi and Prime Minister Modi greeted each other warmly at the SCO summit in China last weekend. But how real is the China-India rapprochement, and what does it mean for the United States?