Hello and welcome to the ProRata podcast, a podcast that takes 10 minutes to get you smarter, faster, on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

Filling in for Dan Primac today, I'm Axios Special Projects producer Naomi Schaven.

On today's show, the coronavirus vaccine race, an optimism in the record label business.

But first, a Beijing think tank ranks U.S. governors.

Reports obtained by Axios show that a think tank based in Beijing compiled a rating of

U.S. governors and White House advisors

based on how, quote, friendly they are to China. On February 8th, Mike Pence mentioned one of the

reports in a speech to the National Governors Association, in the context of warning that China

could be attempting to influence U.S. policy on the state and local level.

Axios China reporter Bethany Allen Abrahamian was able to obtain the reports, which were

compiled by the Chinese think tank, DNC, think.

DNC is not officially part of the Chinese government, but it does list the Chinese Communist

Party's political influence shop among its partners. The report on U.S. governors appears to have involved scouring the internet for statements,

government websites, and media coverage that would give an indication of each governor's stance

on China. The think tank then rated them hardline, friendly, or unknown.

It also examined each governor's political affiliation and their state's economic

size, geography, and level of trade with China. Six governors were found to be hardline, 17 were found to be

friendly, and the rest were found to be unclear or no stated position. In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper on

this with Axios reporter Bethany Allen Abrahamian.

But first, this.

Axios gives you the news and analysis you need to get smarter faster on the most important topics.

In our unique smart brevity format, we cover topics from politics to science and media to tech.

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