Closer To China Episodes

What is an “ecological civilization” in China and how does it relate to economic development? How serious is environmental degradation? President Xi Jinping seeks to speed up reform of ecological civilization to build a beautiful China But what kind of ecological civilization should China build? What challenges or obstacles lie ahead?

New China’s 70 years have witnessed the greatest economic transformation in human history How did China do it? What were the milestones? What were the guiding concepts? What driving principles have enabled China’s economic miracle? We look back on China’s past 70 years in order to look ahead to China’s next 30 years What lessons can we learn? What challenges lie ahead?

The PRC’s 70th founding anniversary is a time for celebration and reflection From a devastated economy and a closed society to the world’s second-largest economy engaging openly with almost every country on the earth, these 70 years will be a highlight when historians of the future write the chronicles of China What are China’s political theories and structures? Where is Chinese politics going in the New Era?

Why did Chinese President Xi Jinping call “rural vitalization” a major strategy that would impact the nation? What are its basic elements and characteristics? What’s its ultimate goal? And why now, after decades of concern about rural areas, is China giving such priority to “rural vitalization”? It has been almost two years since rural vitalization was elevated to the highest priority – how is it working?

The Chinese government has come to realize the seriousness of ecological degradation and to recognize the importance of ecological conservation What kind of ecological civilization should China build? Faced with the grim realities of devastating environmental pollution and degraded ecosystems, and the practical realities of resource constraints, what real-world policies are being enacted? What challenges or obstacles lie ahead? How should Xi Jinping Thought of Ecological Civilization be understood

How can China’s diplomacy since 2012, when Xi Jinping became China’s senior leader, be understood? Increasingly proactive, China no longer merely responds to circumstances and pressures Why is Xi setting forth a grand vision of global governance? Why is Xi elevating the Party in China’s foreign affairs? In short, what is “Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy”? What is its impact on China and on the world?

The new white paper on China’s military calls for sweeping reforms and new strategic challenges Referring to Taiwan, “We make no promise to renounce the use of force” The US “undermines global strategic stability” But we need to know more Is the white paper transparent? Defense expenditures are called “Reasonable and Appropriate” Are they? What are China’s main threats, concerns? What about the PLA’s growing capabilities and modernization?

CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping makes the Party’s enhanced leadership clear — the Party leads everything One cannot understand China without understanding the CPC If one does not understand the CPC, one cannot deal effectively with China How has the CPC brought about China’s remarkable development, especially poverty alleviation? How does the CPC interact with the non-Party society? And what challenges does the CPC face, given domestic complexity and international volatility?

Although the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been leading the country for 70 years, most foreigners still don’t quite know the CPC The only way to grasp China’s current conditions and to anticipate China’s future prospects is to know and understand what the CPC is and how it works The veil should be lifted Why has China opted for one-party rule? Why should the CPC be the ruling party? How must the CPC adapt to China’s new era?

To foreigners, China is a drug-producing country, not a drug-consuming country This stereotype is wrong Today’s China has about 25 million heavy drug users — roughly half are addicted to heroin, over 80 percent are male, and, most worrying, over 70 percent are under the age of 35 Why has China’s drug problem been getting worse? What are the international ramifications? What is the government doing to combat illegal drugs?

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is crucial for the developing world’s economy, and thereby vital for the peace and prosperity of the entire world That’s why we focus on Belt and Road concerns and challenges Are there lack of transparency, excessive debt, improper business practices, local engagement, and overanxious officials too quick to tout success Are there financial problems, political instability, cultural misunderstandings, nationalism, and terrorism Does China have a “hidden” agenda? #BRF2019 #BeltandRoad #XiJinping

The PLA Navy is now the second largest navy in the world What are its missions and capabilities? Its challenges? Why does PLA Navy strategy entail out-of-area operations, beyond China’s territorial waters? How does the PLA Navy seek to safeguard national sovereignty, national security and territorial integrity, and to protect Chinese citizens and assets globally? The world is watching with hope, and, to be frank, also with some concern

We present aspects of Chinese philosophy, offered by leading Chinese thinkers, especially as these ideas may affect contemporary Chinese strategies and policies We begin with “Harmony and Cooperation” — or 和合-héhé in Chinese — on which President Xi Jinping’s Thought on diplomacy for a new era is said to be based What’s the origin of 和合-héhé? How has the term evolved and developed? Can it help decode China’s foreign policy?

Xiongan New Area, about 100km southwest of Beijing, is a vast, visionary mega-urban project that is being designed with three grand goals: To house the non-governmental functions of Beijing; to catalyze the regional integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province (called in Chinese Jing-Jin-Ji); and to prototype urban modernization for the 21st Century What role will the government and market play? Why is President Xi paying so much attention to Xiongan?

We assess the 2019 Two Sessions political meetings in terms of President Xi Jinping’s call to prevent and defuse major risks: political risks, economic risks, science and technology risks, social risks, and external risks What are examples of these risks? What policies have been proposed? In particular, China’s new Foreign Investment Law deals directly with economic and external risks What are its objectives and provisions?

2018 was hard for China and 2019 may not be easier either China’s economic growth is slowing and its external environment is challenging, causing new downward economic pressures Chinese leaders express great concern To forestall major risks now tops China’s agenda What are the challenges and sensitivities? How to balance the need to stimulate a weakening economy with the need to reduce financial risk?

At this year’s Two Sessions, China faces a two-front battle: domestically, preventing and defusing major risks, plus continuing the fight against poverty and pollution; and internationally, the trade and tech war with the US and other global complexities The China-US rivalry has become broader, embedding geopolitical and science/technology competition Must it be so? Can China and the US find common ground, shared interests, so that both countries, and the world, can prosper?

Hydropower is clean, low carbon and efficient It accounts for about 35 percent of China’s domestic natural energy resources, second only to coal, and more than 60 percent of China’s renewable energy China’s hydropower installed capacity and annual power generation rank first globally How has China become the world leader? What about hydropower’s ecological side effects? What new technologies are being developed? How does China work with other countries?

“Toilet Revolution” is now a buzzword in China With an unpleasant history of poor bathrooms, hygiene and odors, especially in rural areas, China needs better bathrooms to become a more civilized society What drives China’s “Toilet Revolution?” What are the challenges? Can China facilitate a “Toilet Revolution” in other developing countries?

Will China dominate global green energy markets? China has overtaken the US to become the number one exporter of solar goods and services In 2017 alone, China added more solar capacity than the total solar capacity of any other country How has China built its solar industry and what are its challenges? Government subsidies have driven development, but have also led to overcapacity and trade tensions Should government subsidies be cut?

Financial technology, or fintech, is disrupting financial services – digital payments, online banking, peer-to-peer lending, all enabled by big data and artificial intelligence (AI) Leveraging fintech, China is developing a nationwide “social credit system,” assigning a “credit score” to every citizen and business based on their financial and social behavior What are the benefits, challenges, risks and dangers? Will fintech increase the financial system risk? Will social credit affect personal privacy?

There are no winners in a trade war In the US, experts conclude China has become a competitor and may become an adversary In China, experts castigate the US for seeking to impede China’s rise Welcome to the troubled world of self-fulfilling prophecy, where rational, knowledgeable voices are rare One of them is Lawrence Summers, distinguished economist, former US Secretary of the Treasury and former president of Harvard

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the grand celebration of 40 years of reform and opening-up to reflect on all that China has accomplished and to implement all that the nation still needs to accomplish Ten foreigners received the China Reform Friendship Medal, recognizing those who have helped China during this historic four-decade transformation My receiving this medal is not so much personal but rather represents how seriously China now takes international communications

The world is facing a severe digital divide — with over 90 percent Internet penetration in highly developed countries and less than 10 percent in the least developed countries — exacerbating global imbalances How is China using the Internet to reduce its own socio-economic imbalances? How can China’s experience be leveraged internationally to help “Bridge the Digital Divide?” These issues were addressed at the fifth World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang Province