The US-China decoupling fantasy, with Jessica Chen Weiss

中美脱钩的幻想,与陈洁薇

The Economics Show

2026-06-05

32 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Everything looks to be going China’s way: Beijing has a stranglehold on the world’s critical minerals, and its high-tech manufacturing has rapidly become world-leading. Its massive trade surplus is undermining vital industries in the rest of the world. Is this part of a Chinese masterplan for world domination? The truth is a little more nuanced than that. Soumaya Keynes speaks to Jessica Chen Weiss, director of the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. They discuss why decoupling is a “fantasy”, what “middle powers” are doing better than the US and the social and the domestic challenges that still hold China back. Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. Further reading A cold peace between the US and China is good enough Pete Hegseth says US-China ties are ‘better than in years’ America needs to put the renminbi back on the international agenda Hosted by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  • China seems to be in a strong position right now.

  • If anyone else tries to boss it around, it's got the ultimate move.

  • It can restrict supplies of rare earths.

  • The US wants to apply tariffs or export controls.

  • Nice little car industry you've got there.

  • Shame if anything were to happen to it.

  • The EU wants to force its manufacturers to diversify away from China.

  • Such a shame they can't get the inputs they need.

  • Given the high stakes, it is crucial to try to understand each other.

  • And it's become harder and harder in the West to argue that this isn't a zero-sum adversarial situation.

  • So, how should we understand China's economic diplomacy?

  • This is The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes.

  • I'm joined by Jessica Chen Weiss, Professor of China Studies and Faculty Director of the Institute for America,

  • China and the Future of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

  • Jessica, hello.

  • Hi there, great to be here.

  • Okay, so starting off with our very serious question.

  • On a scale of 1 to 10, how pleased is China right now with its position in the global trading system?

  • And maybe I would put it at eight.

  • Interesting.