Chinese leaders talk a big talk on the world stage, but its interior world is more subtle. Our speaker, David Ownby, lays out the landscape of China’s marketplace of ideas, introducing us to public intellectuals who talk past the Communist Party to advance alternative agendas. He will discuss the "republic of letters" in China that exists alongside Party-State propaganda organs. Genuine […]

The latest Xi-Putin summit, held right in the middle of Europe's biggest security crisis in decades, marked an important milestone in the China-Russia relationship. In what Xi Jinping described as 'back-to-back' strategic coordination in their fight with the West, Beijing openly supported Moscow's demands for' security guarantees' in Europe. This carefully planned display of unity […]

Mikko Huotari is the Executive Director of the German China-think tank Merics, based in Berlin. His research focuses on China’s foreign policy, China-Europe relations and global (economic) governance and competition. He has published on China’s rise as a financial power, trade and investment relations with Europe as well as on geopolitical shifts related to China's emergence as […]

Jude lays out a roadmap of this year's political hot ticket items and what to look out for, on the eve of the Two Sessions Meetings in Beijing. About our speaker: Jude Blanchette holds the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His book, China’s New Red Guards: The […]

Just before the curtain rises for the National People’s Congress, Changhao Wei will introduce the basics of the annual sessions, discuss the NPC’s legislative process and its role in Chinese lawmaking, and share some thoughts on several NPC-related trends that have emerged in the Xi Jinping era. He will also provide a brief overview of […]