China Considered

In a new episode of China Considered, Elizabeth Economy widens the lens from Taiwan to the broader Indo-Pacific with Isaac Kardon, a leading scholar of China’s maritime strategy, to examine how the United States and China are coexisting, conflicting, and sometimes confronting each other across the region. Drawing on his recent paper for the Hoover Global Commons project, Kardon explains why he calls China “hyper-sovereigntist”—opposed to conflict in principle but doing next to nothing to prevent it in practice—and lays out Beijing’s three security goals in the region: restoring sovereignty over Taiwan and other claimed territory, weakening America’s military position and alliances, and securing the trade routes and resources it would need to weather a prolonged crisis. The two discuss why the PLA has added no formal overseas bases since Djibouti in 2017, what Xi Jinping’s “Asian security model” amounts to, and how the second Trump administration’s treatment of allies has damaged U.S. credibility even as military cooperation deepens. Kardon also assesses the PLA’s readiness for operations against Taiwan, from cyberattacks and blockades to a full-scale invasion, along with how the Iran war has affected US readiness and whether Russia, Iran, and North Korea would join a conflict. They close with his recommendation of Emily Feng’s Our Hearts Burned for Home: Uyghur Militants in Syria’s Civil War and his advice for President Trump. Recorded on October 19, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In a new episode of China Considered, Elizabeth Economy sits down with Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, to assess why tension in the Taiwan Strait is markedly higher than it was a decade ago. Glaser lays out Xi Jinping’s strategy for making progress toward unification without firing a shot—military pressure, psychological warfare, efforts to divide Taiwan politically, and legal and diplomatic moves that erode its sovereignty—and explains why sweeping purges of the PLA and the steep costs of an invasion weigh against the use of force. The two discuss how the Chinese public views a war over Taiwan, the progress and gaps in Taiwan’s defense reforms and civilian resilience, and why Beijing’s interest in semiconductor chip foundry TSMC is not what drives its decisions. Glaser also reflects on why her research has drawn fire from both sides of the Strait, then assesses the second Trump administration’s approach to Taiwan and US allies and what depleted US munitions stockpiles mean for deterrence. They close with her recommendation of Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung’s China’s Global Strategy under Xi Jinping and her answer to the question posed by her book, US-Taiwan Relations: Will China’s Challenge Lead to a Crisis? Recorded on October 16, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In a new episode of China Considered, Elizabeth Economy sits down with Martin Chorzempa, the Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, to ask whether the United States and China are in an AI race—and, if so, what the prize is. Drawing on his work on Chinese fintech, Chorzempa explains how lessons from that sector’s boom and crackdown have shaped Beijing’s approach to AI, from registration and censorship requirements to quiet, behind-the-scenes supervision of its labs. The two examine why China may not be as far ahead in AI adoption as many assume and compare US labs’ proprietary models with China’s open-weight approach. Chorzempa outlines three races—for frontier capabilities, domestic diffusion, and international diffusion—and weighs the trade-offs of chip export controls before turning to what the new US-China AI dialogue could achieve. They close with Chorzempa’s recommendation of Ray Huang’s 1587, A Year of No Significance and his advice for the White House on AI strategy. Recorded on October 5, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

Economy sits down with Glenn Tiffert, a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution, to examine what China wants in the Arctic and what it can currently do there. Tiffert distinguishes the limited military presence he describes from the longer-term capabilities China is developing through scientific research, ice-capable ships, and commercial activity. The two discuss the potential military uses of Arctic research, China’s efforts to gain a greater voice in regional governance, and how investment restrictions have redirected its activity toward Russia. They explore the opportunities and obstacles facing Arctic shipping between China and Europe, alongside the limits of Beijing’s partnership with Moscow. They also consider the US approach to Greenland, scientific research, and cooperation with Arctic allies, before closing with Tiffert’s recommendation of Logan Wright’s Broken China and reflections on China’s technological dependencies and domestic challenges. Recorded on September 24, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In a new episode of China Considered, Elizabeth Economy sits down with Logan Wright, partner at Rhodium Group and author of the forthcoming book Broken China: How the Economic Miracle Shattered and What It Means for the World (Polity, 2026), to reconcile the competing narratives about China’s economy: inexorable rise, “K-shaped” growth, or “peak China.” Wright argues that the financial system that once fueled China’s growth now constrains it—after the largest single-country credit expansion in more than a century, Beijing keeps rolling over loans to unproductive state firms rather than absorbing losses, leaving it unable to fund the sectors that could drive future growth.  The two discuss why household consumption is stuck at roughly one percent growth, how Xi Jinping’s centralization of power has created new financial risks and stalled structural reform, the demographic and youth-employment squeeze produced by a capital-intensive growth model, and what signals would indicate a real change of course in Beijing. They close with Wright’s assessment of what the Trump administration has gotten right and wrong on China, why a coordinated allied response to Chinese exports matters more than unilateral tariffs, and what he is watching for at the upcoming Trump–Xi summit. Recorded on September 4, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In a new episode of China Considered, Elizabeth Economy sits down with Jonathan Fulton about China's role in the Middle East. Recorded just after a ceasefire reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the conversation begins with the war's toll on the region and the sense among Gulf governments that, however reluctantly, they are doubling down on the United States as the only power able to provide security at scale. Fulton argues that China's presence in the region is overwhelmingly economic—energy, trade, infrastructure, surveillance and digital technology—more so than Beijing being a key diplomatic or security actor. The two examine the 2023 Saudi-Iran agreement, questions about a Chinese facility in Abu Dhabi, the role of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and how issues like Xinjiang are received across the Arab world. He discusses where China currently stands relative to the U.S. and other powers in the region and where US and Chinese interests in the region might align. Recorded on June 15, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In this episode, Elizabeth Economy sits down with former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell to talk about his distinguished career, Indo-Pacific strategy, and the recent presidential summit in Beijing. They start by talking about Campbell’s early years in government, including his experience in military diplomacy negotiating with both the Chinese and Taiwanese. The two then discuss the current impact the war in Iran is having on both China and the broader geostrategic relationship as it pertains to the Trump-Xi meeting; Campbell describes the Chinese perspective as President Trump arrived in Beijing as a “correlation of power in many respects has shifted against the president”. In the broader strategic context, Economy and Campbell then emphasize the importance of working together with allies and partners, even if a current overarching strategy is lacking. The two conclude by discussing what the US role in Asia, and the international system, may look like going forward, and how it has already changed.  Recorded on May 14, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In this episode, Liz Economy sits down with Sarah Beran, a veteran US Foreign Service officer who served across six administrations, most recently as senior director for China and Taiwan at the National Security Council under President Biden. Beran traces her career from post-9/11 stints in the Middle East and South Asia, discussing how working outside of China early in her career gave her a sharper sense of how third countries assess their own interests when caught between Washington and Beijing. With experience across multiple administrations, the two touch on the contrasts between Republican and Democratic approaches to China policy, with Beran arguing that the ideal sits somewhere in between. The two conclude by looking ahead to the Trump-Xi summit and what possible outcomes we may or may not see. Recorded on May 12, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

In this episode of China Considered, Dr. Elizabeth Economy speaks with Randy Schriver and Mike Kuiken of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission about national security and economic policy towards China, and how the two are intertwined. They explain how the Commission monitors emerging risks, from advanced technologies like AI and quantum computing to vulnerabilities in supply chains and tracking scam centers abroad, culminating in a yearly report to Congress.  The conversation touches on the current US approach to “economic statecraft” and whether a more coordinated framework for export controls, sanctions, and trade policy could be beneficial. The discussion broadens to include rising geopolitical tensions—particularly around Taiwan—alongside China’s support for Russia and Iran and the implications of their growing coordination, concluding with an emphasis on the importance of better aligning US domestic capabilities and strengthening alliances to compete effectively in both economic and security domains. Recorded on April 27, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with Nadia Schadlow, former deputy national security advisor for strategy in the first Trump administration and author of the influential 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS). Schadlow reflects on how the NSS was architected around the shift toward great power competition and America's four core national security interests: protecting the homeland and way of life; promoting American prosperity; preserving peace through strength; and advancing American influence. The conversation moves through key differences between the first and second Trump administrations, including process, tone, and the role of ideology in foreign policy, before turning to a substantive debate about the limits of multilateral institutions and Schadlow's argument in a recent Foreign Affairs essay that state-centric approaches can outperform global governance frameworks. Economy and Schadlow also assess the strategic landscape ahead of a potential Trump-Xi summit, discussing where US leverage is real, where it may be overstated, and whether tariffs alone can move China's economic model. They close with a shared critique: that the United States has consistently failed to develop a coherent, assertive diplomatic and development strategy to compete with China's Belt and Road Initiative. Recorded on April 2, 2026. ABOUT THE SERIES China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.