The US-China Podcast

100,000 fewer Chinese international students are in the United States compared to 2019, and this trend is showing no signs of slowing. These students are a major economic driver in small college towns and large cities across the United States. In 2024, Chinese international students had an estimated $14.6 billion-dollar economic impact in the United States through tuition and living costs alone. They also greatly add to the science and engineering fields in the United States, particularly in AI and quantum computing. The cost of Chinese international students' contribution to the U.S. economy and academic institutions is difficult to calculate, but what impact does fewer Chinese international students have for the United States? 

Yingyi Ma joined us in November 2025 to uncover why fewer Chinese students are coming to the United States and what that means for the U.S. economy and higher education. 
Watch the video and learn more about the speaker here

On January 3, 2026, the United States launched a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicholas Maduro and an escalation in U.S.-Venezuela tensions. This intervention has sparked intense global debate – raising questions about international law, sovereignty, and the use of force. It also highlighted the broader implications of intensifying U.S.–China competition across Latin America.

In an event held on January 9, 2026, Margaret Myers and Tong Zhao, in conversation with Jesse Marks, discuss how this unexpected U.S. military action is reshaping strategic calculations in Beijing and Washington, what it may signal for Taiwan, and what these developments mean for the future of U.S.-China relations.  

About the speakers

Smart Rabbits: American Small Businesspeople, Trade Wars, and the Future of U.S.-China Relations looks at how small businesses navigate the intricate web of U.S.-China relations. Author Douglas Barry captures the voices of entrepreneurs whose daily lives reflect the larger narrative of economic interdependence and geopolitical tension, profiling American small business owners who forge connections, foster trade, and find innovative solutions despite trade wars, policy shifts, and cultural barriers. The book offers insights into how small businesses are affected by and influence global politics, and provides fresh perspectives on the U.S.-China relationship and why bilateral cooperation matters.

In an interview conducted on July 21, 2025, Douglas Barry, in conversation with Min Fan, discusses how small businesses are shaping the future of U.S.-China relations.

About the speakers

The Party's Interests Come First is the first English-language biography of Xi Zhongxun, the father of China's current leader, Xi Jinping. It is both a story of the Chinese revolution and the first several decades of the People's Republic of China and a personal account of developing one's own sense of identity within a larger political context. Drawing on an array of documents, interviews, diaries, and periodicals, Joseph Torigian introduces Xi Zhongxun. He helped build the Communist base area that saved Mao Zedong in 1935, worked closely with top leaders Zhou Enlai and Hu Yaobang, and oversaw the Special Economic Zones that launched China's reform era. 
In an interview conducted on August 21, 2025, Joseph Torigian, in conversation with Victor Shih, explores the organizational, ideological, and coercive power of the Chinese Communist Party through the life of Xi Zhongxun – and the huge cost in human suffering that accompanies it.
About this program

On December 8, 2025, President Donald Trump stated that NVIDIA would be allowed to sell its advanced H200 chips to China. This decision departs from previous U.S. policy that prevented the export of H200 chips to China to preserve the United States' lead over China in the AI race. Industry leaders touted economic incentives, such as U.S. companies' desire to strengthen market shares in China, urging President Trump to change the course of the United States' advance compute export policy. Some experts fear that this decision will yield negative national security implications for the United States and pave the way for Chinese AI companies to catch up to American ones, narrowing the gap between the two countries in the AI competition. How should the U.S.-China tech competition be viewed amid these changing dynamics? 

Paul Triolo joined us on December 12, 2025 to discuss the economic and national security implications of selling NVIDA's H200 chips to China and how the decision fits into the larger picture of U.S. AI policy.