The Fourth Plenum and China’s Evolving Economic Strategy: A Conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Economy

In this episode of the China Power podcast, host Bonnie Lin interviews Dr. Elizabeth Economy about the outcomes of China's Fourth Plenum and their implications for China's economic priorities and technological self-reliance, as well as China's approach to trade and tariff negotiations with the United States. Economy discusses China's strategy in trade talks, its retaliatory toolkit, and its surprising leverage due to U.S. dependency on Chinese products. The conversation covers the significance of China's Fourth Plenum, focusing on Xi Jinping's economic development model, the issue of involution or internal competition, and the challenges facing China's 15th Five-Year Plan, including high-quality development and technological self-reliance. They also delve into the purges within the Chinese government and their implications for Xi's power and control, as well as China's strategy in the U.S.-China trade war, its diversification efforts, and potential mistakes. Finally, they discuss the vulnerability of the U.S. to China's rare earth export controls and potential future developments in U.S.-China relations, including a potential meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi.