A weekly discussion of current affairs in China with journalists, writers, academics, policymakers, business people and anyone with something compelling to say about the country that's reshaping the world. Hosted by Kaiser Kuo.
https://art19.com/shows/sinica
Xiong'an: Techno-natural utopia or authoritarian folly?
This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Andrew Stokols, a Ph.D. researcher at MIT who has been studying the “techno-natural utopia” that the Chinese government is now building a hundred kilometers southwest of Beijing: Xiong’an. Andrew breaks down why he sees it as an urban manifestation of the fundamental ideas embodied in Xi Jinping’s ideological vision for China.
02:02 - Xiong’an New Area as a bold vision for China
07:36 - Planned stages for the development of Xiong’an. Milestones in 2035 and 2050.
12:03 - Cities as expressions of political ideas
15:32 - Different facets of the Xiong’an as the legacy of Xi Jinping
20:03 - The elements of ecological civilization intended to be built into the new city
27:41 - Technologies employed with the intention of making Xiong’an a smart city
31:56 - The idea of incentivizing the digital yuan into the city of Xiong’an
34:55 - Xiong’an as an expression of Chineseness
40:05 - How is Xiong’an discussed in the English-language press outside of China?
47:59 - Approaches to technology and nature in Western and Chinese discourses. The
concept of techno-naturalism.
A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com
Recommendations:
Andrew: The Institutional Foundation of Economic Development by Shiping Tang
Kaiser: Five Families by Selwyn Raab
Mentioned:
Andrew’s article on Xiong’an: Chinas techno-natural utopia: A deep dive into Xiong’an
Shanghai Future: Modernity Remade by Anna Greenspan
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