East Asia Now

David Rennie on Reporting on China and East Asia at The Economist

David Rennie, current geopolitics editor at The Economist, shared how he stumbled into journalism as well as stories that have stayed with him over 20 years of reporting during his return to Wisconsin to deliver the CEAS Professional Lecture. He also delved into how both the US and China share some similarities despite their conflicting political ideologies, the intricacies of Chinese and American perceptions of their respective political leaderships, and the future of US and East Asia alliances. This episode was edited and mastered by Nate Gass.

Nick Lardy on Chinese Economics and U.S.-China Relations

Nick Lardy, nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), offered a brief origin story of his entry into the field of Chinese Economics, which involved an interesting piece of local Madison political engagement. He discussed his illustrious career across academia and think thanks, and gave us a breakdown on the ebbs and flows of the role of the private sector in China’s historic economic growth. Offering a corrective to misconceptions of China’s slowed growth and fundamental untrustworthiness, he also outlines how an increasingly hardline U.S. policy towards this rising global power could force it towards self-sufficiency in ways that would be detrimental to the U.S. economy. This episode was edited and mastered by Nate Gass.

John Fitzgerald on the History of Nationalism in China

John Fitzgerald, Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra, discussed his professional journey and his work on the development of Chinese nationalism. His foray into this field of study was a result of “serendipity and opportunity” involving an interesting convergence with a piece of UW-Madison history. He argues for the necessity of looking at the development of Chinese nationalism from a comparative perspective and the importance of continued U.S. engagement in the region. This episode was edited and mastered by Nate Gass.

Sarah Mellors Rodriguez on the History of Abortion in Modern China

Sarah Mellors Rodriguez, then Associate Professor of History at Missouri State University, joined David Fields, CEAS Associate Director, for a discussion on reproductive policies in the PRC. She shared the genesis of her first book, Reproductive Realities in Modern China: Birth Control and Abortion, 1911-2021 (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and explored the uneven trajectory of abortion from a banned practice to a staple reproductive healthcare service in China today. Listen to the full episode for a sneak peek of her current project and insights into conducting research in China! Check out Rodriguez’s earlier episode with the East Asia Now podcast from 2018: https://soundcloud.com/eastasianow/sarah-mellors-on-birth-control-in-china This episode was edited and mastered by Nate Gass.

Jean-François Di Meglio on China, the EU, and the US

In this episode, Jean-François di Meglio, the President of Asia Centre, discussed EU-China relations and his professional experiences in international finance with David Fields, CEAS Associate Director. Asia Centre is a Paris-based independent research institute which focuses on international and economic relations with countries in the Asia Pacific region, as well as the area’s sociopolitical developments. He offered an overview of the European approach to China, which is both similar and different to the US approach, and the ways it needs to adapt to preserve the interests of all parties and reduce conflict. Head to www.asiacentre.eu for a deeper dive into related topics, as well as information on an upcoming podcast and other projects.