The Little Red Podcast

In the sixth episode in our China Rules series, we examine China’s purge of its banks. China’s banks are three times bigger than the US banking system, holding assets worth $60 trillion – equivalent to half the world’s GDP.  But in the past year, Beijing has shuttered almost one-quarter of its smaller banks.  To examine China’s authoritarian banking system, Louisa and Graeme are joined by two experts from the National University of Singapore: Jason Bedford, formerly a China-based investment analyst, now with the East Asia Institute and Adam Y. Liu of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, author of Authoritarian Markets: The Politics of China’s Banking Explosion. Image: Shanghai and Stock Market, June 2018. iStock photo ID: 970600792.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the fifth episode in the China Rules series, we look at China’s efforts to reshape to global financial system.  One milestone has been the recent designation of Deutsche Bank as a renminbi clearing house.  China is pushing hard to increase its influence inside international institutions and to internationalize the renminbi, driven by the Iran war and uncertainty about the US dollar.  But with a tradition of strict capital controls and limited liquidity, it’s not clear whether the CCP would be able to underwrite the international order. To ask how China is trying to reshape global finance, Louisa and Graeme are joined by Gregory Chin and Kevin Gallagher from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Centre, authors of China and the Global Economic Order. Image: c/- Dilok Klaisataporn, iStock, 2018. Transcripts available at https://ciw.anu.edu.au/podcasts/little-red-podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our fourth episode of the China Rules series, we look at the State Council’s brand-new rules on overseas investment. These formalize central control over outbound investment, addressing the Party’s concerns about sensitive technologies and data, while sending a chilling signal to Chinese tech companies looking to move abroad. Beijing is now the first major capital exporter to run outbound investment as explicit industrial policy with legal retaliation tools. To explain the likely impact of these regulations on the global financial system, Louisa and Graeme are joined by Stefanie Kam from Nanyang Technology University in Singapore and Lizzi Lee from the Centre for China Analysis at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Image: c/- iStock Transcripts available at https://ciw.anu.edu.au/podcasts/little-red-podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the latest episode in our China Rules series, we look at the rise and potential fall of China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry. Once scoffed at by Elon Musk, China’s EV industry is charging ahead in international markets with its top car brand, BYD, selling more cars than Tesla in 2025. Massive government subsidies and consistent policy have brought China to a point where it now leads in a range of technologies, from batteries to robotaxis. Yet headwinds are emerging, with domestic demand tanking and protectionism surging in the US and Europe. To discuss the rise, and potential demise, of China’s EV behemoth, Louisa and Graeme are joined by Fengming Lu from the Australian National University and Yu Yang, Principal Lead Analyst of Automotives and Robotics at Yole Group, a company that analyses tech markets. Image: DarthArt, iStock. Beijing, China - February 25, 2026: Modern small city car Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. Transcripts available at https://ciw.anu.edu.au/podcasts/little-red-podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode of our series, China Rules, we look at an industry dominated by China: humanoid robots. Beijing’s running, dancing and fighting robots are more than just a gimmick; the country’s 15th Five-year Plan puts robotics right at the heart of its modern industrial system. China already accounts for 80% of global humanoid robot installations. In a recent half marathon, a humanoid robot called Lightning left the real humans behind for the first time, breaking the tape in just over 50 minutes.  To discuss the future of the robot wars, Louisa and Graeme are joined by Alberto Moel, former Vice President of Veo Robotics, now with the University of Hong Kong, and Chang Che, a freelance writer who was formerly the Asia technology correspondent for the New York Times. Image: Robot in Traditional Attire at Airport Hall, c/- iStock photos, Daqian Wang, 25 February 2026. Transcripts available at https://ciw.anu.edu.au/podcasts/little-red-podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.