Drum Tower

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.

China and India—two countries that are home to nearly half the world’s population—have been rivals for decades. In 2020, deadly border skirmishes froze relations. But now, signs of reconciliation are emerging. With trade surging and diplomatic ties warming, could this be a turning point?Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and Jeremy Page, our Asia diplomatic editor, ask: is the relationship between India and China entering a friendlier phase? 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.

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.

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.

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.

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+.

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.

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.