European Guanxi Podcast

European Guanxi
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The European Guanxi Podcast explores current affairs underpinning EU-China Relations. It includes interviews with experts on EU- China Foreign Policy and beyond, offering listeners critical insights into the challenges and opportunities that characterize EU-China dialogue. It also provides a platform for the discussion of youth perspectives and experiences on EU-China Relations.

  1. Sep 2

    Translating Beijing: How Europe (Mis)Understands China with Lea Sahay

    In this episode, we welcome Lea Sahay, China correspondent for the German Süddeutsche Zeitung in Beijing. We talk about Lea’s experience as a journalist in a rapidly changing China over the past decade and explore what shapes Europe's image of China in a contradictory era of derisking, dancing robots, and China-maxing. We ask what European political delegations may miss about China’s societal model among high-tech factory tours, and look at the role journalism can play in translating a country full of contradictions. The conversation also asks where EU-China relations are heading looking forward and where room for engagement remains. Lea Sahay is the China correspondent of the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in Beijing and the author of “Das Ende des Chinesischen Traums: Leben in Xi Jinpings neuem China” (2024). You can follow Lea on Instagram @lea.sahay and subscribe to the “China und wir” Podcast on Spotify.

  2. Aug 25

    Italy's Ambassador to China: Inside EU-China Relations

    In Conversation with Ambassador Massimo For centuries, Italy and China have been linked by explorers, missionaries, and traders, from Marco Polo's journey along the Silk Road to Matteo Ricci's arrival during the Ming dynasty. Today, that relationship is carried forward through the essential role of diplomats, described by Ambassador Ambrosetti as "intellectuals in action," balancing intellectual and cultural depth with concrete, strategic results. How does the current security and strategic environment shape the way we understand European Union-China relations today? How does the European Union's framing of China as partner, competitor, and rival actually manifest in practice? And what can young Europeans learn about engaging with China diplomatically, at a time when artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are reshaping the very nature of that relationship? In this episode, we are joined by Ambassador Massimo Ambrosetti, Italy's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, a diplomat, scholar, and one of Italy's foremost experts on China. Ambassador Ambrosetti first arrived in Beijing in 1994 and has since built a career spanning the Permanent Representation of Italy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels, the Italian Embassy in Washington, and the National Cybersecurity Agency of Italy, before taking up his current post in May 2023. Hosted by Francesca Pala, this episode explores his personal journey with China, the historical roots of Italy-China relations, and how Italy positions itself within the broader European Union-China dynamic. Ambassador Ambrosetti also offers candid advice for the next generation of young Europeans preparing to navigate a diplomatic landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

  3. Aug 18

    EU-China Relations: A Mid-2026 Assessment | Jing Qian & Philippe Le Corre

    PARIS, July 9, 2026 — In this inaugural episode of the European Guanxi × Asia Society Policy Institute Center for China Analysis podcast series, host Xaver Haack, Secretary-General of European Guanxi, sits down with Jing Qian, vice president of the Asia Society and co-founder and managing director of the Center for China Analysis; and Philippe Le Corre, senior fellow for Foreign Policy and National Security at the Center for China Analysis, to unpack the state of EU-China relations in mid-2026. Recorded live at the Asia Society's Paris Summer Summit 2026, the conversation covers Europe's €360 billion trade deficit with China, the real drivers behind Chinese EV and solar overcapacity, the EU's de-risking strategy, prospects for clean-tech technology transfer, and Jing Qian's new framework for "rightsizing competition" between the US, EU, and China. A must-listen for anyone tracking EU-China economic relations, industrial policy, and transatlantic strategy in 2026. Visit the Center for China Analysis for more: https://asiasociety.org/km/node/32662?page=15 https://centerforchinaanalysis.asiasociety.org/

  4. Jul 31

    Inside the WTO: Chinese and European Reform Approaches

    The WTO is supposed to govern global trade relations. But that promise is increasingly under strain. Unilateral tariffs, a paralysed dispute settlement mechanism and deepening rivalry between major powers have pushed the WTO into deadlock, with reform now firmly on the agenda. What is really behind the WTO’s current crisis? How can China and the EU be characterised within it? What is important to consider when advancing WTO reform? And where does that leave the rest of the world, particularly the Global South? In this episode, Kiara Link hosts Dr. Clara Weinhardt, professor and researcher at Maastricht University. Together, they diagnose the WTO’s deadlock, contextualise China’s role within the institution and discuss how the EU and China might shape international trade relations under the “geoeconomic turn”, as growing economic uncertainty urges both powers to rethink their strategies. Thereby, Dr. Weinhardt shares insights from a Global South perspective to complement the dynamics of multilateral trade relations. Stay tuned as we unpack WTO dynamics from not only a Sino-European perspective, but beyond! Check out Dr. Weinhardt’s publications if you want to know more about the WTO and the EU’s and China’s role in international trade: Expanding the WTO’s Scope in a Shifting Geopolitical LandscapeRevitalising and Reforming the World Trade Organization in an Age of GeopoliticsThe WTO Between Two Worlds: Strategic Choices for EU Action

  5. Jul 20

    China's Influence in European Ports

    How can the EU balance economic pragmatism with strategic prudence when facing a growing Chinese interest in European seaports? What does it mean when China acquires port authority, and how can the EU react? Increasingly, Beijing's investment in European ports has revealed a sensitive structural dilemma, exposing not only differences between EU Member States but also a lack of a comprehensive strategy that organises an adequate response guaranteeing European interests. In this episode, Kiara Link and Ariel Cardozo Calatrava co-host with Marc Moquette and Simon van Oortmerssen from the China Knowledge Network to dive into Europe’s strategic response to Chinese investment in ports, its diverse stakeholders, and possible strategies for action. Stay tuned if you want to hear more about European port politics and dynamics!

  6. Jun 23

    The Coal Paradox: Inside China’s Contradictory Energy Future

    China is leading the world in solar, wind, EVs, battery storage, and clean-tech manufacturing. It is also adding coal capacity at a massive scale. How does that even work? In this episode of European Guanxi, Audrey Berder speaks with Belinda Schäpe from CREA about the real forces shaping China's energy transition; a story far more complex than conventional analysis suggests. Some key points of often omitted in this story: 🏭 Provincial governments and state-owned enterprises pursuing overlapping policy objectives 📊 How emissions have actually started leveling off despite coal expansion 💰 Clean energy becoming a genuine economic growth driver, not just policy implementation 🚗 The explosive rise of EVs and electric trucks reshaping industrial capacity 🔌 Battery storage solving flexibility challenges the grid desperately needs But here is what matters most: understanding China's transition means recognising the interplay of tensions and opportunities shaping energy markets globally. The implications extend across trade, industrial competitiveness, Belt and Road, green exports, and carbon markets. Europe must engage thoughtfully with China's transition, considering both competitive and cooperative dimensions. This is the China energy analysis the moment demands.

    The Coal Paradox: Inside China’s Contradictory Energy Future

  7. Jun 13

    The Future Beyond the Dollar Dominance - The Renminbi’s Global Ambition

    Are we witnessing the slow erosion of dollar dominance? For decades, the US dollar has been the undisputed backbone of the international financial system. Yet growing geopolitical tensions, sanctions, and shifting patterns of trade have posed a question once considered unthinkable: can the world reduce its dependence on the dollar? In this episode, we explore China’s ambitious effort to internationalise the Renminbi, the realities behind the de-dollarisation debate, and whether the future monetary order will be defined by a single hegemon or a growing constellation of competing currencies. Ariel Cardozo Calatrava hosts Marc Moquette and Simon van Oortmerssen from the China Knowledge Network once again, to unpack this complex interplay between political soft power and geoeconomics.

  8. May 14

    The Nickel Paradox: China, Indonesia, and the Green Transition

    Indonesia is now the world's largest nickel producer, supplying 64% of global output in 2024 — yet the mineral powering the EV revolution remains one of the most carbon-intensive to produce. Most of Indonesia's fast-growing nickel processing industry relies on captive coal, locking in one of the world's most carbon-intensive industrial pathways — and China, which controls about three-quarters of Indonesia's smelting capacity, sits at the centre of both the problem and its potential resolution. Audrey Berder speaks with Dr. Muyi Yang, Senior Energy Analyst at Ember, on whether the green transition can reconcile its own contradictions. An insightful conversation for anyone interested in critical minerals, EU-China relations, or the geopolitics of the energy transition.

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About

The European Guanxi Podcast explores current affairs underpinning EU-China Relations. It includes interviews with experts on EU- China Foreign Policy and beyond, offering listeners critical insights into the challenges and opportunities that characterize EU-China dialogue. It also provides a platform for the discussion of youth perspectives and experiences on EU-China Relations.

Information

  • Creator
    European Guanxi
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © European Guanxi
  • Show Website
    European Guanxi Podcast