CSIS Pekingology
Podcast

Pekingology

China is one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, and it has never been more important to understand how the country is governed. Pekingology is the podcast that unpacks Chinese politics, the inner workings of the Communist Party, and how China's domestic and foreign policy will impact the world. Pekingology is hosted by Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS.

 

Pekingology is produced by Gina Kim.

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All Pekingology Podcast Episodes

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Pekingology

China's Church Divided

Henrietta Levin is joined by Paul Mariani who unpacks the Communist Party's views on religion, how the Catholic Church navigated the turbulent politics of 1980's China, and why the Vatican has renewed a controversial deal with Beijing.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — January 8, 2026

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

The Broken China Dream

Minxin Pei joins the show to trace the evolution of China's political and economic system through the post-Mao era, highlighting key moments in which the Party's efforts to strengthen collective leadership inadvertently planted the seeds of Xi Jinping's eventual power grab.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — December 11, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China's Demographic Dilemma

Henrietta Levin is joined by Philip O’Keefe to unpack the rapid aging of Chinese society; the impact of a shrinking population on China's politics, economy, and innovation ecosystem; as well as its trade imbalances and Beijing's global ambitions.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — November 25, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China's Africa Strategy

Henrietta Levin is joined by Cobus van Staden, Managing Editor of the China Global South Project, to unpack China’s Africa strategy, as well as China's bilateral ties with South Africa ahead of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. 

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — November 13, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

How Firms Serve the Party-State

Ning Leng joins the show to explore the relationship between politics and business in China, what the Party really wants from Chinese firms, and why a malfunctioning wastewater treatment plant in southwest China has so many decorative fish.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — October 30, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Behind the Scenes of U.S.-China Summitry

Sarah Beran unpacks the tough negotiations that set the stage for conversations between the two nations' leaders, what Chinese officials want most from these dialogues, and how President Xi has evolved as a diplomat over his long tenure.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — October 16, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China's Economic Transition

Dinny McMahon and Andrew Polk join the show to unpack the structural challenges facing China’s economy, why the next decade will be decisive in whether China can escape the middle-income trap, and who really matters when it comes to economic policy-making in Beijing.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin and Andrew Polk — October 2, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Who does Xi Jinping trust?

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Jon Czin, the Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and a fellow with the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — September 18, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

State of Play: Are U.S. tariffs bringing India and China together?

In this State of Play episode, Henrietta Levin and Rick Rosso discuss the China-India relationship, alongside host Will Todman. How real is the China-India rapprochement, and what does it mean for the United States?

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin, Will Todman, and Richard M. Rossow — September 5, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China’s Quest to Engineer the Future

In this joint episode between Pekingology and the ChinaPower Podcast, Dan Wang unpacks China’s monumentalism in its grand engineering projects, the advantages and consequences of building at such scale, China’s push to lead in key technologies, Beijing’s social engineering efforts, and much more.

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin and Brian Hart — September 4, 2025

CSIS Pekingology