Drum Tower

Ten years ago Xi Jinping announced the “project of the century”, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the last decade, more than 150 countries have signed up to Mr Xi’s global infrastructure project. In this first episode of a two-part look at the BRI, Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, travels to Laos to assess the impact of the project. She rides a train from Luang Prabang to the Chinese border, on a railway built by China. She and David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, ask who gains more from the Belt and Road Initiative: a host country like Laos; or Beijing? Runtime: 43 minSign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription.For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page.

Chinese social media is awash with disinformation about nuclear wastewater. Ever since August 24, when Japan began to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant, China’s state media has pumped out a flood of one-sided reports about the dangers. China’s nationalist netizens have spread them. Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Ted Plafker, our China correspondent, take a look inside a Chinese Communist Party disinformation campaign and ask what China’s government stands to gain from the public outrage over the Fukushima wastewater release.Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

Panzhihua used to be a state secret. The steel-making city, buried deep in the mountains of Sichuan, formed part of Mao Zedong’s Third Front, a covert plan to move core industries inland in case America or the Soviet Union attacked. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, travels to Panzhihua to reflect on China’s ambitious, costly experiment in self-reliance. He and Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, ask what lessons the city provides today and what happens when China’s leaders choose national security over economic interests. Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

The end of China’s zero-covid restrictions was meant to revitalise its economy. But the rebound has fizzled, resulting in weak growth and deflation. Chinese consumers are not spending—and that is a problem for policymakers.David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Don Weinland, our China business and finance editor, examine what lies behind the dip in consumer confidence. David speaks to furniture sellers in Foshan, in Guangdong province, about the end of zero-covid and about China’s troubled housing market. He and Don ponder whether the Chinese government can get people to spend again, and what China’s economic troubles mean for the rest of the world.Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

A harsh custom courses through rural China. If a woman marries a man from outside her village, she becomes a waijianü, or “married-out daughter". Tradition deems married-out women can be stripped of their rights to land that legally belongs to them.The Communist Party came to power promising to emancipate women from feudalism. Today, the collective financial losses suffered by married-out women are growing. The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, meet the married-out women in rural Fujian fighting to get their land back. Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

A growing number of Chinese women are pushing for control over family-planning decisions. That can cause discomfort in a society where traditional households are still the norm and where there are many legal barriers to becoming a single parent. But, faced with a shrinking population, there are signs the Chinese Communist Party could be loosening up.The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, meet the women redefining what a family looks like, and they ask whether the government will give more control over how and when they have children. Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

Xi Jinping has called food security a “guozhidazhe”, a national priority. He’s introduced new policies emphasising China’s need to grow more of its own crops on its limited arable land. But these new plans clash with other signature directives, including pulling farmers out of poverty—and that is causing resentment and confusion.The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, discuss whether China is food insecure and why the Communist Party’s legitimacy rests on its ability to feed the population. David travels to Sichuan to see how the overlapping rural reforms are affecting farmers. He and Alice ask whether Mr Xi’s fixation on food security could be a warning of a future conflict.  Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

The South China Sea is full of treasure. Last year, Chinese researchers found two ships from the Ming Dynasty some 1,500 metres down: one loaded with porcelain, the other with timber. But, their discovery is not only of interest to scholars.The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and China correspondent, Gabriel Crossley, examine how the Communist Party is using archaeology to enhance its territorial claims, and why Xi Jinping is putting ancient history at the centre of politics. Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.

China is awash with nationalist education: every student from primary school to university must learn the leader’s political philosophy. Now, Xi Jinping wants to make patriotic education a law. The legislation, which was given its first hearing in June, spells out that parents “shall include love of the motherland in family education”. It also lists punishments for offences such as insulting the flag to questioning approved histories about Communist Party heroes. The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and South-East Asia correspondent, Sue-Lin Wong, discuss what the legislation will change in the classroom and beyond, and what it reveals about how President Xi wants to govern. Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.