Closer To China Episodes

Many born outside China do not understand the Communist Party of China (CPC), such as what it stands for, how it’s structured, how it functions, or how it’s run But one cannot understand China without understanding the CPC Find out how the CPC tells its story to the world and what challenges it faces

China said it neither accepts nor recognizes the July 12 award of an arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration case put forward unilaterally by the Philippines Why does China assert that the ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration supporting the Philippine’s claims in the South China Sea is null and void? Is the award biased and one-sided and what are its legal implications? Why did China refuse to participate in the proceedings and how will China’s position affect its international standing?

Where is China going? We now have a roadmap The 13th Five-Year Plan gives national guidelines for China’s development from 2016 to 2020 and addresses critical problems – slowing economy; overcapacity; outdated low-end manufacturing; stagnant labor force; unequal society; heavy pollution What are the big ideas? What are the key policies? We sit down with experts who helped prepare the 13th Five-Year Plan

Coordinated development, the second of the Five Major Development Concepts, optimizes economic development by the efficient allocation of resources and the equitable access to resources Some problems that the concept could help tackling include duplication among competing provinces that exacerbate industrial overcapacity, and disparities between urban and rural and between east/coast and west/inland areas Coordinated development helps developing complementary industries and planning richer and poorer regions together

Experts say cooperation on climate change, cybercrimes, investment, and people-to-people exchanges are among the biggest achievements of President Xi’s US visit

China’s debt has been rapidly increasing What is its total size and what are the components? Why is there discrepancy between official statistics and expert estimates? Why are there divergent opinions among economists about how serious, or even how dangerous, China’s debt has become? What about local government debt? And the big worry: Corporate debt? We tackle these questions with top economists to find out whether China’s debt risk is manageable

US leading experts say the US is afraid of losing its allies’ trust, while China is shouldering great historical baggage, but both sides should put down their burdens and move forward

What is the history, from China’s perspective, of the 50-year history of the Tibet Autonomous Region?

The Belt and Road initiative has progressed from theory to practice It provides developing countries with what they need most — infrastructure: roads, railways, ports, airports, power plants, oil and gas pipelines and refineries, and Free Trade Zones, along with IT, telecom and financial services But how do Belt and Road projects actually work? What are the processes, challenges, criticisms, and risks?

It has been over three years since President Xi Jinping announced the Belt and Road initiative – China’s grand strategy of mutual economic development involving more than 60 countries In 2016, the entire Politburo attended a lecture on the ancient Silk Road, linking past and present No other country so roots a contemporary policy in its history

In this episode of Closer to China, three questions about state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are up for discussion First, what’s the optimal role of SOEs in China’s “Socialist Market Economy”? Second, what’s the optimal relationship between SOEs and private companies in different industries? Third, what’s the optimal structure of SOE management and governance, including state controls? Everyone agrees there is a need for SOE reform, but what kind of reform, and how fast?

What was China’s role in defeating Japan in World War II? Features noted China historian, Rana Mitter of Oxford University

Trump’s pronouncements about China have been literally startling, from accusations of economic cheating and militaristic adventurism to questioning the sacrosanct “one-China” policy Campaign rhetoric bashing China is nothing new, but then after the inauguration it has always been back to “business as usual” This time, many fear, will be different We explore the issue and get the problems on the table

This year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the star was China’s President Xi Jinping, with his ringing call for invigorated globalization Is China the new champion of an open world? But how open is China? And how vulnerable is China to anti-globalization? We discuss these issues in this episode

An all-out anti-corruption campaign is sweeping China, claiming several former senior officials These stunning developments come as a result of President Xi Jinping setting ‘Rule of Law’ as one of his key reforms for China What’s the difference between ‘Rule of Man’ or ‘Rule of Power’ and ‘Rule of Law’? How does Rule of Law work in China today, and how does President Xi seek to improve it?  What’s the relationship between the power of the party and the preeminence of the law?

In late 2012, soon after taking office as China’s leader, President Xi Jinping put forth his grand vision for China He called it “The Chinese Dream” – the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation What has happened over the past four years? How has fulfilling the dream progressed? What are the challenges or obstacles? To reflect, we go to Pudong, Shanghai

Sharing requires society to take responsibility for its poorest and most vulnerable members This is why healthcare in northwestern China’s Qinghai Province, where social disparities have been reduced by providing comprehensive medical services, is a microcosm for “Shared Development” in China The notion is the fifth and final of the Five Major Development Concepts, not because it is the least important, but rather because the four other concepts must come first The end goal is to build a “moderately prosperous society” and realize the Chinese Dream

What was President Xi Jinping’s message at the United Nations – and what is the deep meaning of “Peaceful Development”?

On November 7, 2015, Xi Jinping and Ma-Ying-jeou met formally in Singapore It was the first meeting between leaders from the two sides of the Taiwan straits since 1949 What’s the meaning of this historic meeting, which both sides recognized as a breakthrough? What’s the driving motivation for each side? How do they differ? Why now? We analyze the Xi-Ma meeting

Green Development, the third of China’s Five Major Development Concepts, has been elevated to a position of utmost national importance How can China reverse devastating pollution without undermining economic growth? A pioneer is Zhejiang Province, which has developed a system under which polluting companies and individuals must compensate those who suffer from their pollution The challenge for China is motivating individuals and institutions to protect the environment

What happened at the Fifth Plenum of the 18th CPC National Congress, especially with respect to the 13th Five-Year Plan?

China is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Long March — the epic, two-year, adversity-filled, military retreat led by China’s then fledgling Communist Party We explore why a military retreat is celebrated, how it changed the CPC, what its meaning is for contemporary China, and cross-Strait ties, what is the so-called “Long March Spirit”, and how it affects China’s governance

Explorations of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone What is the vision? What are the challenges?

Why is “Open Development” among the Five Major Development Concepts when “opening up” has been China’s policy for almost four decades? Although China has become the world’s second largest economy, it still faces structural problems, such as industrial overcapacity and higher labor costs, so a new kind of opening up is required: free trade zones, the Belt and Road initiative, and Chinese companies going abroad