Drum Tower

Once a favourite drink of middle-class Brits, Lapsang Souchong is now disappearing from supermarket shelves. We traveled to the remote tea farms of Fujian to find out why. Host: James Miles, The Economist’s China writer-at-large. 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.

Media mogul and vocal pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of conspiring to commit sedition and foreign collusion in a Hong Kong court. Why did the self-made billionaire give up his comfortable life for one of protest—and what does his conviction mean for Hong Kong? Host: Alice Su, The Economist’s senior international correspondent. Guest: Sebastien Lai, democracy activist and the son of Jimmy Lai.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.

Start later, leave earlier, bring your kids to work. These are some of the perks being offered via “mum jobs”. Local government officials hope they will boost China’s declining birthrates and productivity. So why are they causing uproar among the women they’re supposed to be helping?  Hosts: Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent and our China researcher, Jiehao Chen.You can find The Weekend Intelligence’s Make Babies Great Again episode in their new feed. 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.

China says it doesn’t interfere with the affairs of its neighbours, but a leaked transcript suggests that, behind closed doors, diplomats are more than willing to apply the country’s considerable leverage to get what they want.Hosts: Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent and Sue-Lin Wong, our Asia correspondent.You can find out more about Myanmar’s scam compounds by listening to our Scam Inc podcast series. 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.

Gain a deeper understanding of China with Jeremy Page and Sarah Wu. The Economist’s China correspondents report from across the country and the places it influences beyond its borders. Jiehao Chen joins the discussion from London. This award-winning podcast takes on everything from the CCP to EVs and from ageing to AI. Published every Tuesday.

In a country better known for Baijiu than Burgundy, the rising popularity of homegrown wine has come as a surprise to some. But production costs are high, while many overseas markets are saturated. Can Chinese wine reach its potential?Hosts: Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent and Jeremy Page, our chief China correspondent.You can also listen to previous episodes of “Drum Tower” on China’s luxury industries and the decline of alcohol. 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.

As Chinese AI surges ahead, the country’s stranglehold on rare earths tightens and its exports boom, European governments are bracing for a new China shock. Germany is particularly exposed. Is it too late to change its approach? Hosts: Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent, and geopolitics editor David Rennie.Guest: Johannes Volkmann, Christian Democratic Union politician and member of the German Bundestag. 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.

China’s green technology is reshaping landscapes, markets and geopolitics across much of the world—but perhaps nowhere more so than in Pakistan. How has the rapid adoption of cheap Chinese solar panels reshaped the energy landscape there, and what lessons can China’s business and political leaders draw from it? Hosts:  Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent, and China researcher Jiehao Chen.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.

After months of open hostility, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping called a truce in South Korea. But will it hold? And does it expose deeper issues in the countries’ relationship? Hosts: The Economist’s chief China correspondent Jeremy Page and China correspondent Sarah Wu. Guest: Jonathan Czin, former China advisor to America's National Security Council and chair in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institute. 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.