The Belt and Road Podcast

Erik and Keren are joined by Dr. Keyi Tang, author of Power Over Progress, to examine one of the most consequential but often overlooked questions in development finance: who determines where externally funded projects are built?Drawing on geocoded data connecting subnational elections and development projects across 48 African countries, 175 elite interviews, and fieldwork in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia, Dr. Tang compares Chinese, World Bank, and OECD-supported development finance. The conversation moves beyond a simple China-versus-West framing to examine the domestic political structures that influence project selection, including ruling-party organization, electoral competition, local coalitions, and the political geography of strongholds and swing regions.They discuss why roads and other public goods may be directed toward politically valuable communities rather than the places with the greatest need; how Chinese and OECD accountability systems differ; and why external financiers cannot fully escape the incentives of the governments and institutions that select, authorize, and implement projects on the ground.Dr. Keyi Tang is assistant professor in the Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability at ESADE Business School. Her research focuses on the comparative and international political economy of development. She examines topics such as China's global economic strategy, structural transformation in the Global South, and the institutional factors contributing to resource misallocation. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Zambia, and Vietnam. She is the author of Power Over Progress: How Politics Shape Development Finance in Africa (2026). Recommendations:Keyi:The Pitt series on HBOKeren:Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia DunlopErik:Sheep Detectives on PrimeHappiness (1998 film)Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

This is Episode 2 of our sub-series "Environmental Issues along the Belt and Road." The series considers the complexities of Chinese actors’ impacts on the environment, extractive activities, & role in driving sustainability solutions from the sands of the Mekong River to lithium mines in Argentina. Since 2012, China has invested roughly US$4 billion in 12 nickel projects across Southeast Asia, with a major focus on Indonesia, which supplies 16% of global nickel production. In South America, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina— known as the Lithium Triangle—together hold over 54% of the world’s lithium reserves beneath their salt flats as of 2024, and China is the only country to have signed agreements with all three. In this episode, we explore what makes minerals “critical” to the energy transition, how China’s long-term industrial strategy and geopolitical struggles have (re)shaped global critical mineral supply chains, & how stakeholders in producer countries navigate trade-offs between economic development, sovereignty, & environmental and social impacts.Guests: Dr. Jing Li is a professor at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business and holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Investment Strategy. She also serves as the Co-Director of the Jack Austin Center for Asia Pacific Business Studies. Related reading here, here & here.Dr. Anastasia Ufimtseva is the Senior Program Manager for International Trade and Investment at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Her research explores global energy governance, trade & investment, the political economy of natural resources, & international development, with a focus on Asia. Related reading here & here. Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan (Zahwan) is a researcher at the Department of International Relations, CSIS Indonesia. His research areas cover sustainable development, critical minerals, & emerging technologies. Related reading here, here & here. Dr. Stella Juste is a researcher at CONICET (Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council). In a recent study, she applies dependency theory to identify a “double periphery” pattern in Argentina–China relations, particularly through lithium extraction & renewable energy projects. Related reading here.Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Keren speaks with Tayyab Safdar and Hasan H. Karrar about the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a 3,000 km Chinese infrastructure network project currently under construction in Pakistan and a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC spans energy, highways, railways, and ports, aiming to connect China's western regions to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan. For China, CPEC offers shorter routes for energy imports and trade; for Pakistan, it offers economic growth, industrialization, and greater regional connectivity. Tayyab Safdar is the Global Security & Justice Track Director; Assistant Professor of Global Studies & Engagements, A&S at the University of Virginia. His research explores the evolving dynamics of South-South Development Cooperation, with the rise of emerging powers in the developing world like China and India. His research also looks at the implications of increasing Chinese investment in developing countries that are a part of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), like Pakistan.Hasan H. Karrar is Associate Professor in the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore University of. Management Sciences. He researches transnational connections and geopolitical alignments between China, Central Asia and north Pakistan, as well as development, governance and securitization on state peripheries, and in the deployment and representation of Chinese economic and strategic power.Recommendations:Hasan:Study, think about, and pay attention to what is happening in PakistanVisit Pakistan!Tayyab:Pay attention to the local context (beyond nation-state-oriented views to more community-oriented views) when thinking about big projects like CPECAlso recommends visiting Pakistan Keren:Seeing China's Belt and Road, eds. Edward Schatz, Rachel Silvey (Oxford University Press, 2024)Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Beimeng Fu and Zhaoyin Feng join the Belt and Road Podcast to talk about durian, a tropical fruit most widely known for its strong and divisive odor. It's also a fruit in very high demand in China; the country consumes 1.5 million tons of durian per year. Beimeng and Zhaoyin talk about how Chinese consumption of the fruit is driving durian plantation expansion across Southeast Asia and what that means for the region.Beimeng Fu is an independent multimedia journalist and filmmaker based in Mexico. She previously worked as senior producer of original video and documentary production at Sixth Tone. Her work has been published by The Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, ABC News, South China Morning Post, among others. She co-publishes Far & Near, a visual newsletter about China from local perspectives.Zhaoyin Feng is an independent journalist and documentary producer, specializing in covering China and its place in the world. She has reported from the U.S., Europe, and Asia for a wide range of international media outlets. She previously worked as a North America correspondent and investigative documentary producer at the BBC World Service, reporting in both English and Chinese in digital, television, and audio formats.Recommendations:Beimeng:Welcome Me to the Kingdom by Mai Nardone (2023)Zhaoyin:Howtown show on Youtube from Adam Cole and Joss FongThe Present Past show on Youtube from JochemErik:Kendrick Lamar & SZA concertMinneapolis Juliet:Podcast episode on Initium where Beimeng and Zhaoyin discuss their research in Chinese (and try listening at 0.75 speed if you need to practice your Mandarin!) Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.socialThanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Mingwei Huang joins Juliet, Keren, and Sisi to talk about the social and racial dimensions of China's increasing engagement with Africa, with a focus on Huang's research in Johannesburg, South Africa. The discussion is inspired by Mingwei's recent book, Reconfiguring Racial Capitalism: South Africa in the Chinese Century (Duke University Press, 2024).Mingwei Huang is assistant professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Dartmouth University. She is an interdisciplinary scholar of race and migration trained in American studies and gender & sexuality studies. Recommendations:Mingwei:Made in Ethiopia film (2024)Keren:When Life Gives You Tangerines series on NetflixJuliet:Elizabeth Plantan, Wendy Leutert, Austin Strange, Pivoting to Overseas Development: International NGOs' Changing Engagement with China (2025)Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

This is Episode 1 of our sub-series "Environmental Issues along the Belt and Road"The series considers the complexities of Chinese actors' impacts on the environment, extractive activities, and role in driving sustainability solutions from the sands of the Mekong River to lithium mines in Argentina. China produces 80% of the world's solar panels, over 60% of all wind turbines, and more electric vehicles than the US and the EU combined. In this episode, we ask how China became so dominant in clean energy technology manufacturing, how its products are exported to other countries trying to transition their energy systems, and what impacts the clean energy tech sector is having in places where manufacturing occurs. We interview 3 experts in related topics: Anders Hove is Senior Research Fellow at the China Energy Research Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Previously, he was Project Director for the Sino-German Energy Transition project at GIZ, and a non-resident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Anders co-hosts the Environment China podcast. Related reading here, here and here. Dr. Cecilia Springer is a Principal at Global Efficiency Intelligence and Co-director of the Industrial Electrification Center. She has over 10 years of experience conducting technical research on energy policy and industrial decarbonization, with a regional focus on U.S., China, and Southeast Asia. She is a non-resident at the Global China Initiative (formerly the assistant director) at the BU Global Development Policy Center where she led the Energy and Climate research group and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Related reading here, here and here. Dr. Nikita Sud is Professor of the Politics of Development at the University of Oxford and Governing Body Fellow of Wolfson College. She is author of the books "Liberalization, Hindu Nationalism and The State: A Biography of Gujarat" and "The Making of Land and the Making of India." Her work explores the transition to renewable energy, and the institutional, political and financial mechanisms that underlie this in regions that are geostrategically crucial, while being environmentally highly vulnerable. We discuss her research on Rempang Eco City, a planned Chinese investment of Solar PV manufacturing in Indonesia. Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Justin Haruyama joins Juliet, Erik, and Sisi (welcome to our new team member/producer!) to talk about China-Zambia relations, from the history of Chinese aid in Zambia to the complex people-to-people relations that characterize this bilateral relationship.Justin Haruyama is an instructor of anthropology at The University of British Columbia whose research explores diverse forms of relationality enabled by Chinese-African encounters, ranging from intimacy and fellowship, to exclusion and xenophobia, to mutual dependence and obligation. He is currently working on a book entitled Mining for Coal and Souls: Modes of Relationality in Emerging Chinese-Zambian Worlds that examines the controversial presence of Chinese migrants and investors in Zambia today. Articles:Justin Haruyama, "'South-South' Capitalist Extractive Patriarchy" in Transforming Anthropology (2025)Justin Haruyama, "Jehovah's Witnesses Are Learning Chinese to Evangelize in Zambia" in Anthropology News (2025)Justin Haruyama, "Shortcut English: Pidgin Language, Racialization, and Symbolic Economies at a Chinese-Operated Mine in Zambia" in African Studies Review (2023)Recommendations:Justin:Sapiens Podcast (Justin's episode comes out in May!)Mingwei Huang, Reconfiguring Racial Capitalism: South Africa in the Chinese Century (Duke University Press, 2024)Di Wu, Affective Ecounters: Everyday Life among Chinese Migrants in Zambia (Routledge, 2021)Erik:The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)I'm Still Here (2024)Sisi:Jemima Pierce, The Predicament of Blackness: Postcolonial Ghana and the Politics of Race (University of Chicago Press, 2013)Juliet:Get on BlueSky!Northwestern University's 2023 commencement speech by Illinois governor JB PritzkerThanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Muyang Chen joins Erik and Keren to talk all things Chinese development finance, including her recent book, The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance (2024).Muyang Chen is an Assistant Professor of International Development at Peking University's School of International Studies. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of development, political economy, and international relations. She has been a visiting scholar at the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University, a visiting scholar at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and a pre-doctoral fellow at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University. Recommendations:Muyang:"Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective" by Alexander Gerschenkron (1962)Keren:"雍正王朝 The Era of Emperor Yongzheng" (drama series, can watch on YouTube)Erik:Great Photo, Lovely Life (2023)Thanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Enze Han joins Juliet and Keren to discuss all things China in Southeast Asia, from migration to tourism to pig butchering scams, and much more. Enze Han is Associate Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests include the international relations of East Asia, China's relations with Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian politics, and ethnic politics in China. Professor Han received a Ph.D in Political Science from the George Washington University. He is the author of The Ripple Effect: China's Complex Presence in Southeast Asia (2024).Recommendations:Enze:Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World by Roger Crowley (2024)Keren: 米拉蒂 (Milati) by Yan Geling (2023).Juliet:Global fertility has collapsed, with profound economic consequences. The Economist (2023).Ezra Klein: The Deep Conflict Between Our Work and Parenting IdealsYou're Wrong About: The Tradwife RisesThanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social

Jess DiCarlo joins Juliet and Keren for a dynamic discussion about China's identity as an infrastructural state, the myth of the debt trap narrative, cycling as method (and Jess's experience biking along the China-Laos train route), the impact of the BRI in Laos, and much more.  Dr. Jess DiCarlo is an assistant professor in Geography, Environment, and Asian Studies at the University of Utah. She has been a Wilson China Fellow, a Public Intellectual Program Fellow of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and the Chevalier Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Transportation and Development in China at the University of British Columbia's Institute of Asian Research in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. She holds a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado Boulder and a masters in development studies from the University of California Berkeley. Her research focuses on China, its borderlands, infrastructure, issues at the environment-society nexus, and China's global integration. DiCarlo is on the editorial board of The People’s Map of Global China (the launch of which we covered on this show) and its related Global China Pulse journal, and the co-founder of the Second Cold War Observatory and co-host of its podcast, The Roundtable podcast.Recommendations:Jess:Ecological States: Politics of Science and Nature in Urbanizing China by Jesse Rodenbiker Juliet:The Three Body Problem series on Netflix, adapted from the trilogy by Cixin LiuKeren:Peter Hessler's writings, specifically River Town, Oracle Bones, Country DrivingThanks for listening!Follow us on BlueSky @beltandroadpod.blsk.social