logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
43m 54s

Checks and Balance: Pivotal partnerships

The Economist
About this episode

Another American administration, another much-vaunted pivot to Asia. Republicans and Democrats agree that America needs to respond to China's growing regional clout, but that's where the harmony ends. War in Europe is diverting attention, much of Asia has doubts about America’s reliability and China warns that any attempt to build an “Asian NATO” is “doomed to fail”. What is the Biden administration’s Asia strategy?


Scott Kennedy, senior advisor on China at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, assesses the administration’s long-awaited plans for countering Chinese regional influence. We find out how America pushed its Western defensive frontier all the way across the Pacific. And our US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch weighs up whether the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is a disappointing “nothing burger” or a vital seat at the table. 


John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.


For full access to print, digital and audio editions as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod. Subscribers can also sign up to our “Checks and Balance” newsletter at economist.com/newsletters



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Migration roots: the broken asylum system
Immigration is a political lightning rod in part because the ageing global asylum pact is no longer fit for purpose. We examine how best to update it. As paycheques for top-notch AI researchers go stratospheric, demand for rank-and-file coders is quickly cooling. And what a gimmi ... Show More
21m 49s
Yesterday
Sprawl of duty: Trump’s tariff drama
Once again President Donald Trump extended the deadline for spine-stiffening tariffs to go into effect on trading partners. We look at the effects of all the uncertainty. Brazil once dominated the world of football; we ask where it went wrong and assess the route to a comeback. A ... Show More
21m 53s
Jul 8
The French reconnection: Macron in Britain
Anglo-French relations have not been so good since before the Brexit vote. Beneath the state-visit pageantry, though, there is much co-operation for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss. Gangs have infiltrated many of Latin America’s mining operati ... Show More
21m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Checks and Balance: The great fall of China’s balloon
“If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country.” In his state-of-the-union speech earlier this week, Joe Biden promised to deal with any threat from China. The House has voted unanimously to condemn the CCP for flying a spy balloon over America. What’s ne ... Show More
45m 35s
Aug 2023
Money Talks: Is America’s China policy working?
When is economic decoupling not economic decoupling? When it drives your allies to tighter commercial links with your adversary. That’s the situation the US finds itself in today, when it comes to its policies directed against China. Since the Trump administration put tariffs on ... Show More
43m 49s
Sep 2021
China's Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia | Daniel Markey
In Episode 207 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Daniel Markey, Senior Expert on South Asia at the United States Institute of Peace who recently served as senior research professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and as the acade ... Show More
52m 4s
Feb 2022
How bad could China-US relations get? With Rana Mitter
This week marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's visit to China. In 2022, there are warnings the US and China are entering a new Cold War, while the latter's relationship with Russia is strengthening. The New Statesman’s senior editor of China and global affairs, ... Show More
23m 33s
Dec 2023
Biden and Xi mend ties
A recent visit to the US by China’s president Xi Jinping has raised hopes of a bilateral rapprochement. But how stable is this more positive relationship and can a conflict over Taiwan be averted? Gideon discusses these questions with Washington-based China experts Evan Medeiros ... Show More
30m 16s
Oct 2023
Drum Tower: Cracks in the consensus
At a time when Republicans and Democrats agree on very little, there is striking unity in DC about China. This week, we return to David Rennie in Washington DC, where he talks to senators and congressmen at the heart of China policymaking. We hear what brings the two parties toge ... Show More
30m 23s
Feb 2023
Drum Tower: Up in the air
Sino-American relations have been blown off course after the downing of a Chinese balloon.  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and our senior China correspondent, Alice Su, explore whether China and America are heading towards a stand-off and what needs to be don ... Show More
40m 45s
Mar 2024
A Journalist’s Take on the U.S.-China Relationship
Mike and Jude are joined by Demetri Sevastopulo, US-China Correspondent at the Financial Times. Demetri discusses covering China as a member of the news media and of what it takes to break news on China in a competitive market. Jude, Mike, and Demetri then exchange views on US-Ch ... Show More
34m 20s
Nov 2023
Extra: A Senator's Plan For The U.S. To Compete With China ... And Win
President Joe Biden attended the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in over a year.Just before that critical meeting, the FOX News Rundown's Jessica Rosenthal spoke with Louisiana Republican ... Show More
26 m