The China-Global South Podcast

A weekly discussion on Chinese engagement in the developing world from the news team of The China-Global South Project (CGSP). Join hosts Eric Olander in Vietnam and Cobus van Staden in South Africa for insightful interviews with scholars, analysts, and journalists from around the world. You'll also get regular updates from CGSP's editors in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Is the Crisis in Venezuela a "Setback" for China? Eric Olander on Sinica with Kaiser Kuo 01/09/2026

What Maduro’s Detention Means for China 01/06/2026

2025 China-Global South Year in Review 12/25/2025

Jane Perlez on the New Era of U.S.-China Competition and Rivalry 12/22/2025

What Makes China’s Foreign Aid Different 12/16/2025

The New Dilemma for Middle Powers Caught Between the U.S. and China 12/10/2025

The New Dilemma for Middle Powers Caught Between the U.S. and China In this episode of the China Global South Podcast, Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden unpack a major question facing middle powers everywhere: What happens when the global security architecture you relied on for decades no longer exists? Fresh from meetings at Australian National University and the Australasian Aid Conference, Eric shares conversations with scholars, diplomats, and policymakers in Canberra who are wrestling with a new geopolitical reality. Topics include: Eric and Cobus also break down China’s push to promote its Global Security Initiative at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, the limitations of the UN system, and why both Western and Chinese security narratives fail to address Africa’s real on-the-ground security challenges. 📌 Key topics in this episode: • The U.S.–China rivalry and why middle powers feel trapped • Australia’s dilemma: China is the biggest customer AND biggest security concern • Why the Pacific Islands have become a frontline of strategic contestation • Joint patrols in the South China Sea and shifting regional alliances • Whether the Five Eyes model still works in a world where U.S. power is unpredictable • How Japan, South Korea, and Canada are rethinking security and trade • Why “rules-based order” no longer resonates across the Global South • China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) and what it actually means for Africa • Why many countries fear mass migration more than great-power conflict • Why middle powers still lack a clear, forward-looking vision JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: | | Facebook: YouTube: Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH & SPANISH: French: | Spanish: | JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! /episode/index/show/ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b/id/39350450

How China Uses Parliamentary Buildings to Build Influence in Africa 11/25/2025

Is China's "Engineering State" the New Development Model for the Global South? 11/14/2025

Is China's "Engineering State" the New Development Model for the Global South? China’s rapid ascent from rural poverty to industrial superpower reshaped the global economy and established a new center of gravity for manufacturing. Today, Chinese factories anchor much of the world’s supply chains, producing goods at a speed and scale that few countries can match. Behind this transformation is a system that author Dan Wang describes in his new book "" as the “engineering state,” a model defined by massive investments in infrastructure, strategic planning, and so-called "process knowledge" gleaned from the country's rapid industrial development. Now, more and more, the Chinese government touts this development model as an example for other countries in the Global South to emulate. Dan joins Eric to discuss whether the so-called "engineering state" is replicable elsewhere or if it's a uniquely Chinese phenomenon. CHAPTERS: • Setting the Stage – China’s rise from rural poverty to industrial superpower • The Engineering State – How China builds, plans, and organizes at a massive scale • Roots of the Model – East Asian development traditions and Soviet legacies • Infrastructure as Strategy – High-speed rail, bridges, airports, and the costs behind them • Industrial Capacity – Manufacturing clusters, supply chains, and process knowledge • The Speed Advantage – Why Chinese firms move faster than global competitors • Tech Transfer Debates – Joint ventures, old IP, and myths about forced transfers • Subsidies and Support – What Chinese industrial subsidies do—and what they don’t • Exporting the Model – Limits of replication in Africa, Asia, and the Global South • The China Price – How scale, logistics, and workforce learning lock in dominance • Internal Tensions – Debt, underused infrastructure, and diminishing returns • Shifting Priorities – Xi’s push away from consumer tech and toward strategic industries • Global Backlash – Overcapacity, trade pushback, and rising protectionism • Future Crossroads – Why China’s development engine is losing momentum • Lessons for the Global South – What countries can adapt—and what they must avoid JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: | Facebook: YouTube: Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH & SPANISH: French: | Spanish: | JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! /episode/index/show/ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b/id/39030255

Why China's Ability to Make a $6 Toaster is a Big Problem for the Global South 11/12/2025

Why China's Ability to Make a $6 Toaster is a Big Problem for the Global South China is breaking the rules of development. Typically, as countries progress up the value chain, they transition from agriculture to light industry, then to heavy industry, and ultimately to high-technology and services. And as they move up the value chain, this creates opportunities for less-developed countries to advance. But China's not doing that. Chinese manufacturers are holding on to their immense productive capacity, enabling them to produce both low-tech sneakers and high-tech semiconductors at a scale and cost that are unrivaled. Now, as developing countries around the world seek to move up the value chain, they will have to compete head-on against the dreaded "China Price." James Kynge, who covered China for nearly 30 years at the Financial Times, delved into this challenge in a fascinating audiobook that came out earlier this year, "." James joins Eric from London to explain how China's ability to produce a $6 toaster exemplifies the country's enormous manufacturing advantage that will be very difficult, if not impossible, for other countries to match. CHAPTERS: • Introduction – The $6 toaster and the global value chain crisis • The Flying Geese Model – How automation broke development’s old path • China’s Dual Reality – A continent-sized economy of billionaires and low-wage labor • Industrial Clusters – The unbeatable advantage of Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta • The Global South’s Dilemma – Competing against the “China price” • Automation and Inequality – Why manufacturing isn’t moving offshore • The $1 Trillion Surplus – Trade backlash and global tensions • Searching for Solutions – Industrial policy and self-strengthening in the Global South • Winners and Losers – Cheap exports, consumer gains, and producer pain • Political Risk – Xi Jinping’s lesson from Western deindustrialization • The Humanoid Robot Moment – From $6 toasters to $6,000 robots • China’s Auto Revolution – BYD and the new wave of affordable EVs • The Double-Edged Future – Opportunity and disruption in China’s rise SHOW NOTES: Financial Times: by James Kynge Financial Times: C by James Kynge and Keith Fray JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: | | Facebook: YouTube: Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH & SPANISH: French: | Spanish: | JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! /episode/index/show/ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b/id/39002995

China’s Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance 11/03/2025

China’s Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance As China’s economic influence expands, so does its ambition to shape the very system that once constrained it. In this episode of The China-Global South Podcast, Eric speaks with Greg Chin and Kevin Gallagher from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center about that details China's transformation from a "rules taker" within the Bretton Woods system to a "rules maker" who's now reshaping the international development finance architecture. Greg and Kevin explore the country’s growing role in the IMF and World Bank, its creation of new institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB), and what this means for developing nations navigating between Western and Chinese-led finance. CHAPTERS: • Introduction – A brief calm in U.S.–China tensions • Rule Taker → Rule Maker – China’s rise inside global finance • Building Alternatives – Creating the AIIB and NDB • Two-Way Countervailing Power – Leveraging inside–outside influence • Green Finance and “Next Practices” – Raising the bar on development norms • Debt and Diplomacy – How China handles restructuring • Institutional Layering – Shaping without dismantling • Washington’s Dilemma – Anxiety over losing control • The Global South’s New Agency – More options, more leverage • A New Multilateral Moment – Uncertain future for global governance SHOW NOTES: 📚 Read the book JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: | | Facebook: YouTube: Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH & SPANISH: French: | Spanish: | JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! /episode/index/show/ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b/id/38889305