logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
1m 7s

Coming soon: China, the new tech superpo...

Financial Times
About this episode

In a new season of Tech Tonic, longtime FT China reporter Jame Kynge travels around the world to see how China is pushing towards tech supremacy. Will China be able to get an edge in crucial technological areas? What does China’s attempt to leapfrog the west look like on the ground? A 6-part series looking at China’s tech industry.


Presented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.


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

Up next
Feb 11
A hedge fund’s $8bn bet on Venezuela’s Citgo
When the hedge fund Elliott Management pursued the acquisition of the oil refinery business Citgo a few years ago, the deal was already a complicated one. A US court had ordered its current owner, Venezuela, to sell the business, and the country was not happy about it. But, thing ... Show More
20m 1s
Feb 4
How the Federal Reserve might change under Kevin Warsh
US President Donald Trump on Friday made his pick to lead the Federal Reserve: Kevin Warsh. The former central bank governor with ties to Wall Street is seen as a mainstream pick. Still, some economists say if Warsh is confirmed, he will trigger a sweeping rethink of the Fed’s ro ... Show More
20m 42s
Jan 28
Can Wells Fargo make it in investment banking?
For more than 170 years, Wells Fargo built a reputation as an all-American Main Street lender. Now, it is charting a new path and pushing into investment banking, something that many other banks have tried and failed to do. The FT’s US banking editor Joshua Franklin and US bankin ... Show More
19m 56s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
China's race to tech supremacy: Shenzhen speed
<p>How did China go from tech imitator to innovator? The FT’s James Kynge reports from Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley, where he explores the city’s vast electronics markets with inventor Noah Zerkin, an American who’s based himself in China, visits robot start-up Youib ... Show More
26m 16s
Sep 2025
China and the limits of its ‘engineering state’. With Dan Wang
China has become a superpower because of its ability to build bridges, cars and electronics at an astonishing pace. But breakneck growth comes with problems. The country is grappling with overproduction and deflation, and policymakers in Beijing are attempting to jumpstart consum ... Show More
28m 24s
Oct 2025
Taiwan under threat: how strong are its defences?
Gideon talks to Taipei-based policy analyst J Michael Cole about how the Taiwanese are handling the threat of invasion from Beijing. Clips: APT News; RTI English.Free links to read more on this topic:TSMC’s stock market rally is a triumph of need over fearTaiwan accelerates ‘T-do ... Show More
30m 5s
Jan 2025
China’s DeepSeek AI triggers tech sell-off
<p>US tech stocks tumbled after advances by Chinese start-up DeepSeek ignited worries over whether America could sustain its lead in artificial intelligence. Latin American leaders will hold an emergency summit to respond to President Donald Trump’s mass deportations of migrants, ... Show More
10m 50s
Aug 2025
America's lawyers vs. China's engineers
America has a hard time building stuff. Roads. Trains. Bridges. Housing. Everything takes seemingly forever. Meanwhile, China seems to have no trouble at all: high-speed rails, solar panels, electric cars, bridges, ports, all churned out at breakneck speed. Why is that? Sean's gu ... Show More
51m 37s
Nov 2024
The geopolitics of chips: Taiwan’s ‘Silicon Shield’
<p>The global tech industry depends on Taiwan’s semiconductor chips and many believe the sector plays a key role in the island’s national security, helping stave off an invasion from mainland China. But as relations between China and Taiwan worsen, some countries are taking steps ... Show More
22m 45s
Aug 2025
If Americans Are Lawyers and Chinese Are Engineers, Who Is Going to Win?
The United States and China are constantly looking for a leg up in their rivalry for geopolitical primacy. But what if the real advantage lies in adopting a bit of the other’s culture? A new book makes the case that while China has become an engineering state obsessed with buildi ... Show More
44m 58s