MERICS China Podcast

Accompanying our MERICS China Forecast 2021 event, MERICS experts wages a look at three global challenges in 2021, namely decoupling and the evolution of multilateralism, cooperation and competition in the climate crisis, and the development of connectivity in a world plagued by a pandemic. For every section we are proud to introduce a very accomplished and knowledgeable guest.

Our first guest is the Honorable Kevin Rudd, CEO and President of the Asia Society, and President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. Mr. Rudd served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister (2007-2010, 2013) and as its Foreign Minister (2010-2012). He is one of the leading international authorities on China that remains active in second-track diplomacy. In our conversation we discussed the issues linked to politicization of international economy and the prospects for adjustment of the multilateral system in the year ahead.

Our second guest is Isabel Hilton, the CEO and Editor of China Dialogue, a fully-bilingual non-profit focused on the environment and climate change. Ms. Hilton holds two honorary doctorates and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to raising environmental awareness in China. We talked about China’s efforts in combating the climate crisis and the challenge of developing an effective international framework on this issue.

Our final guest is Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow with the CSIS Economics Program and director of the Reconnecting Asia Project. He is one of the leading voices commenting on China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has recently released his first book “The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century”. Together, we discussed the evolution of the geopolitical connectivity competition and the relevance of the Indo-Pacific region within this context. The interviews were led by our analyst Grzegorz Stec.

Europe is increasingly being put in a tight spot between its biggest trading partners China and the US. Especially in view of the upcoming 5G network expansion, the latter has put pressure on the EU and European countries to exclude the Chinese tech-company Huawei from European networks. China, on the other hand, has hinted at economic consequences should Chinese companies be banned. While this dispute remains unresolved, new conflicts are already on the horizon as the US gears up to sanction the export of sensitive technological equipment to China. The MERICS experts podcast looks at how the US puts pressure on the EU, what areas are affected, and what options the EU has in balancing the demands of China and the US?

These and other questions are tackled by Noah Barkin, journalist and former Visiting Academic Fellow at MERICS. In his view, the EU and European member states should take a careful look at countries already engaged in the difficult act of balancing both superpowers. The conversation was led by Johannes Heller-John, Communications Manager at MERICS.

18. Oktober 2018Offiziell ist die Zahl der Armen in China in den letzten fünf Jahren um 68 Millionen gesunken. Bei der Bekämpfung der absoluten Armut hat die Volksrepublik also gewaltige Fortschritte gemacht. Sie setzt dabei auf Infrastrukturmaßnahmen, auf das Engagement von Betrieben und auf den Einsatz von IT. Aber, sagt Matthias Stepan, Leiter des Programms Innenpolitik beim MERICS, die soziale Ungleichheit ist trotz der statistischen Erfolge nicht geringer geworden. Offen ist auch, ob die Armutsbekämpfung Bestand haben wird. Denn trotz des Ausbaus der Sozialsysteme kann beispielsweise eine schwere Krankheit eine Familie auch heute noch zurück in die Armut stürzen. Hören Sie Matthias Stepan im neuen Merics Experts Podcast.