Narendra Modi is one of the most popular politicians on the planet. India’s prime minister is eyeing a third term atop the world’s biggest democracy.  A tea-seller’s son, Mr Modi began life an outsider. The man behind the political phenomenon remains hard to fathom. India has become an economic powerhouse during his ten years in charge. But he’s also the frontman for a chauvinistic Hindu nationalist dogma.  Can Mr Modi continue to balance both parts of his agenda and finish the job of turning...

At the height of China’s zero-covid restrictions, a Chinese character that sounds like the English word “run” became a coded way of talking about emigration. Since then many Chinese people have left their country for better opportunities abroad. In the first episode of a three-part series on the “run” phenomenon, we travel to Japan and meet educated, urban Chinese who have made the decision to move. Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent and David Rennie, our Beijing bureau...

The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes was recently in Beijing for the China Development Forum, an annual gathering where senior Chinese officials meet foreign business bosses. She joins our Beijing bureau chief David Rennie to assess Xi Jinping’s new plan to escape economic stagnation. Plus, what is the outlook for China’s relationship with America? Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more...

On March 13th America’s House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban TikTok nationwide unless its Chinese owner, Bytedance, agrees to sell its stake.  Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, look at China’s side of the story. Joined by Don Weinland, our China business and finance editor, they ask: does Chinese ownership of TikTok really pose a threat to America? Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to...

In some ways, Beijing now sounds like a lot of other mega cities. Yet, back in imperial times, sound was used in creative ways to display wealth, to conduct everyday business and, most importantly, to keep order. David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, takes us on a sonic journey through the places where Beijing’s ancient soundscape is being kept alive. He meets Colin Chinnery, a sound artist and archivist, to find out why sound has long been a vital part of Beijing’s spirit, and the ways in...

China’s decades-long economic boom was powered by workers who migrated from the countryside to cities to find jobs. But to do so, many of them had to leave their children behind. Now some cities are vying to attract migrant workers' children.  Zhejiang province is piloting an experimental policy which should make it easier for migrants to bring their children with them to cities and send them to school. David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent,...

China is watching Taiwan’s next presidential race closely. The results will influence Xi Jinping’s next steps when it comes to resolving the “Taiwan question”.  Ahead of the vote on January 13th, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, goes to campaign rallies of the 3 parties in the race. We meet voters, young and old, who each have a different idea of who should win and why. Together with David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, they ask: is the election of Taiwan’s next President really a...

Tickets for “Nvzizhuyi”—a monthly stand-up comedy show in New York City— often sell out in less than a minute. The show invites Chinese citizens, mostly women, to tell jokes, perform skits and recount the absurd challenges they’ve encountered as feminist activists in China—things they could never utter in public back home.  This week, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, reports from the dark basement of a comedy club. Together with David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief,...

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many have worried: is Taiwan next? China is giving Taiwan a terrifying choice: unify with China, or face war. People in Taiwan want neither of these. For this special four-part series, David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, ask whether Taiwan can preserve its freedoms and decide its own future. In this first episode, they explore how Taiwan’s divided and changing identity impacts how close Taiwanese...

At a time when Republicans and Democrats agree on very little, there is striking unity in DC about China. This week, we return to David Rennie in Washington DC, where he talks to senators and congressmen at the heart of China policymaking. We hear what brings the two parties together on China, and find out if this bipartisan consensus is as solid as it looks. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, host. They speak to Mike Gallagher,...

Drum Tower is turning one. To celebrate our first anniversary, we are taking listeners behind the scenes of how we make the podcast. We will also open our mailbag to answer listeners' questions about how we report on China. David Rennie and Alice Su host. Sign 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...

All is not well in the world’s most important relationship. China and America are at loggerheads over everything from trade to Taiwan.  For a special live show, David Rennie and Alice Su travel to Washington DC to find out how relations between the two superpowers deteriorated and what can be done to improve them. They speak to Evan Medeiros, a former top Asia advisor to President Barack Obama who is now a professor at Georgetown University. David and Alice also talk to a class of...

Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer* China is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The global infrastructure project is a keystone of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy and he has lauded the huge economic benefits the scheme has brought to the world. But enthusiasm for the BRI is fading at home. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, host the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In 2013, in an effort to bind China’s neighbouring countries more closely to Beijing, Xi Jinping ordered his officials “to warm people’s hearts and enhance our affinity, charisma and influence”. But his plan has not gone smoothly.  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and our Asia diplomatic editor, Jeremy Page, discuss why President Xi is finding it hard to win over China’s neighbours. Jeremy travels to Kazakhstan to hear why people are wary of China, despite increasingly...

More than a decade ago, Japan saw that China was becoming a threat to regional security. It sounded the alarm, but it took the West years to catch up. In the second episode of a two-part series, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, Alice Su, and our Tokyo bureau chief, Noah Sneider, discuss how Japan is changing its approach to Xi Jinping’s China, and they ask if the West can learn anything from Japan’s policy.  They speak to Suzuki Hideji, a former president of the China-Japan Youth...