85 episodes

China has emerged as one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, making it more important than ever to understand how the country is governed. True to the name Pekingology, or the study of the political behavior of the People’s Republic of China, this podcast aims to unpack the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party and implications these actions have within China and for U.S.-China relations. Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, is joined by various experts to analyze the activities of the Chinese governing system and how these impact the complex relationships relating to China.

Pekingology CSIS

    • Government
    • 4.7 • 94 Ratings

China has emerged as one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, making it more important than ever to understand how the country is governed. True to the name Pekingology, or the study of the political behavior of the People’s Republic of China, this podcast aims to unpack the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party and implications these actions have within China and for U.S.-China relations. Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, is joined by various experts to analyze the activities of the Chinese governing system and how these impact the complex relationships relating to China.

    China's Extreme Inequality

    China's Extreme Inequality

    In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by the Andrew Walder, Denise O'Leary & Kent Thiry Professor at Stanford University, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies. Today they discuss his article “China’s Extreme Inequality: The Structural Legacies of State Socialism.” (The China Journal, July 2023)

    • 39 min
    Understanding China's Regionally Administered Totalitarianism

    Understanding China's Regionally Administered Totalitarianism

    In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Chenggang Xu, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions and Visiting Fellow at Hoover Institution of Stanford University to discuss the institutional underpinnings of China’s political economy. What explains the Communist Party’s ongoing resilience? Why did China pivot away from the economic reforms that had generated so much wealth for the country and the government? Xu advances the framework of “Regionally Administered Totalitarianism” (RADT) to describe China’s political economic transition during the reform period. He is also author of the forthcoming book Institutional Genes: The Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) exploring these questions.

    • 1 hr 1 min
    Overcapacity

    Overcapacity

    In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette,is joined by Yanmei Xie, Geopolitics Analyst with Gavekal Research, who has recently been publishing articles at Gavekal and the Financial Times. Today, Jude and Yanmei discuss her recent client notes on Chinese overcapacity and its EV sector.

    • 33 min
    China's New Domestic Politics

    China's New Domestic Politics

    In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Evan Medeiros, The Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies at Georgetown University. During the Obama Administration, Evan was on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia and special assistant to the president and Senior Director for Asia. They discuss his recent report “The New Domestic Politics of U.S.-China Relations” published by the Asia Society Center for Public Analysis. 

    • 36 min
    Xi’s New Growth Synthesis

    Xi’s New Growth Synthesis

    In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Andrew Batson, China Research Director at Gavekal Dragonomics to discuss his recent blog post entitled “Xi’s New Growth Synthesis.” He also publishes The Tangled Woof blog, and wrote the enlightening post “Some Cadres Cannot Keep Up.”  

    • 43 min
    Will Sanctions Deter China?

    Will Sanctions Deter China?

    In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security to discuss her recent report entitled “No Winners in This Game: Assessing the U.S. Playbook for Sanctioning China.”  

    • 35 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
94 Ratings

94 Ratings

Music Critic8390 ,

Excellent content. Let’s not ask too many compound questions.

As an Americans who lived in China for 5 years, I’ve enjoyed listening to the insights from various guests on the podcast. They’ve given people like me who follow China affairs some food for thought.

Although the content has been excellent, I would agree with the previous comment and strongly suggest to not continuously ask compound questions. I feel that if I was also a guest on the show like many previous others, I would feel the compound questions to be a bit long-winded.

Whenever listening to a podcast, I want to feel that the guest(s) and the host are having a conversation around a theme that allows us to hear stories or perspectives we haven’t been exposed to. At the same time, many listeners want the conversation to keep progressing.

Lastly, as a guest I would prefer the host to ask concise questions. It’s perfectly acceptable to have conversations in between questions for a few seconds, but it shouldn’t become too sidetracked. A guest should walk away feeling good about the conversation, feel their insights were valued, and want recommend them podcast to others.

Overall, I wish this podcast nothing but success and hope that it becomes one of the best China-focused podcasts.

brosephwalsh ,

Pronunciation

Difficult to trust anyone on China who can’t pronounce it’s cities and provinces correctly.

gjsixhujd ,

Pros: informative. Cons: unnecessarily convoluted.

I get lots from this show and love the choice in guests. I feel I’m getting read into the most current academic discourse on China.

A few critiques: please stop asking compound questions; please contextualize the discussions a little better for the audience; and, if this podcast is intended for a broad audience, simplify and expand the scope of the discussion.

Top Podcasts In Government

Strict Scrutiny
Crooked Media
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
5-4
Prologue Projects
U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Oyez
The Chris Plante Show
WMAL | Cumulus Podcast Network | Cumulus Media Washington
Future Hindsight
Future Hindsight

You Might Also Like

ChinaPower
CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies
China Global
The German Marshall Fund
The Asia Chessboard
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Sinica Podcast
Kaiser Kuo
ChinaTalk
Jordan Schneider
Asia Geopolitics
The Diplomat

More by CSIS Center for Strategic and International Studies