After months of weak economic performance, Beijing has introduced a series of measures aimed at stabilizing the economy. They include a 10 trillion yuan local government debt restructuring package. To shed light on the blatant levels of local government indebtedness, Claudia Wessling, Director Communications and Publications at MERICS, talks to Vic…

What will the renewed election of Donald Trump to the White House mean for the United States’ already complicated relations with China? How does China discuss Trump, both on an informal and expert level, but also in the official realm? And how does all of this concern the EU and member states? To answer these questions Claudia Wessling, Director Co…

Building resilience, i.e., the ability to manage risks without compromising long-term development, is at the heart of Europe’s adjustment of its China policy. To contribute to this process, we recently launched the MERICS Europe-China Resilience Audit, which is based on a database of 98 indicators for the economy, security, politics and society. Th…

Beijing’s global push to establish a global network of ports with Chinese involvement is slowing. Today’s guests Clark Banach, Program Director at the Alethia Research Institution and former MERICS Futures Fellow, and Jacob Gunter, Lead Analyst at MERICS, discuss the development and changes in China’s global infrastructure investments. In this conv…

The rivalry between the US and China about technological and military leadership has one key component: export controls. What is the cutting edge of the United States’ export controls? What do they entail and what role do Washington’s international partners play? Can and will they be effective? In this episode, MERICS Lead Analyst Rebecca Arcesati …

China ist zu einer bedeutenden Wissenschafts- und Technologiemacht geworden. Über Chinas Streben nach Unabhängigkeit in kritischen Technologien wie künstliche Intelligenz, Quanten- oder Bio-Technologie spricht Johannes Heller-John mit Antonia Hmaidi, Senior Analystin am MERICS. Sie leitet die Daten-Taskforce des Instituts und das vom Bundesminister…

Over the last decade, China’s arms makers have gone beyond solely supplying the People’s Liberation Army and began to look for overseas markets to supplement sales and support Beijing’s geopolitical goals. Arms sales are an often-overlooked aspect of China’s global security and economic footprint and can present challenges to European policy makers…

Das Jahr 2024 birgt viele Unsicherheiten für China: Die wirtschaftliche Lage im Land ist schwierig. Vielschichtige Konflikte auf regionaler und internationaler Ebene und die Ergebnisse der Wahlen in der EU und den USA werden sich auch auf China auswirken. Wie geht Beijing die Herausforderungen an? Podcast-Moderator Johannes Heller-John spricht mit …

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius' trip to the Asia-Pacific region in recent days shows that the region is becoming increasingly important for Germany and Europe. The trip took place against the backdrop of growing tensions in the region, particularly in the South China Sea. Beijing’s claims in the waters are far reaching and cover nearly 90 …

China’s foreign policy has grown more assertive and confident under the leadership of Xi Jinping. How has China’s foreign policy evolved and what does this mean for European interests? Johannes Heller-John talks to Akio Takahara about the rivalry between China and the United States, China’s relations with Russia, the meaning of the Global South in …

The Chinese leadership has met in Beijing for the long awaited Third Plenum - a key meeting happening once in five years of the formally highest authority of the Chines Communist Party, the Central Committee. It was a chance to lay out policy decisions to address the many issues the country is facing, including sluggish growth, rising government de…

The long awaited third plenary session of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party will kick off on July 15. In the four-day meeting its 376 members will vote on programmatic decisions prepared by the Politbureau that will aim to solve the pressing economic and social issues the country currently faces. Johannes Heller-John talks with K…

As the status quo in the Taiwan Strait is increasingly unstable, what can we expect from Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te when it comes to navigating relations with China? How will the results of the EU elections affect Europe’s policies vis-à-vis Taiwan? And how might a change of government in the United States impact the situation? These are s…

Chinese investment in Europe has hit a new low according to a new study by MERICS and Rhodium Group on China’s Foreign Direct Overseas Investment in the 27 EU member states and the UK. It is the lowest level of investment since 2010. In Hungary, however, investments drastically increased and made up just under half of all FDI in Europe in 2023. Whe…

Ahead of the European Parliament election on June 6-9, 2024, this episode looks at the role of the European Parliament in EU-China relations and the possible impact of the election results on the European “de-risking” agenda among other topics. Johannes Heller-John talks to Ivana Karásková and Grzegorz Stec. Ivana is a European China Policy Fellow …

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Beijing in May to meet with China’s leader Xi Jinping. This will be Putin's first foreign trip after his reinauguration on May 7. The meeting will be another chance for the two leaders to emphasize how important and close the “no limits” partnership of Russia and China is. In this episode of our pod…

In this year’s government work report at the National People's Congress, the issue of science and technology was mentioned more often than any other. Why does the Chinese government put so much focus on science and technology? What does this mean for other pressing issues that the Communist Party is facing? And what does it mean for Europe and the …

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, has held its yearly session in Beijing from the 5th to the 11th of March. This episode looks at what we have learned from this year's NPC and its repercussions for China and Europe. Johannes Heller-John is joined by MERICS Lead Analysts Nis Grünberg and Jacob Gunter. They argue that sci…

The high-level EU-China people-to-people dialogue is planned to be resumed this spring. The last installment happened in 2020, and this podcast episode looks at the relevance and aims of the format and what might be considered as a successful outcome. Claudia Wessling, MERICS Director of Communications and Publications, is joined by Jean-Louis Rocc…

Obtaining crucial information from and on China is becoming increasingly difficult for governments, businesses and researchers alike. “Geopolitics is a big factor,” says MERICS Associate Fellow Vincent Brussee “but there are many other dynamics that are intrinsically tied to how the Chinese political system works.” He is the co-author of a recent M…

Beijing’s industrial policy increasingly puts the focus on the cultivation of high-tech small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This MERICS Podcast episode looks at the emergence of China’s “Little Giants,” as well as Beijing’s goals, key policies, and implications for foreign companies. We also delve into developments in medical technologies, o…

What are the most pressing issues in EU-China relations in 2024? What does Europe need to focus on in managing relations with China? How might China seek to exploit the campaign season, in which Europe will be preoccupied with its own problems? In this podcast, Abigaël Vasselier, Director Policy & European Affairs/Head of Program Foreign Relations …

Shortly before the presidential elections on January 13, author and journalist – and former MERICS Senior Policy Fellow – Angela Köckritz travelled to Taiwan to follow the debates on the ground. In this MERICS podcast, she talks to Claudia Wessling about an exciting head-to-head race, Taiwan's approaches to deal with increasing disinformation and f…

China is an important source of cyberattacks on Europe and institutional changes have created a more flexible and sophisticated state-affiliated Chinese hacking scene. What differentiates Chinese hacking from that of other actors? What are its goals? And how can we deal with it? Antonia Hmaidi, Analyst at MERICS with a focus on China’s internet inf…

European countries have become more aligned on how to deal with China in the past years, but national approaches towards the country still vary. In this episode, we zoom in on Austria, Denmark, and Ireland and how their relationships with China have evolved, how they work with Brussels on China issues, and what is in store for the near future. Joha…