China Desk

China Desk is a nonpartisan podcast exploring the critical issues shaping the U.S.–China relationship. Hosted by Steve Yates, former White House national security advisor and president of Radio Free Asia, the show features leading experts, authors, and officials discussing the challenges and opportunities posed by China’s rise.Contact us or recommend a guest at:chinadesk@thefederalnewswire.com

China Desk is a news podcast hosted by The Washington Signal, with 104 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

The Washington Signal hosts China Desk, a news show with 104 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #102

  Ep. 102 - Trump-Xi Summit, AI Competition & U.S.-China Strategy w/Andrew Harding

  May 19, 202636 minS0

  <p>What should the United States realistically expect from high-level diplomacy with China — and where are the real risks in the relationship?</p> <p>In this episode of The China Desk, host Steve Yates is joined by Andrew Harding, Policy Analyst for National Security and Indo-Pacific Affairs at The Heritage Foundation, for a detailed breakdown of President Trump’s recent summit with Xi Jinping and the broader future of U.S.-China relations.</p> <p>Harding explains how the Heritage Foundation developed a framework for evaluating the summit — identifying what would constitute favorable outcomes for the United States, what risks to avo...

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  Episode #101

  Ep. 101 - CCP Propaganda, China’s Future & the Taiwan Question w/Terence Shen

  May 12, 202642 minS0

  <p>What happens when someone raised inside China’s education system begins questioning everything they were taught?</p> <p>In this episode of The China Desk, host Steve Yates sits down with independent China analyst and journalist Terence Shen for a wide-ranging discussion on CCP propaganda, Chinese political culture, Taiwan, and the future trajectory of the People’s Republic of China.</p> <p>Born and raised in Beijing, Shen describes how studying abroad in Canada first exposed him to historical narratives and political realities that sharply contradicted what he learned in Chinese schools. That experience ultimately transformed him from a form...

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  Episode #100

  Ep. 100 - 100 Episodes In: Steve Yates on China, Strategy & What Comes Next w/Andrew Langer

  May 5, 202629 minS0

  <p>After 100 episodes, what has the China Desk revealed about the Chinese Communist Party, U.S. strategy, and the future of global competition?</p> <p>In this special milestone edition of The China Desk, the roles are reversed. Host Steve Yates becomes the guest, while Andrew Langer, host of the Lunch Hour Podcast, steps in to lead the conversation — reflecting on the biggest lessons, themes, and takeaways from the first 100 episodes.</p> <p>Since launching in 2023, China Desk has featured conversations with policymakers, analysts, and subject matter experts across the spectrum of U.S.-China relations. In this episode, Yates st...

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  Episode #99

  Ep. 99 - Is China a Modern Invention? History, Myth & Power w/Bill Hayton

  Apr 28, 202648 minS0

  <p>Is “China” as we understand it today really a continuous civilization — or a modern political construction?</p> <p>In this episode of The China Desk, host Steve Yates sits down with Bill Hayton, journalist and author of The Invention of China, to unpack one of the most provocative ideas in China studies: that many core concepts of modern China — including its identity, history, and territorial claims — are far more recent than commonly believed.</p> <p>Drawing on his research, Hayton explains how ideas like Chinese nationalism, sovereignty, and even the concept of “China” itself were shaped in the late 19th and early 2...

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  Episode #98

  Ep. 98 - Guam, Taiwan & China’s Pacific Strategy: What the U.S. Is Missing w/Cleo Paskal

  Apr 21, 202639 minS0

  <p>China’s strategy in the Pacific is not just military — it’s political, economic, and deeply embedded in places most Americans rarely think about.</p> <p>In this follow-up episode of The China Desk, host Steve Yates welcomes back Cleo Paskal, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to build on their earlier conversation and go deeper into what a real Pacific conflict could look like — and where the United States is most vulnerable.</p> <p>Paskal explains why any Chinese move on Taiwan would require neutralizing Guam and other U.S. territories in the Pacific, not necessar...

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