Semiconductors, EVs, AI, TSMC, BYD, DeepSeek...

In a time when trade, technology, and global power dynamics are more interconnected and in flux than ever before, we turn to an expert on all those things on this episode: John Lee, a leading voice on high-tech industries in China and the region, and on how they impact foreign relations.

John is the 2025 TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Switzerland, which means he'll be around frequently this year to explore key global challenges, geopolitics, and the impact of technological advances on it all.

He has also been named a Fellow at Asia Society's Center for China Analysis. The TOY Senior Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Max and Monique Burger & the "Thinking of Yves" Family, Hong Kong. He will provide analysis on a range of technology and political issues including semiconductors, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, national security matters, and the evolving role of technology in geopolitics.

John Lee will be one of four debaters at our Oxford Debate LIVE, on April 7, 2025, in Zurich. The question up for debate: will innovation made in China change the world? Find all information on this live event on our website. Or click here to secure your tickets right away.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 8 - Published: March 4, 2025
Hosts: Nico Luchsinger and Remko Tanis, Asia Society Switzerland
Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

For years, for most of us, news on global trade mostly hid out in the pages of The Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times. Not anymore. as the U.S. is threatening and hitting friend and foe with punitive tariffs. The rules-based system that has been governing global trade seems to be evaporating in front of our eyes.

What does that mean for consumers, companies, and governments in Europe and Asia? Hear insights from both continents. Renowned trade policy experts Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, and Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, try to make sense of the rapid changes.

The conversations were recorded as part of the latest episode of our online series A Closer Look. That video is available on our website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 7 - Published: February 18, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Late last year, at our annual STATE OF ASIA conference, we hosted a conversation on the economic developments in Japan, China, and India.

After decades of stagnation, Japan’s economy is showing optimism from structural shifts like labor market reforms and wage increases that are finally starting to pay off.

In China, growth has peaked and the government is yet to succeed in convincing its population it’s okay to spend money.

All the while, India is now the fastest-growing developing economy and scrambling to shed its protectionist past in order to create a lot more much-needed jobs.

This, and much more, was discussed in three 12-minute conversations by:

• Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Alicia García Herrero, Chief Economist Asia Pacific at Natixis
• Yumiko Murakami, General Partner at MPower Partners Fund, L.P.

More information on the conference, the speakers, plus videos and summaries, are available on our website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 6 - Published: February 11, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

Kaiser Kuo, host of the long-running Sinica podcast, joins us in Zurich to discuss the evolving narrative on China, and why the West is so often 'stunned' by Chinese breakthroughs in electric vehicles, green technology, or, most recently: AI, with DeepSeek.
We explore the reasons behind the challenges of reporting on China, the importance of strategic empathy, and the shifting dynamics of global influence, particularly in relation to American exceptionalism.

Recommendations mentioned at the end of the episode:

• Chartbook, by Adam Tooze
• Pekingnology and The East is Read, by Zichen Wang
• Interconnected, by Kevin Xu
• Baiguan, by Robert Wu
• Chinese Cooking Demystified
• Playground, by Richard Powers
• Dal recipe

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 5 - Published: February 4, 2025
Hosts: Nico Luchsinger and Remko Tanis, Asia Society Switzerland
Editor: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

India and Indonesia, the juggernaut democracies of South and Southeast Asia, both ended 2024 with new governments that hold new ambitions. How will this pan out in the year to come?

We talked about this with Dewi Fortuna Anwar, one of Indonesia’s foremost foreign policy experts; and Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund. The conversation is moderated by James Crabtree, 2024 TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Switzerland, and was recorded at the third edition of our STATE OF ASIA conference, held last November in Zurich.

More information on the conference, the speakers, plus videos and summaries, are available on our website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 4 - Published: January 28, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

We check in with Schoni Song in Seoul, to discuss this morning's unprecedented arrest of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is accused of leading an insurrection. How have people in South Korea responded to the news, and what could come next?

Schoni is a former colleague at Asia Society and was a speaker in our 2023 webcast A Closer Look at South Korea.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 3 - Published: January 15, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

China is undergoing unprecedented changes domestically, while also dealing with the challenges of a volatile world.

Listen to Qing Wang, host of the popular Chinese-language podcast The Weirdo; Zichen Wang, Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization; and Adam Tooze, economic historian and professor at Columbia University discuss the state of China.
The discussion is moderated by Finbarr Birmingham, Europe correspondent for the South China Morning Post, and was recorded at STATE OF ASIA, the flagship conference hosted by Asia Society Switzerland last November, in Zurich.

More information on the conference, the speakers, plus videos and summaries, are available on our website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 2 - Published: January 14, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

We're kicking off the year with two great minds discussing the State of the World as Asia's global importance continues to grow, Europe seems somewhat lost, and the U.S. is preparing for the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

Listen to Asia Society President & CEO Kyung-wha Kang and economic historian Adam Tooze, professor at Columbia University in New York. Their conversation was recorded at STATE OF ASIA, the flagship conference hosted by Asia Society Switzerland last November, in Zurich.

More information on the conference, the speakers, plus videos and summaries, are available on our website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 1 - Published: January 7, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland