This week on Sinica, I'm joined by Lizzi Lee, fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute and by my lights one of the most astute, well-informed people writing on China in the English-speaking world today. She has fascinating perspectives on China's preparations for the Trump administration, on China's reluctance to roll out large-scale cash stimulus, and Xi Jinping's challenges. Don't miss this one! (I will update the show notes and publish the transcript early next week — thanks for your patience!)
3:39 – Lizzi’s argument from her op-ed, “Counting the Hawks in the Trump 2.0 Administration is Pointless”: the importance of which country will be able to get its act together
10:25 – U.S.-China competition as a long game, from China’s perspective
14:22 – How China views the current state of division in American politics
19:00 – The main risks and opportunities for China presented by Trump’s return, including opportunities in the geopolitical realm with the Europeans
28:09 – The state of China’s domestic economy
33:28 – Counterarguments to critiques of China’s cautious deployment of stimulus, and where Lizzi stands on the issue
43:46 – Lizzi’s thoughts on deflation in the Chinese economy
49:30 – The idea of accepting short-term pain for long-term gain in economic recovery
53:59 – Xi Jinping’s vision for China’s economy
58:46 – How Xi Jinping’s ideological language can be challenging for officials and markets
1:03:57 – How China’s political calendar has hindered execution of policy
1:06:42 – What Lizzi thinks the Chinese leadership should prioritize now
Paying it Forward: Lizzi recommends the work of Barclay Bram, especially his series on Chinese youth at the Asia Society here.
Recommendations:
Lizzi: Grazia Ting Deng’s book Chinese Espresso: Contested Race and Convivial Space in Contemporary Italy
Kaiser: More historical fiction by Robert Harris, including An Officer and a Spy and Munich.
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