Bank Balance: China Purges its Finances

In the sixth episode in our China Rules series, we examine China’s purge of its banks. China’s banks are three times bigger than the US banking system, holding assets worth $60 trillion – equivalent to half the world’s GDP.  But in the past year, Beijing has shuttered almost one-quarter of its smal…

The Rise of the Petroyuan: Who will win the Global Economic Order?

In the fifth episode in the China Rules series, we look at China’s efforts to reshape to global financial system.  One milestone has been the recent designation of Deutsche Bank as a renminbi clearing house.  China is pushing hard to increase its influence inside international institutions and to i…

Money (That’s What I Want): China’s New Investment Regime

In our fourth episode of the China Rules series, we look at the State Council’s brand-new rules on overseas investment. These formalize central control over outbound investment, addressing the Party’s concerns about sensitive technologies and data, while sending a chilling signal to Chinese tech co…

Out of Battery? China's EV Dreams Flicker

In the latest episode in our China Rules series, we look at the rise and potential fall of China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry. Once scoffed at by Elon Musk, China’s EV industry is charging ahead in international markets with its top car brand, BYD, selling more cars than Tesla in 2025. Massive …

Lightning Strikes: China’s Robot Revolution

In the second episode of our series, China Rules, we look at an industry dominated by China: humanoid robots. Beijing’s running, dancing and fighting robots are more than just a gimmick; the country’s 15th Five-year Plan puts robotics right at the heart of its modern industrial system. China alread…

China Rules: Autocracy for sale

In our new series—China Rules—we look at how China is a global exporter, not just of goods, but also of standards, ideas, technologies and mechanisms of control. We’re starting with politics, and whether China is exporting its brand of “smart authoritarianism”. China’s heady mix of extractive polit…

Little Red Podcast x Face Off

As an Easter treat, we're bringing you a cracking tale of espionage from one of our favourite China podcasts: Face Off. We'll be back shortly with a new season called China Rules. Espionage Two young CIA agents were flown to northern China in 1952, part of a bizarre Cold War operation to overthro…

State Capture or Mind Capture? China's Spy Strategy on 3 Continents

Britain is the latest country to be plunged into yet another espionage scandal after an MP’s husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Beijing’s long been known for its ‘thousand grains of sand’ strategy relying on amateur intelligence collectors, but it’s now increasingly employing co…

Bad Apple? How the World’s Greatest Company Changed Chinese Tech

In 2013, to mark International Consumers Day, China’s state-run TV network labelled Apple a ‘bad company’. More than a decade later, despite claiming to rely on multinationals from 50 different countries, Apple still has nearly 100% of its supply chain in China. In this episode, we look at how Appl…

Education Nation: China’s Exam Fetish

China’s college exam, the gaokao, is fetishized as the ultimate test, yet a lesser-known story is how it entrenches regional education discrimination. Its role at social engineering is also clear, with AI suddenly becoming the sixth most popular major in China, on command from above. This month, th…