Drum Tower

Donald Trump’s trade war is escalating and China has been hit hard. But even as Mr Trump threatens additional tariffs, China is not backing down. Our editor-in-chief visited Beijing recently to gauge the mood in the country as it entered the trade war. And while tough times lie ahead, the trip led to a seemingly paradoxical conclusion: China could turn the second Trump presidency into an opportunity. Not just to fix its economic problems, but to redraw the geopolitical map. David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, and Zanny Minton Beddoes, our editor-in-chief ask: how could China gain from the second Trump presidency? And what would that mean for the rest of the world?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

To start you’ll need a network of collaborators, sympathetic to your cause. Begin to erode public confidence until your target’s disillusionment is palpable. Add a siege. Then offer to negotiate. If you’ve followed steps one and two, a surrender, brokered by your collaborators, is all but guaranteed.The Communists used a version of this recipe to defeat the Nationalists in Beijing, then called Beiping, during the Chinese civil war. Almost 100 years later the so-called Beiping model is being talked about once more. This time by Chinese officials and state media who ponder whether it could be applied to Taiwan. If so, it means Xi Jinping could defeat the island without a shot being fired.Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Jeremy Page, our Asia diplomatic editor, ask: how is China laying the psychological groundwork for the Beiping model in Taiwan? And could it work?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account

An ancient empress, thrust into the modern world, must win over a CEO and his family. After a one-night stand, two people wake up married, and their wedding goes viral. Micro-dramas deliver non-stop twists in under two minutes and audiences can’t stop watching. This booming industry has outpaced China’s box office and Chinese production companies are looking to replicate its success abroad. Meanwhile, the Communist Party is trying to regulate these micro-dramas and adopt the format to spread party-approved values.Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Gabriel Crossley, our China correspondent, ask: why is China cracking down on its most addictive entertainment export?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

3,000 delegates, two cups of tea for Xi Jinping and lots of polite applause. At the National People’s Congress, China unveiled its plans for steering its economy through 2025 with choreographed calm. In fact, there is much to be unsettled about. The world’s second-largest economy is in the doldrums. Chinese consumer confidence is yet to recover from the covid lockdowns and the property market continues to languish. While Donald Trump’s threat of 60% tariffs is yet to transpire, his trade war is stoking uncertainty. Against this backdrop, an economic recovery seems a long way off. Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Simon Cox, our China economics editor, ask: what is the Communist Party’s strategy to bring the Chinese economy back on track? And is China ready for the global economic turmoil ahead?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A booming $500 billion industry is thriving in the shadows. Online scams have become as pervasive and lucrative as the global drugs trade. But fraudsters first honed their tactics in China on local victims before expanding their operations worldwide. The Chinese government has been cracking down on scam groups—but will its anti-fraud efforts be enough? Ted Plafker, The Economist’s China correspondent, and Sue-Lin Wong, our Asia correspondent and host of our eight-part podcast series Scam Inc, ask: what is the Communist Party doing to stop scammers?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Its alumni are a who's who of Chinese tech and it publishes more scientific papers than any other university in the world. Zhejiang University, in Hangzhou, is also the birthplace of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that has stunned foreign competitors. China’s best and brightest are lured to Hangzhou’s flourishing tech scene and Zhejiang University’s emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurialism. But if Xi Jinping's crackdown on tech bosses in 2020 is anything to go by, China’s homegrown Silicon Valley has its limitations. Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Gabriel Crossley, our China correspondent in Beijing, ask: when it comes to building China’s groundbreaking tech firms, what’s so special about Hangzhou? And will DeepSeek be a one-hit wonder?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.