The Belt and Road Podcast

Latest Episodes:

A Tale of Two Railroads: Financing Chinese-Built Trains in Kenya and Ethiopia - Yunnan Chen Sep 29, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Erik and Juliet interview Yunnan Chen (PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies) about two Chinese-built railway projects, one in Kenya and one in Ethiopia. The comparison between the two cases provides reflections on how host countries negotiate over debt funding for infrastructural projects, and the logistical and cultural challenges the developers have faced in getting both projects off the ground.
Our discussion draws on Yunnan's recent article in Quartz entitled, "Ethiopia and Kenya are struggling to manage debt for their Chinese-built railways."
Recommendations
Yunnan

"Chinese firms and employment dynamics in Africa: A comparative analysis." By Carlos Oya and Floridian Schaefer.
"Wealth from Waste? Chinese Investments and Technology Transfer int he Tanzanian Plastic Recycling Industry." By YingXia.

Juliet

The Three Body Problem (三体), a novel by Liu Xin which opens during the Cultural Revolution and moves into a period of state promotion of "scientific and technological rejuvenation" through the 1990s. The English translation includes a reflection by Liu Xin on the role of the sci fi genre in stretching societal concepts of the realm of possibility, and the relationship between English and non-English language sci fi writing.

Erik

"Bridging Perceptions: China in Mozambique." By Lauren Baker.
The robots: Erik has a few new robot helpers in his life (alexa + roomba + smart tv) which he gives a shout out to

Thanks for listening!

Perceptions and Practices of Chinese Hydropower Investment in Vietnam and Myanmar - Nga Dao and Vanessa Lamb Sep 18, 2019

Show notes

From Vietnam to Myanmar, how does criticism of Chinese investment serve local politics, and how does it distract from broader environmental struggles? The Belt and Road Podcast's new co-host Juliet Lu welcomes Vanessa Lamb and Nga Dao to discuss anti-Chinese sentiment in the hydropower sectors of Myanmar and Vietnam, highlighting some key contrasts in the histories of Chinese investment in each country and the challenges of anti-hydropower activism across the Mekong Region.

Their Paper: Perceptions and practices of investment: China's hydropower investments in Vietnam and Myanmar

Recommendations:

Nga: The Last Days of the Mighty Mekong by Brian Eyler

Vanessa’s own book is just out!

Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River

And also: by Shaun Lim, James Sidaway & Chih Yuan Woon “Reordering China, Respacing the World: Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路) as an Emergent Geopolitical Culture”

Juliet:

Made in China Journal V. 4, Issue 2 (2019) “Under Construction: Visions of Chinese Infrastructure”

Thanks for listening!

China’s New Debt Sustainability Framework - Ma Xinyue Sep 02, 2019

Show notes

On episode 16 we introduce our new co-host Juliet Lu! Juliet and Erik speak with China Research and Project Leader at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University - Ma Xinyue about her latest work on the PandaPaw DragonClaw blog “Assessing China’s Most Comprehensive Response to the “debt trap”: the Belt and Road ‘Debt Sustainability Framework’ https://pandapawdragonclaw.blog/2019/07/17/debt-trap-for-whom/

Recommendations:

Ma Xinyue

Two Articles from Chen Muyang

State Actors, Market Games: Credit Guarantees and the Funding of China Development Bank https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13563467.2019.1613353?af=R&journalCode=cnpe20
Official Aid or Export Credit: China’s Policy Banks and the Reshaping of Development Finance http://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2018/09/GCI-Muyang-Chen-18-int.pdf

Erik

Follow the PandaPaw / DragonClaw Crew Ma Tianjie @TJma_beijing Calvin Quek @clearroads Tom Baxter @tombaxter17
Lizzo’s Tiny Desk Concert
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/29/732097345/lizzo-tiny-desk-concert

Juliet

The Glass Palace: Amitav Ghosh https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Palace-Novel-Amitav-Ghosh/dp/0375758771

Thanks for listening!

How China is Changing the Development Financing Project Cycle in Latin America - Rebecca Ray Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

On episode 15, Erik Myxter-iino talks with Postdoctoral Fellow at the Global Development and Policy Center at Boston University - Dr. Rebecca Ray

Rebecca was one of the co-authors of a new report published in part by BU’s GDP center - China and the Amazon: Toward a Framework for Maximizing Benefits and Mitigating Risks of Infrastructure Development. link

We talk about how Chinese developmental finance creates a different type of infrastructure project cycle in Latin America and what that means for local governments, civil society organizations, local populations, and the environment

Recommendations:

Rebecca:

Dialogochino - A website published in English, Spanish and Portuguese that covers issues related to China, Latin American and the environment

Erik

The overseas expansion and evolution of Chinese State-owned enterprises by Wendy Leutert on Harvard Fairbank’s blog

2. Daughters - You won’t get what you want

Thanks for listening!

How Chinese Capital Alters the Calculation for Coal in Kenya - Michael Boulle Jul 18, 2019

Show notes

On this episode, Erik speaks with Michael Boulle -

Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Cape Town and Senior Researcher at the Cape Town-based consultancy - Change pathways.

We discuss his latest paper - The Hazy Rise of Coal in Kenya: The actors, interests, and discursive contradictions shaping Kenya’s electricity future that is featured in Volume 56 of the Energy Research and Social Science Journal.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629618307072

Recommendations:

Michael:

On Being with Krista Tippett - Binyavanga Wainaina - The Ethics of Aid: One Kenya’s Perspective

Erik:

1) The China-Nepal Railway: high cost and hidden by Ramesh Bhushal

2) Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession

Thanks to Jason MacRonald for his help in editing this episode

Thanks for listening!

Chinese State-Backed and Flexible Capital in the Philippines - Alvin Camba May 02, 2019

Show notes

On this episode, Erik Myxter-iino has a conversation with Sociology Ph.D. Candidate at Johns Hopkins University Alvin Camba about his soon-to-be-published work - Reexamining China and South-South Relations: Chinese State-backed and Flexible Private Capitals in the Philippines.
In it, Alvin analyzes the different types of Chinese capitals and how they interact with different political eras in the Philippines.
Recommendations:
Alvin - The China Boom: Why China will not rule the World by Ho-fung Hung
Erik - Why is the White House Scuttling its Biggest Development Win? Four Hidden Daggers Pointed at the Heart of the New USDFC by Todd Moss and Erin Collinson

Thanks for listening!

Kazakhstan and the Belt and Road Initiative - Assel Bitabarova Apr 23, 2019

Show notes

This week's #beltandroadpod is all about #Kazakhstan - @emyxter spoke with PhD Candidate at Hokkaido University - Assel Bitabarova @BitabarAssel on how Kazakhstan is interacting with the Belt and Road, Chinese financing and construction of Kazakhstani infrastructure, and more.
The podcast is based on Assel's latest writing in the Journal of Contemporary East Asian Studies, entitled: Unpacking Sino-Central Asian engagement along the New Silk Road: a case study of Kazakhstan (link)
Recommendations:

Assel:
China's Belt and Road Initiative and its Impact in Central Asia, co-authored by the Central Asia Program at George Washington University and Nazarbayev University, edited by Maurelle Laruelle.

Erik:
The Specter of Global China: Politics, Labor and Foreign Investment in Africa, by Ching Kwan Lee.

Thanks for listening!

Is the Belt and Road Initiative a 'Grand Strategy'? with Dr. Lee Jones Apr 03, 2019

Show notes

On the 10th episode of the Belt and Road Podcast, Erik sits down with Dr. Lee Jones to discuss his latest co-authored work with Zeng Jinghan in Third World Quarterly entitled: "Understanding China's Belt and Road Initiative: Beyond 'grand strategy' to a state transformation analysis".
Dr. Lee Jones is a Reader in international politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary, University of London, and a Research Associate at the Asia Research Centre of Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. He specializes in the study of political economy, social conflict, state transformation and security in the global south, particularly in East Asia.
Recommendations:
Dr. Lee Jones - Fragmentation and Mobilization: Domestic Politics of the Belt and Road Initiative in China by Min Ye
Follow Dr. Lee Jones on @drleejones
Erik - In a honestly uncoordinated fashion also recommended Fragmentation and Mobilization: Domestic Politics of the Belt and Road Initiative in China by Min Ye
Follow on twitter @beltandroadpod
Also the films that were snubbed by the Oscars
First Reformed and Hereditary (Toni Collette's performance)

Thanks for listening!

The Push and Pull Factors for Chinese Energy Investments in SE Asia with Courtney Weatherby Mar 25, 2019

Show notes

On this episode Courtney Weatherby - a research analyst with the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia and Energy, Water, & Sustainability programs - discusses the different push and pull factors that have made China become involved with nearly a quarter of all energy projects in SE Asia, including an estimated 43% of all coal projects. Furthermore we look at what China and ASEAN countries can do to successfully transition to cheaper and more sustainable wind and solar projects.
Podcast based on her article: It's Decision Time for Southeast Asia as Power Demand Soars

Recommendations:
Courtney - The Last Days of the Mighty Mekong by Brian Eyler
Erik - 'China's World Bank' is Making it Easier to Complain - Lili Pike
The entire website www.chinadialogue.net

Thanks for listening!

Comparing the New Chinese and American Development Finance Agencies w/ Scott Wingo Mar 04, 2019

Show notes

2018 saw the creation of two new high-profile development finance agencies. In China there was the creation of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, and in America the International Finance Development Corporation.

On this episode, I speak with UPenn Ph.D. student Scott Wingo about his latest article “Too Much Risk or Not Enough? New Development Finance Agencies in China and the United States” that was featured in the Center for Advanced China Research’s blog.

In our discussion, we talk about the domestic political economies that spawned these agencies and their ability or inability to carry out their assigned goals.

Recommendations:

Scott: Reports of Belt and Road’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated, by Nadège Rolland.

Erik: The dual role of cadres and entrepreneurs in China: The Evolution of Managerial leadership in State-Monopolized Industries by Chih-shian Liou, Chung-ming Tsai

Also, visit St. Petersburg, Florida. It’s an amazing progressive, artistic city that’s between two bodies of water on a Peninsula. Cheap flights on Allegiant Air or Spirit airlines make for a perfect weekend getaway during this dreary winter

Thanks for listening!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected