The Wire China Podcast
The Wire China Podcast is a weekly show that delves into China's economic rise and its global influence. Each episode takes listeners behind the scenes of stories covered by The Wire China, a digital magazine dedicated to explaining China's impact on the world. The podcast offers in-depth analysis and insights into one of the most significant narratives of our time.
Episodes
Survivor: China Industrial Policy Edition
In 2022, memory chip manufacturer YMTC looked like it was on the way out. The Chinese chipmaker had just been hit with U.S. sanctions and lost a major contract with Apple. But four years later, YMTC is now the third largest memory chip maker in the world. How did it survive?In this episode, reporters Rachel Cheung and Savannah Billman revisit her recent analysis of how YMTC survived not only U.S.
A Tale of Two Chipmakers
In 2021, a Chinese-American engineer founded a specialized semiconductor company in Belgium. A year later, a similar company opened in Fuzhou, China — partially owned by the same engineer. Was economic espionage involved?Reporter Noah Berman is back this episode with news editor Andrew Peaple to discuss the evolving case of chipmakers BelGaN in Belgium and GaNkool in China. Belgian authorities are
AI Safety with Chinese Characteristics
Early this summer, Anthropic's advanced AI model Mythos stunned the tech world by identifying thousands of previously unknown vulnerabilities across the internet and even in U.S. government systems. Across the Pacific, Chinese AI regulators were also paying close attention.In this episode, reporter Savannah Billman is joined by Kristy Loke, a MATS research fellow focusing on China’s AI govern
FCC vs the PRC
The main muscle of President Trump's second-term China policy isn't at the State Department. Nor is it at the Department of Commerce. Instead, it's the U.S. television regulator. Reporter Noah Berman and editor Andrew Peaple are back this episode to discuss Noah's analysis of how the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, headed by Brendan Carr, has come to be the lead agency
China’s AI-Loving Factory Heirs
China’s Gen Z factory heirs have a problem. They graduated into an era where high-tech robots and AI can usher in a new industrial revolution. But frustratingly, the factories run by their parents are too old-fashioned to ditch the pen and paper for profit.In this episode, reporters Peiyue Wu and Rachel Cheung discuss the tech-savvy Chinese who are trying to bring AI to the manufacturing sector. M
Hong Kong Plays the Shell Game
Birds of a feather tend to stick together, at least in the case of Chinese companies sanctioned by the United States. Our reporter Noah Berman found that many recently sanctioned firms actually share the same address, down to the same floor of a Hong Kong office building. This week, features editor Tom Mitchell and Noah Berman discuss his recent examination into how Chinese firms use Hong Kong-bas
China and Big Sky Country
Montana has been the unlikely source of America’s most influential China-hand senators. Somewhat paradoxically, it’s also one of the most pro-Trump — and tough on China — electorates in the country.In this episode, reporters Savannah Billman and Brent Crane discuss Brent’s recent reporting on why the Treasure State’s relationship with China appears to swing so widely between extremes. As U.S. nati
The Robots Are Coming!
China’s running, dancing, kung-fu fighting humanoid robots are better at being influencers than anything else. But soon they will have to get real jobs, and fast.In this episode, editor Tom Mitchell and reporter Savannah Billman discuss the explosive growth of Chinese humanoid robots this year. China expects to produce 100,000 of them, much more than anticipated, but is the technology developed en
China's Camera Wars on U.S. Shores
As U.S. restrictions complicate DJI’s expansion beyond drones, its camera rival Insta360 has gained an unexpected advantage among American consumers. In this episode, reporters Peiyue Wu and Savannah Billman discuss the surprising case of two Chinese companies going head-to-head over the U.S. market. As Peiyue wrote earlier this week, both DJI and Insta360 make cameras and drones — but only the la
Nvidia's Partner Problem
Nvidia has nearly 1,000 partners around the world, including over 100 in China. Some of these firms, according to a Wire China investigation, have close ties to China's military. What does this mean for Nvidia and the future of U.S. chip restrictions?This week, reporter Noah Berman and editor Andrew Peaple go behind the scenes of Noah's investigation into Nvidia's China partners, di
Live From Paris: Is China’s Consumer Sector Really That Bad?
China’s consumer economy is doing very poorly if you look at it one way: low consumption, deflation, and overcapacity. But popular — and successful — global brands like Anta Group and Popmart seem to paint a different picture. What’s really going on?Last week, The Wire editor Andrew Peaple joined Asia Society’s Paris Summer Summit and discussed Chinese market trends with Sandrine Zerbib, an expert
The Company that Cried Huawei
Before Nvidia won approval to sell more chips to China, it first told the U.S. government that Huawei sales would soar if it was kept out.This week, Noah Berman joins fellow journalist Rachel Cheung to discuss his scoop on one reason why the U.S. government gave Nvidia permission to sell its H200 chips to China last December: a report outlining the alleged threat to Nvidia's business if it co
The Organization at the Heart of China's Tech Complex
China’s leading science organization does much more than spearhead basic research. It runs universities, advises the government, and incubates leading technology companies in frontier areas such as quantum and AI.In this episode, news editor Andrew Peaple and reporter Savannah Billman discuss her recent overview of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A crucial engine behind China’s technological rise
Whatever Happened to Jupiter?
Jupiter Systems is an American company that makes video screen technology for the U.S. military. In 2024, the government discovered something shocking — it had been sold to a Chinese tech company years earlier.Reporters Noah Berman and Rachel Cheung are back on the podcast to go behind the scenes on their recent investigation into the sale of Jupiter Systems and how the United States government is
China's AI Pains and Gains
AI is driving layoffs and discontent across the United States. China wants to avoid the same problems — or is it already too late?Reporter Rachel Cheung and editor Tom Mitchell discuss her recent article on how much pain Beijing may allow AI to inflict on Chinese society in exchange for productivity gains. From the unemployed Chinese youths ‘squatting’ in their parents’ homes to the optimistic hus
How the PLA Tried To Get Nvidia's Chips
SALE: We’re offering your first month of The Wire China for just one dollar. More details below!For years, the United States has tried to stop China from getting its most advanced chips out of concern the technology could bolster the People’s Liberation Army’s capabilities. But the web of export controls it has imposed has not stopped the Chinese military from trying to get Nvidia’s products. John
When the Chips Are Down, Turn to China?
SALE: We’re offering your first month of The Wire China for just one dollar. More details below!The world is facing a global memory chip shortage, with companies scrambling to buy what they can. The crunch puts desperate U.S. firms in a bind: will they need to start purchasing chips from China?In this episode, reporters Rachel Cheung and Noah Berman discuss the rise and global allure of China’s h
The New AI Winners: Picks and Shovels
SALE: We’re offering your first month of The Wire China for just one dollar. More details below!Move over, DeepSeek and Minimax. Investors are flocking to a new set of AI winners: the Chinese manufacturers making circuit boards and other components that keep the world's AI models humming along. In this episode, reporters Rachel Cheung and Savannah Billman discuss the growing importance of the
A Troubled Road for TP-Link
SALE: We’re offering your first month of The Wire China for just one dollar. More details below!TP-Link is having a tough year. The California-based, Shenzhen-founded internet router company can’t seem to shake skepticism that moving to the United States means it is no longer Chinese.This week, reporters Noah Berman and Savannah Billman return to the podcast to discuss the strange story of TP-Link
China’s Missing Reporters
There are fewer U.S. journalists working in China now than at any point since the two countries normalized relations in the 1970s. Today, the New York Times has one reporter in the country, the Wall Street Journal two, soon to be one, and the Washington Post none.Features editor Tom Mitchell and reporter Eliot Chen return to the podcast to discuss Eliot’s investigation into why the journalist popu
Super Micro’s Super Smugglers
Another day, another AI chip smuggling ring has been busted by the United States government. But this one is different: for the first time, executives from U.S. server manufacturer Super Micro have been charged with selling NVIDIA chips to Chinese buyers — a violation of U.S. export controls.Reporter Eliot Chen returns to the podcast with editor Andrew Peaple to discuss how the operation worked, a
Crypto Leverage: a Controversial Chinese Export
In the high-stakes world of cryptocurrency, traders are writing big checks with borrowed funds — a risky investment trend known as leveraging. To understand whether this will help or hurt the industry, The Wire looks back at the trend's emergence in China.In this episode, we are joined by a new guest: journalist Grady McGregor, who discusses his upcoming piece on crypto leverage and its Chine
Chinese EVs are Charging Up for Canada
After so many years of Canada and the United States presenting a united front against Chinese electric vehicles, some were surprised by Canada's announcement earlier this year it would drop its high tariffs on EVs — and even allow them to set up factories.But, as reporters Eliot Chen and Savannah Billman discuss, security risks haven't disappeared as the tariffs have. In this episode, El
Chinese Solar's Sunny Future in Africa
China's solar imports aren't welcome everywhere, but that's not the case in Africa. Solar exports to the continent as a whole increased by almost 50 percent last year. In our latest episode, editor Andrew Peaple and reporter Noah Berman discuss his upcoming reporting on Chinese solar's booming sales to the continent. Solar proponents spy opportunity to improve electrical grids
The Hainan Spy Plane Crisis 25 Years Later
25 years ago, a Chinese and a U.S. plane collided over the waters off of China's southern coast. The Chinese pilot was never found, while the 24 surviving American crew members made an emergency landing on a Chinese military base on the island of Hainan.In this special episode, The Wire China kicks off our two-part oral history series on the Hainan spy plane crisis, a defining diplomatic test
The U.S.-China AI Scorecard
It seems as if everything is AI now — well, not this podcast. But you can't discuss U.S.-China relations without understanding which one is ahead in artificial intelligence. Who leads on the scorecard?In our eighth episode, reporters Rachel Cheung and Savannah Billman discuss Rachel's upcoming story on where the United States and China score across the stack of technologies and capabilit
Mules, Moonshine, and Magnets
Reporter Noah Berman and editor Tom Mitchell take us to small-town North Carolina, where a new magnet factory has set up shop. Vulcan Elements wants to make magnets without sourcing any materials from China — a difficult task, because Chinese companies monopolize the supply and production chain for the rare earths needed in the process.Also in this episode, an excerpt from this week's Q&A
AI vs The Big Screen
In our sixth episode, reporters Eliot Chen, Rachel Cheung, and Savannah Billman discuss the latest breakthroughs in Bytedance’s AI video generation tool, Seedance 2.0. The extremely lifelike videos went viral around the world, but also triggered existential questions for the film industry and the Chinese startups looking to make a profit from AI cinema. We also explore why AI diffusion in China is
How to Smuggle Chips to China
Smugglers in Texas, New Jersey, and New York. A mysterious Hong Kong client. And a plot to illegally sell Nvidia AI chips to China.In our fifth episode, The Wire China reporter Eliot Chen ventures into the criminal underworld with news editor Andrew Peaple. They discuss how Eliot mapped out an international smuggling ring busted late last year for sending advanced chips to Chinese customers. It&ap
Epstein and China
China's economic rise beckoned Jeffrey Epstein in the 2010s. Associates of the financier and sex offender, who made much of his money from advising billionaires, sought opportunities to connect him with a network of powerful men in China.Though no concrete deals ever materialized, the Epstein files demonstrate how power, connections, and opportunities flowed among the elite as China's st
A Tale of Two Exports
In our third episode, features editor Tom Mitchell is joined by reporter Noah Berman to discuss shifts for two of China's most consequential exports: military armaments and electric vehicles. Even as wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa raged on in 2024, newly released data for that year shows that China's arms exports decreased by ten percent as Xi Jinping's anti-corruption
Living a Double Life at Google
Welcome to the second episode of The Wire China podcast, in which we take you behind the scenes of the stories we cover each week in our magazine, thewirechina.com.In this episode, reporter Eliot Chen walks us through a true crime thriller with news editor Andrew Peaple. A mild-mannered Chinese software engineer working for Google in California schemes to make it big as a tech entrepreneur by sett
Robotaxis On a Roll
Welcome to the first episode of The Wire China podcast, in which we will take you behind the scenes of the stories we cover each week in our magazine, thewirechina.com.In this episode, news editor Andrew Peaple talks to reporter Rachel Cheung about her latest cover story on China's fast-growing robotaxi industry, and whether a recent spate of accidents involving self-driving cars will drive t
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