China In Context

Chinese politics have been transformed since Xi Jinping became paramount leader in 2012. He has accumulated power in a way unprecedented since the era of Mao Zedong and he expects China's people to st...

13 Feb 202414min

Believers in the Chinese zodiac say that this could be an auspicious year for Xi Jinping. It’s been 12 years since he replaced Hu Jintao as general secretary of China’s Communist Party. Xi uses sophis...

6 Feb 202414min

Giorgia Meloni - leader of a right wing party - has confounded her critics since becoming prime minister of Italy. She has taken on major diplomatic challenges and is currently enjoying attention as t...

30 Jan 202414min

China's population is shrinking. The National Bureau of Statistics reports that it has fallen by about three million in two years. This puts pressure on the economy, as the number of people in work is...

23 Jan 202414min

China has sought to portray Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te Lai, also known as William Lai, as a dangerously pro-independence provocateur. The Chinese Communist Party has reiterated that there is ...

17 Jan 202413min

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden have exchanged greetings to mark the start of the new year, noting the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said cooperation between China and the US ...

9 Jan 202415min

China has been trying to persuade the world’s super wealthy that it remains a good place to invest. It throws parties where the finest champagne flows to show its enthusiasm for international business...

12 Des 202314min

In the early 1990s, China enjoyed a period of rapid economic progress, as the government emphasised the importance of so-called pillar industries, including construction. In this podcast, Rory Green, ...

5 Des 202315min