China's uphill battles, from Putin to COVID: Newsweek's Melinda Liu

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

Politics, News, Foreign Policy, News Commentary, Government, Geopolitics, International Relations, Ian Bremmer, Trump, Global Economy, Gzero World

4.7 • 830 Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2022

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The relationship between Putin and Xi is a "marriage of convenience," journalist Melinda Liu tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. Russia's war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader. Liu, who has been Newsweek's Beijing bureau chief for decades, believes that Xi is likely as isolated and surrounded by sycophants as Putin, which makes predicting what he'll do next very hard. Chinese coverage of the war hasn’t been consistent, and neither is China’s historical relationships with Ukraine and Russia. She also explains why Xi's biggest problem right now is not Putin, but rather China's zero-COVID policy, which now has 26 million people under lockdown on Shanghai. China is facing a challenge they never saw coming — and that "hits right to the soul."

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You know, sometimes I wonder, you know, when Xi Jinping looks around and he looks at Putin,
0:05.1	does it seem like he's looking in a mirror? Here are these two autocrats. They've been very isolated.
0:10.8	Xi Jinping hasn't left China since the beginning of the pandemic. Obviously, you know,
0:18.9	we saw it from the dynamics of Putin meeting with his generals and things.
0:23.3	He's surrounded by yes men. We have to assume the same is true of Xi Jinping. Where are they
0:27.9	getting their information? Hello and welcome to the GZero World podcast. This is where you'll
0:35.8	find extended conversations with newsmakers I interview every week
0:39.5	on my public television show.
0:41.4	I'm Ian Bremer.
0:42.3	And today, where China fits into the Russia-Ukraine war, President Xi Jinping has cast his
0:49.0	lot with the Russian president but wants to avoid a new Cold War with the West.
0:53.3	Can he pull it off?
0:54.9	My guest is Newsweek's Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu.
0:59.4	She's spent over 30 years reporting from inside China.
1:03.6	Let's get to it.
1:10.7	The G0 World podcast is brought to you by our founding sponsor, First Republic.
1:15.6	First Republic, a private bank and wealth management company, understands the value of service, safety, and stability in today's uncertain world.
1:25.6	Visit firstrepublic.com to learn more.
1:29.6	GZero World would also like to share a message from our friends at Foreign Policy.
1:34.0	Could empowering women in the workplace be the simplest way to boost the global economy?
1:38.5	In a word, yes.
1:40.1	But how?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from GZERO Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of GZERO Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.