2025: China’s Year

The David McWilliams Podcast

David McWilliams

News & Politics

4.5 • 692 Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For 2,000 years, China has played a different game. While Europe fragmented, fought, and conquered outward, China focused inward, on standardisation, stability, and turning a vast empire into a single nation. In this episode, we explore why China emerged from 2025 stronger than any other power, why it has no interest in ruling the world, and why that restraint may be its greatest strength. From the invention of a shared written language to state exams, from imperial bureaucracy to modern supply chains, we trace how China built power by consolidating at home while quietly extending economic influence abroad. This is a story of conquest, of control, and why the West still struggles to understand a system that values internal cohesion over imperial adventure.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before we start, if you're looking for a Christmas present that actually lasts,
0:04.6	are a New Year's gift to yourself, this just might be it.
0:08.6	Over on our Patreon, we're launching a brand new monetary economics course from January
0:15.3	the 5th.
0:16.2	It's my MBA course, the same when I teach the students at Trinity, broken down and made accessible.
0:22.0	It's master's level education at national school prices. You'll get weekly lessons, quizzes,
0:28.4	and yes, there's going to be a little certificate at the end. So if you want to start the year
0:33.1	sharper, curious, learning something that actually matters, join me on Patreon from January the 5th.
0:39.6	That's patreon.com forward slash David McWilliams.
0:44.8	On today's podcast, it's all Chinese, John.
0:48.3	It's all about China.
0:49.7	We're going to be looking at China.
0:51.1	We're also going to be looking at the fact that China has historically
0:56.7	always valued internal stability over external expansion. And that's not going to change.
1:03.9	China is the country that has actually come out of 2025 strongest. So it's all going to be on
1:09.0	China. Coming up in a couple of minutes.
1:12.2	To understand the economy, you have to understand human nature.
1:18.5	This podcast is powered by ACAST.
1:24.9	How you doing there? It is Christmas. Woo! It's Christmas time. As you hear, John is very excited. He has his santi hat on, and he is looking wistfully up the chimney of the HQ, wondering what he's going to get for Christmas. Singing my eyebrows. First of all, happy Christmas, everybody.
1:46.6	Whether you are in Ireland, whether you are miles away in the States, Australia, over in the UK,
1:54.2	whether you're on your walk, whether you're trying to get away from the madness of the house
1:57.9	as Christmas descends upon us, whether you've just had a row with
	...

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