Decoupling, De-risking, and the Great U.S.-China Disconnect, with Supply Chain Expert Cameron Johnson

Sinica Podcast

Kaiser Kuo

Culture, China News, Hangzhou, Chinese, International Relations, Chongqing, Beijing, Sichuan, Currentaffairs, China, Politics, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, China Economy, News, China Politics, Business, Film, Shenzhen

4.8 • 676 Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on Sinica in a show taped live at China Crossroads, Shanghai's premier event series, I'm joined by my good friend Cameron Johnson, who is on the governing board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, specializes professionally in supply chains in China, and teaches at NYU Shanghai.

4:20 – What makes up a supply chain ecosystem, and why it is difficult to build out

8:39 – A brief history of decoupling, the warning signs, and whether it matters “who shot first”

16:43 – Personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing in America, the lessons we (should have) learned, and Washington’s response

25:13 – EVs and batteries: manufacturing in America, and what it looks like on the ground in China

30:46 – The semiconductor industry

34:24 – “China Week” in Congress, and the different responses of GOP versus Democratic congressmen

38:36 – De-risking as globalization 2.0

42:21 – Cameron’s predictions on the effects of the [upcoming] U.S. elections

44:10 – Inside Chinese factories

47:44 – American shortfalls in manufacturing

50:21 – The importance of seeing China’s competitive markets and ecosystem clusters for oneself

53:09 – Cameron’s advice for the next U.S. administration

Recommendations:

Cameron: Gōngyìng liàn gōngfáng zhàn 《供应链攻防战》 (Supply Chain Offensive and Defense War) by Lin Xueping; No Trade is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America’s Workers by Robert Lighthizer

Kaiser: The Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to this special live recording of the cynical podcast, a weekly discussion of current affairs in China coming to you this week from Shanghai at the fabulous China Crossroads, China's premier event series, and the brainchild of the most excellent Frank Tsai.
0:25.4	Just a wonderful institution here in this awe-inspiring city.
0:29.1	Let's hear you make a little noise, Shanghai. Hello, Shanghai.
0:32.0	Thank you. All right. That's what I like. That was amazing.
0:45.7	I am Kaiser Guo, and in this program, we look at books, ideas, new research, intellectual currents, and cultural trends that can help us better understand what's happening
0:54.4	in China's politics, foreign relations, economics, and society.
0:58.9	Join me each week for in-depth conversations that shed more light and bring less heat to
1:05.0	how we think and talk about China.
1:08.5	Seneca is supported this year by the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of
1:11.9	Wisconsin-Madison, a National Resource Center for the Study of East Asia.
1:16.0	Thank you, Wisconsin.
1:17.2	Thank you.
1:21.6	Yeah, yeah.
1:22.7	The Cynica podcast will remain free, but if you work for an organization that wants applause like you just heard, help me out.
1:30.7	You know, ring me up. Write me at Cynicapod at gmail.com and tell me how you can help out.
1:36.3	Listeners, please support my work at Cynicalpodcast.com.
1:40.2	Become a subscriber and enjoy, in addition to this fine podcast, the complete transcript of the show,
1:46.3	essays from me and writings and podcasts from some of your favorite China-focused columnists and
1:51.4	commentators. I am just thrilled to be joined here at China Crossroads by one of the best-informed
1:58.4	and most generous people I have had the pleasure to befriend in the last year.
2:02.9	Before February, when we finally met in person in Salzburg, Austria, I had actually not ever met him in person.
2:09.6	I'd only admired him from afar, from a distance.
	...

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