Episode Details

Xi Jinping is heading to Washington on September 24th, but is this summit a genuine reset, or just China managing an American system that can no longer manage itself? I am joined by Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation and Chairman of Asia Narratives, to unpack why Trump's own Beijing visit was quietly declared a failure, and why Beijing now approaches these encounters with a rehearsed playbook rather than any real expectation of breakthrough. Einar traces the roots of America's dysfunction back to the Powell Memo, the decades-long financialization of an economy that rewards betting over building, and an oligarchy that has hollowed out its own middle class while blaming China for the damage. We discuss why the United States increasingly resembles a rogue state even by its own definition, and how China's patient, methodical model has quietly reshaped the Global South through initiatives like the Belt and Road. As the American midterms loom and speculation grows over Trump's own political survival, Einar makes the case that the real story of US-China relations is not happening in Beijing at all. It's happening inside a crumbling American republic.

Explore Einar Tangen's work: https://substack.com/@asianarratives