China In Context – Details, episodes & analysis
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China In Context is a fortnightly podcast by the SOAS China Institute (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) which offers expert analysis on the politics, economy, society, culture and history of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It features interviews with leading academics, researchers, journalists and other China-specialists from around the world.
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Involution and Lying Flat — The challenges for China’s young generation
Season 5 · Episode 199
vendredi 14 novembre 2025 • Duration 17:03
While young people around the world face growing difficulties finding work and coping with the cost-of-living crisis, the situation confronting China’s youth seems particularly acute. Years of pandemic disruption, economic slowdown and mounting social pressure have created a sense of fatigue and frustration for many. This has given rise to a new language of despair and dark humour. ‘Nei Juan’ (内卷) — or ‘involution’ — describes the exhausting, endless competition where everyone works harder yet gains less, a race to the bottom with no finish line. In contrast, ‘Tang Ping’ (躺平), or ‘lying flat’, signals quiet resistance: choosing to step back, do less, and let go of society’s impossible expectations. But is this realistic in a country with a limited social welfare safety net? Guest host Howard Zhang speaks with Dr Yuan Zhong from SOAS about her recent research in China, exploring what these buzzwords reveal about a generation under strain — and the country’s future.
Photo credit: leoon liang / Unsplash
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
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The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
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Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
Trade War Truce — and a Five Year Plan
Season 5 · Episode 198
lundi 3 novembre 2025 • Duration 30:42
China and the US reached a truce in their trade war at the recent meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea. And the two leaders even pledged to visit each other’s countries next year. But US tariffs on Chinese imports remain at around 47% — and a dispute over the export of US semiconductor chips to China looks set to continue. These tensions seem to have informed the Communist Party’s newly released proposals for China’s next Five Year Plan, which focus on innovation and making China technologically self-sufficient. But will this approach, along with promises to boost the private economy, help to tackle unemployment and sluggish domestic consumer spending? Minxin Pei, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California, and editor of the website China Leadership Monitor, discusses the prospects for Sino-US relations and the challenges facing China’s leaders.
Photo credit: Daniel Torok / White House
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
Rebooting China's Economy — Lessons from the 2008 Crisis
Season 5 · Episode 189
jeudi 8 mai 2025 • Duration 39:11
In the face of Donald Trump's tariffs, will China's plans to boost its domestic consumer economy succeed — or could the government in Beijing be tempted to introduce massive stimulus measures, as it did after the financial crisis in 2008? In this episode of China in Context, leading scholar Yasheng Huang, professor of global economics and management at MIT's Sloan School of Management, explains why China's political resilience in a trade war may be greater than its economic resilience — and argues that, despite the current obsession with high technology, reforms of land ownership and the rights of rural citizens and migrant labourers could be key to China’s long term economic prosperity.
Professor Huang's forthcoming book, Statism with Chinese Characteristics — a revised version of his 2008 work Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics — draws on lessons from China's response to the 2008 crisis to highlight the country's current challenges.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
Will China get old before it gets rich?
Season 3 · Episode 99
mardi 7 février 2023 • Duration 15:14
In 2022, China's population fell by an estimated 850,000 people, triggering dramatic reporting in the media. A headline in The New York Times said it heralded a demographic crisis. Reuters talked of "alarm", while a writer on the South China Morning Post insisted that the demographic shift marked "a watershed moment in Chinese history". In this podcast, Paul Hodges, Founder of New Normal Consulting shares his considered view of the demographic challenges faced by China. He is interviewed by Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
The significance of the white paper protests
Season 3 · Episode 98
mercredi 1 février 2023 • Duration 15:03
The international media asked an important question in November 2022: Is China experiencing the start of a revolution? The debate was sparked by the actions of protesters in many Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, holding up blank sheets of paper. Xi Jinping dismissed the so-called "white paper protests" as merely a sign of frustration by students and young people. But soon after they took place, there was a significant change in China's policy towards Covid-19. In this podcast, Professor Yuen Yuen Ang from Johns Hopkins University discusses the significance of the rallies with Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
Japan's relationship with China
Season 3 · Episode 97
mardi 24 janvier 2023 • Duration 15:12
In the view of Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, East Asia could be the next Ukraine. He has warned that "the situation around Japan is becoming increasingly severe with attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force." Mr Kishida has two countries in mind: North Korea and Japan’s long-term regional rival, China. The fear is that a war could break out, drawing Japan into the crisis. In this episode, Bill Emmott, Chair of the Japan Society of the UK discusses Japan’s dilemmas with Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine and a former Tokyo correspondent for the BBC.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
The threat posed by Covid over the Lunar New Year, 2023
Season 3 · Episode 96
mardi 17 janvier 2023 • Duration 14:49
There is a mood of anxiety as China celebrates the Lunar New Year. With families and friends gathering for a season of feasting, there is a worry that there could be a surge in Covid-19 infections, costing many lives. In late 2022, the Chinese government ended its so-called “Zero-Covid” policy and lifted travel restrictions. In this podcast, Mark Williams, Chief Asia Economist at Capital Economics discusses the outlook for the Spring Festival with host, Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
What are the economic implications of a Chinese attack on Taiwan?
Season 3 · Episode 95
mardi 10 janvier 2023 • Duration 12:29
There would be catastrophic consequences if China invades Taiwan and tries to reunify the island with the mainland by force. Taiwan has said it will fight back with advanced weapons supplied by the US. Joe Biden says the American military would become involved. As well as the human cost, the economic consequences would also be severe. In this podcast, renowned Sinologist Charles Parton considers if economic factors will deter a conflict. The podcast host is Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
Why Taiwan matters to the United States
Season 2 · Episode 94
mardi 13 décembre 2022 • Duration 14:58
The U.S. Department of Defense maintains that China is using increasingly aggressive and bullying behaviour on the Taiwan Strait and is planning an invasion. Beijing dismisses this as an exaggeration and berates the US for stirring up anti-Chinese feelings on the island. Meanwhile, other countries in Asia warn of catastrophe in the event of a war. In this podcast, Dr Zuri Linetsky of the Eurasia Group Foundation discusses Taiwan with host Duncan Bartlett.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
Britain’s aid relationship with China
Season 2 · Episode 93
mardi 6 décembre 2022 • Duration 14:20
Politicians in the UK are careful about how the official aid budget is spent. The money is expected to meet the needs of refugees coming to Britain, as well as helping people in regions affected by war, food shortages and natural disasters. In such circumstances, the government intends to slash aid to China. In this podcast, aid commissioner Sir Hugh Bayley discusses how the decision was reached with Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine.
For information about the SOAS China Institute Corporate Membership scheme, please contact SCI director Steve Tsang: steve.tsang@soas.ac.uk
________________________________________
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the speakers and are not necessarily those of the SOAS China Institute.
________________________________________
SOAS China Institute (SCI)
________________________________________
Music credit: Sappheiros / CC BY 3.0
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