logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2020
24m 17s

Ai Weiwei: Huawei, Hong Kong and being a...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

China's rise to economic superpower status has not brought with it an opening up of politics or culture. Far from it. The Communist Party has intensified its efforts to suppress dissent of all kinds. Stephen Sackur speaks to China's most internationally-famous artist, Ai Weiwei, who now lives in the UK and not Beijing. He's a refugee and a migrant of sorts, so how has that affected his creative output?

Up next
Jul 6
Sir Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister: The UK needs strong international relationships
The UK needs strong international relationships Nick Robinson, presenter of the BBC Today programme and Political Thinking podcast, speaks to Sir Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, about the importance of maintaining strong international relationships.In an interview recorded to ma ... Show More
22m 59s
Jul 1
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister: Regime change is a futile exercise
Lyse Doucet speaks to Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, about the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and its government. The interview took place in the country’s capital Tehran after Iran’s twelve-day war with Israel. Both sides fired missiles into each other ... Show More
22m 59s
Jun 29
Philippe Kehren, CEO of multinational Solvay: Reducing reliance on China’s rare earth metals
Jonathan Josephs speaks to Philippe Kehren, CEO of chemical multinational company Solvay. His firm sits at the forefront of Europe’s efforts to diversify its supply of rare earth metals. These elements are essential to much of modern technology, from mobile phones to medical equi ... Show More
22m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2022
Xi Jinping’s plan for China
This month China’s President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a further five years as the country’s leader after the Communist Party abolished two-term limits. It opens the door to Xi continuing to rule for the rest of his life. His time in power has seen the country take a more ... Show More
49m 5s
Nov 2021
Where is China Heading?
Helen and David talk to Cindy Yu, host of the Chinese Whispers podcast, about the trajectory of Chinese politics. What is Beijing’s political strategy for Hong Kong and Taiwan? Is Xi Jinping really a socialist? Can the CCP escape its history? Plus, what’s the real reason Xi didn’ ... Show More
47m 31s
Jul 2012
China's Battle of Ideas
As China changes leadership, Mukul Devichand probes Beijing's hidden battle of ideas. Unlike the messy democracy of elections in the US or Europe, the Communist Party's "changing of the guard" this autumn is set to be a sombre, orderly and very Chinese affair. But the dramatic sa ... Show More
28m 14s
Mar 2023
How China Went From Economic Superstar to Faltering Giant
In just a few years, the narrative on China has almost completely flipped. The dominant sentiments in America had been awe, envy and a kind of fear. China’s growth seemed relentless. Its manufacturing prowess was lapping ours. It weathered the pandemic without the mass death seen ... Show More
1h 20m
Apr 2023
Schell on The Long Arc of US-China and Long Reach of Leninism
How did Xi Jinping’s formative years influence how he views the world today? Veteran China scholar Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, looks back at decades of writing and working on China, weathering the cycles of the country opening u ... Show More
1h 19m
Jul 2023
The China Threat
The government needs to radically change its approach to Chinese ambitions in the UK according to a report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. The report says Chinese investment in the UK has gone unchecked. It warns that allowing China to develop significant sta ... Show More
28m 39s
May 2024
Shadow War: China and the West
The rise of China is a defining challenge for the West. How far should it co-operate, compete or confront Beijing? And were Western countries slow to respond to China’s growing assertiveness? The BBC’s Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera, delves into the worlds of espionage, su ... Show More
49m 28s
Nov 2023
China – its poetry and economy
In the winter of 770 the Chinese poet Du Fu wrote his final words, ‘Excitement gone, now nothing troubles me…/ Rushing madly at last where do I go?’ Looking back at his life and work, the historian Michael Wood retraces Du Fu’s journeys across China. He lived through war and fami ... Show More
41m 33s
Jan 2023
Inside China’s global propaganda machine – with Joshua Kurlantzick
With China’s military and economic power continuing to grow, Katie Stallard speaks to Joshua Kurlantzick, a journalist and fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, about Beijing’s ambition to become an information superpower. They discuss his new book, Beijing’s Global Media O ... Show More
20m 57s
Jul 2021
China in Slogans
As the Chinese Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary, Celia Hatton looks at how party slogans reveal the turbulent history of modern China. Throughout its existence, the party has used key slogans to communicate policy and mobilise the country's vast population. These ... Show More
58m 1s