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Drum Tower
Drum Tower: Back to the future
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As China re-shapes the existing world order, its officials argue that the values behind it are Western and not universal. Western leaders worry that China is merely trying to make the world safe for dictatorships. Do universal values exist?
The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, talk to Zhou Bo, a former senior Chinese army colonel, and to Zha Jianying, a Chinese writer in New York.
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A brush with power: China’s calligraphy revival
28:24|Calligraphy was once China’s highest art form—then the Communist Party tried to erase it. Now, under Xi Jinping, it’s making a comeback.At Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, a rare copy of the Orchid Pavilion preface, one of China’s most famous calligraphic works, is up for auction. Rosie Blau, co-host of our daily news podcast, The Intelligence, is there to witness the bidding war—but will it sell? And beyond the auction room, why is the Communist Party so invested in calligraphy’s return? 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.Trump troubles: how Latin America became a battleground in the US-China rivalry
41:00|China has been deepening its ties with Latin America, making strategic investments in key infrastructure to boost its influence in the resource-rich region. It’s not the only thing that has President Donald Trump worried. He sees countries like Mexico as weak links in America’s defences, blaming them for allowing in drugs, migrants, and foreign imports that threaten American jobs. Increasingly, those threats involve China. David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, and Sarah Birke, our Mexico bureau chief, ask: how did Latin America become a front line in Donald Trump's confrontation with China? 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.Influence operations: how the Chinese Communist Party recruits members of the diaspora to serve its interests
38:02|As the superpower rivalry between China and America deepens, Chinese espionage efforts in America are changing. The Communist Party is recruiting members of the diaspora for surveillance, information-gathering and influence operations. And while coercion is not uncommon, some Chinese Americans are happy to help.Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and James Miles, our China writer-at-large, explore how China co-opts members of its diaspora to serve the Communist Party's interests, and ask what liberal democracies do about it.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.Trailer: Scam Inc
03:47|A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’s about to get bigger and much more powerful. The Economist’s Sue-Lin Wong follows a trail that starts with the collapse of a bank in rural Kansas to uncover a global, underground scam economy built around human trafficking, corruption and money laundering. Can it be stopped?Available now.To listen to the full series subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.Chiung Yao: what the novelist taught China about love and death
28:51|On a quiet afternoon in December, Chiung Yao, one of the most celebrated romance writers in the Chinese-speaking world, took her own life inside her Taipei home at the age of 86. Her body of work includes 65 novels, many of them adapted for film and television, exploring themes of romantic love, etiquette and tradition.Jiehao Chen, producer of “Drum Tower” and China researcher at The Economist, and Ann Wroe, our obituaries editor, examine Chiung Yao’s life and work. How did the author shape ideas of love and death in contemporary China?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.Hemmed in: can Shein escape its Chinese roots?
42:38|TikTok’s saga is just the latest in the long line of challenges facing Chinese companies trying to break into global markets. This week, we look at Shein, another Chinese multinational, which now accounts for half of fast-fashion sales in America. But its Chinese origins have raised questions about data security and supply-chain ethics. Shein has moved its headquarters to Singapore and avoids selling in China. Yet its reliance on Chinese factories and data-driven logistics continues to cause concern in America.Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Don Weinland, our China business and finance editor, explore Shein’s rise, its rapid production model, and the hurdles Chinese firms face abroad. Can Shein shake its Chinese roots? 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.Dongbei renaissance: why stories from China’s rust belt captivate the nation
43:28|Dongbei, as China’s cold and gritty north-east is known, has traditionally been more famous for its economic struggles than for its cultural exports. Once booming under Mao because of its coal mines and steel mills, the region has endured decades of decline and poverty. But from these hardships, a powerful literary movement has emerged.David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, analyse “Winter Swimming”, a short story by Ban Yu, and ask: why are stories from China’s rust belt resonating with so many readers around the country? 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.Inside Xi's mind: what drives China’s leader?
35:45|Xi Jinping wants to reshape China—and the world—but there’s still much to understand about him: the ideology that influences his actions; his motivations and anxieties; and how far he’s willing to go in his competition with America, as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.Sue-Lin Wong, host of “The Prince” podcast, and James Miles, The Economist’s China writer-at-large, attempt to get inside the leader’s head, asking: what are the forces that shape Xi’s worldview?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.From our archive: the sounds of old Beijing
28:27|David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, discuss what they’re looking out for in China in 2025, before Alice selects one of her favourite episodes of Drum Tower in 2024 to replay for the end of the year: the sounds of old Beijing. In some ways, Beijing now sounds like a lot of other mega cities. Yet, back in imperial times, sound was used in creative ways to display wealth, to conduct everyday business and, most importantly, to keep order. David Rennie takes us once again on a sonic journey through the places where Beijing’s ancient soundscape is being kept alive. He meets Colin Chinnery, a sound artist and archivist, to find out why sound has long been a vital part of Beijing’s spirit, and the ways in which it still is today.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.