The Pacific Century
Hoover Institution
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The 21st century may be the Pacific Century, and China appears poised to become America’s greatest rival for global power and influence. Hosts John Yoo and Michael Auslin broadly address developments in China and Asia. They discuss the latest politics, economics, law, and cultural news, with a focus on US policy in the region.
Available episodes
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Tea Time with Tom Tugendhat MP
This week, John returns as Pacific Century visits London, to talk with Tom Tugendhat MP. Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House of Commons and head of the China Research Group, Tom discusses the China Research Group’s new report on dealing with a more assertive Chinese Communist Party. He explains how the UK’s China policy has evolved over the past several years, including its turnaround on Huawei. He also looks ahead at how London might work with the new Biden administration.
Nov 17, 2020
Look, Up in the Sky…
This week, Pacific Century talks to General Kenneth Wilsbach, the commander of Pacific Air Forces. General Wilsbach talks about the US Air Force’s role at the tip of the spear in the Indo-Pacific. A fighter pilot who has flown America’s most advanced jets, General Wilsbach discusses the Chinese air threat, North Korea’s nukes, the crucial alliance partners of the US, and the new technologies that will change aerial warfare.
Oct 30, 2020
Chinese Politics 10
China expert and CSIS China Chair Jude Blanchette joins the Pacific Century to lay bare the political workings of the CCP. Jude explains what the recent Fifth Plenum was and why it’s important for China’s long-term planning. Jude also discusses the CCP’s state capitalism policy and dissects both the strengths and weaknesses of the Leninist state in a new era of competition with the United States.
Oct 16, 2020
An American Statesman Discusses China
Misha and John welcome an American hero to Pacific Century. Former Secretary of State and current Hoover Distinguished Fellow George Shultz discusses how China’s shrinking labor force will reduce productivity and economic growth. He also gives insights into his dealings with the Chinese during the Reagan Administration. Then, John and Misha discuss the rebirth of the “Quad” among the US, Japan, Australia, and India, and whether the Europeans can play any role in the Indo-Pacific.
Sep 11, 2020
Pacific Century Writes Another Book!
Misha and John discuss John’s new book, Defender-in-Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power (St. Martin’s Press 2020). They discuss whether a Trump Doctrine exists and if so, what its core tenants are concerning the US and world power. Misha and John argue over whether Trump represents a sharp break in US foreign policy as well as what to expect concerning US relations with China in the coming years. Will the US/China relationship be the start of a new Cold War, a bump in the road, or something different?
Aug 28, 2020
Shinzo Abe’s Setting Sun
Just two days after Pacific Century interviewed Japan’s Defense Minister, Misha returns solo for breaking news: Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, unexpectedly resigned. Misha discusses Abe’s legacy, how he changed Japan, and what his resignation means for Japan, Asia, and the United States.
Aug 27, 2020
Japan’s Rising Military
Misha gets a new sound system just in time for John and him to welcome Taro Kono, Japan’s Defense Minister. Minister Kono, who also served as Japan’s Foreign Minister, talks about the ways in which the Japanese military has modernized over the past decade, and discusses the worsening threats from China and North Korea. Minister Kono also explains the role of Japan’s alliances with the US and other nations, including Australia and India, which are a crucial part of Tokyo’s defense strategy.
Aug 14, 2020
The Past, Present, and Future of the China Challenge
John and Misha welcome their colleague, Larry Diamond, one of the world’s preeminent scholars of democracy, to talk about the global scope of the China challenge. Larry discusses the strategy of the CCP and its comprehensive targeting of the West’s political, academic, cultural, and media cultures to both promote Beijing’s ambitions and stifle criticism. Larry also discusses the work he spearheads at Hoover on China’s influence campaigns, “sharp power,” and Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific.
Jul 31, 2020
Decoding Trump’s China Policy
With John off promoting his new book, Misha flies solo to interview retired Air Force general and current Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell. Misha and the Assistant Secretary talk about the Trump Administration’s policy of reciprocity towards Beijing, and how that led to the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston. They also discuss response to the new national security law in Hong Kong, the 5G race, Beijing’s propaganda campaigns, and in the South China Sea.
Jul 15, 2020
Is China Law an Oxymoron?
John and Misha welcome Julian Ku to discuss China and law. Julian is the Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and associate dean at Hofstra Law School and his recent work focuses on China’s relationship with international law. He debates China’s claims to the South China Seas in light of the U.S. State Department’s new announcement opposing Beijing’s claims, the scope of China’s objectives in Hong Kong, and the differences between China’s business law and criminal law.
Jul 1, 2020
Asia’s Chinese Democracy
John and Misha interview Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on how Taiwan beat COVID-19 and gave aid to the world, on Taiwan’s increasingly close partnership with the US and its desire to increase its global role, and how China’s new national security law in Hong Kong is the latest in a pattern of threats to stability in Asia.
Jun 24, 2020
The Pacific Century Writes a Book!
The podcast snares its hardest-to-get guest: host Misha Auslin! John Yoo interviews Misha on his new book, Asia’s New Geopolitics: Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific, just out from Hoover Institution Press. John and Misha discuss Misha’s striking view comparing the Pacific to the Mediterranean, the sources of Chinese and Japanese foreign policy, and how a future historian might view a US-China military conflict.
Jun 12, 2020
The Pacific Century Talks with Nadege Rolland
Michael Auslin and John Yoo welcome Nadege Rolland to the podcast. After working as a China analyst for the French Government for two decades, Rolland joined the National Bureau of Asian Research as a senior fellow. Her new report, “China’s Vision for a New World Order” discusses how the Chinese Communist Party is using “discourse power” to delegitimize liberal ideas and values and reshape global norms. Beijing is then challenging Western and American ideas of what the global order should look like, in order to create its own hegemony. Rolland sees this new hegemony as partial, loose, and malleable, stretching across the globe, with a particular focus on the Global South.
Jun 4, 2020
The Pacific Century Visits With Congressman Mike Gallagher
Michael Auslin and John Yoo welcome Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) to the podcast. Gallagher joined the Marine Corps after graduating from college and deployed to Iraq twice. A recipient of advanced degrees in intelligence and international relations, Gallagher served as a staffer on the foreign relations committee, an advisor to Governor Scott Walker, and won election to Wisconsin’s eighth district in 2016. A member of a new congressional task force on China, Gallagher shares his thoughts on America’s bipartisan change in policy toward China, Beijing's new aggressiveness abroad, and what the U.S. can do to respond to Hong Kong, the South China Seas, and the coronavirus outbreak.
May 29, 2020
Sinocism Talks Hong Kong
Recorded May 28, 2020
Misha and John welcome a Bill Bishop, author of the widely-read Sinocism Newsletter, called by some “the presidential daily brief for China hands.” Bishop is an entrepreneur and former media executive with more than a decade living in and decoding China. Misha and John ask him about the importance of the recent National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing and its decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong. They end by discussing options for the United States and its allies in response to China’s tightening of control over Hong Kong.
May 1, 2020
The Beauty vs. the Beast
Misha and John welcome a special guest, Anastasia Lin. Lin grew up in China, emigrated to Canada at the age of 13, and won the Miss World Canada title in 2015. She won international attention when Beijing barred her from participating in the world pageant because of her outspoken advocacy for human rights in China. She shares her experience growing up in China, how to change the increasing authoritarianism there, and why she became such a fierce critic of Beijing.
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Apr 23, 2020
Geopolitics Rolls On
Misha and John try to hold a virus-free discussion. They first address the possible consequences of the rumored death or incapacitation of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Next they discuss South Korea’s election, with the landslide victory of the liberal ruling party. Misha and John then argue over whether China benefits from these developments and whether it is taking advantage of the pandemic crisis to bolster its position in Hong Kong and the region.
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Mar 28, 2020
Suing China?
Misha and John welcome to the podcast James Kraska, Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law at the Naval War College, to discuss ways in which international law may hold China responsible for allowing the coronavirus pandemic to spread. Misha then discusses his recent article arguing that the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to blame the world for the pandemic illustrates the beginning of a new Cold War between the U.S. and China.
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher| RSS
Mar 18, 2020
The Pandemic, China, and the End of Globalization
Misha and John discuss whether the coronavirus pandemic will help or harm China’s standing in the world. They begin by welcoming Misha’s new book, Asia’s New Politics: Essays on Reshaping the Into-Pacific, out this May from Hoover Institution Press. They turn to the lessons from the different responses to the pandemic in China, East Asia, Europe, and the United States. They argue over whether China’s public relations campaign to defend itself will succeed, whether China’s relative power and influence in the world will increase or decrease because of its public health failures, and what policies we should adopt toward China now.
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Mar 6, 2020
The Coronavirus Spreads
Misha and John mark the first anniversary of the podcast by focusing on the continuing coronavirus controversy. They discuss whether the Chinese government’s response to the epidemic will become the rare event that challenges the legitimacy of the Xi regime. They ask if Beijing’s clumsy effort will hasten an international realignment away from China. They conclude with comparisons between the US and Chinese public health systems.
Jan 31, 2020
The Epidemic Hits
Misha and John return for their first show in the year of the rat. They discuss the coronavirus epidemic sweeping China, and they observe that Beijing's ineffective response is adding to the growing distrust of the government among average Chinese. They next address Tsai Ing-wen’s landslide victory in the Taiwan 2020 presidential election. Misha and John close with their thoughts on the phase I US-China trade deal and likely next steps in the economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher| RSS
Nov 13, 2019
At the Barricades in Hong Kong
Misha and John return after an extended sabbatical. They discuss the burning issue in Asia — the democracy protests in Hong Kong — with Jillian Melchior of the Wall Street Journal editorial page. After playing out the scenarios for how the Hong Kong protests end, Misha and John take up Misha’s recent article on the collapse of pork production in China and the political pressure of rising food prices on the Xi regime.
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | RSS
Aug 12, 2019
Richard McGregor, The Party, and Pushback against Xi Jinping? Also, South Korea and Japan trade war heats up
Xi Jinping is usually touted as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. How has he pulled power into his hands, and is there a reaction to his strength? Richard McGregor discusses this, as well as looks back at his popular book The Party, ten years after its publication. Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea are falling into a trade war; is it about economics or the poor political relations between the two? How low will relations between America's two closest allies sink?
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | RSS
Jul 29, 2019
Trump versus China: John Pomfret Reacts
Hoover Institution fellows Misha Auslin and John Yoo interview John Pomfret, the former Washington Post and Associated Press reporter in China. Pomfret discusses his response to an open letter in the Washington Post, signed by dozens of leading US foreign policy and China scholars, criticizing the Trump administration for making China “an enemy.” He explains “why the United States doesn’t need to return to a gentler China policy."
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | RSS
Jul 13, 2019
Hong Kong, the G-20, and the North Korea visit: Sound and Fury Signifying ?
Presidents Trump and Xi meet at the G-20 meetings in Osaka and decide to restart trade negotiations, and then President Trump took a remarkable step across the DMZ into North Korean territory. Misha and John address these developments, and also the massive Hong Kong protests, trade developments, and divisions within the US foreign policy community.
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | RSS
May 22, 2019
Professor Rana Mitter on the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the May Fourth Movement
Hoover Institution fellows Misha Auslin and John Yoo welcome one of Britain’s leading experts on China to the podcast: Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, St. Cross College, Oxford University, and the Director of Oxford’s China Centre. Professor Mitter is the author of Forgotten Ally: China’s War with Japan, 1937-45, and A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World.
Professor Mitter discusses the student-led demonstrations of the Tiananmen Square Massacre thirty years later and the 100th Anniversary of the May Fourth Movement. We then turn to the changes in China since Tiananmen and the future of Chinese pluralism after the coming to power of Xi Jinping.
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May 7, 2019
H.R. McMaster Takes on China
Hoover Institution fellows Misha and John have a special treat today: they are joined by another Hoover fellow, H.R. McMaster, retired general, scholar, and President Trump’s first national security advisor. They discuss the rise of China, America’s response, trade, and what keeps the Chinese leadership up at night. Misha and John then turn to a discussion of US-China trade tensions, the new Japanese emperor, and the centennial of the May 4th uprising in China.
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Apr 5, 2019
China Challenges Japan and Taiwan
As China tests Japan and Taiwan with air and naval challenges, Hoover Institution fellows Michael Auslin and John Yoo discuss why Japan and Taiwan play important roles in the United States’ Pacific strategy, and what measures the Trump administration can take to help their defense/military. They share their thoughts on why Taiwan is worth protecting, and conclude with a few words on the recent Thai elections.
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher| RSS
Mar 28, 2019
Niall Ferguson On The Coming Cold War With China
Historian Niall Ferguson joins Michael Auslin to discuss whether the United States is entering a new Cold War with China. Ferguson explains the quick change in public and government attitudes toward China and steps that the Trump administration is taking toward Chinese economic and military aggressiveness. Hoover fellows John Yoo and Auslin then discuss the pros and cons of the Cold War analogy, or whether the rise of Germany before WWI is the better comparison.
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Mar 6, 2019
Learning from Hanoi and the Trade Deal with China
Hoover Institution fellows Michael Auslin and John Yoo discuss two major developments in Asia. First, they explain why the “failure” of the Hanoi summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wasn’t a failure at all. They then dissect the details of a proposed trade deal between the United States and China, asking whether policymakers miss the boat when they focus on tariffs and trade deficits instead of the theft of American inventions.
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Mar 1, 2019
Introducing The Pacific Century: China, North Korea, and the US
Hoover Institution fellows Michael Auslin and John Yoo start their inaugural podcast on China, Asia, and the Pacific Century by discussing the upcoming summit between President Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong-un, trade tensions between the United States and China, the Justice Department’s indictment of Huawei, and Chinese arrest and trials of westerners.
Did you like the show? You can rate, review, subscribe, and download the podcast on the following platforms:Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | RSS