Musings about Multinational Corporations
by Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
We cover stories relating to the political economy of multinational corporations in and from East Asia; bring you leading experts on related topics; and highlight the work of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations
Episodes
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U.S.-China tech divorces, dislocations, and dependencies; Flailing and unwinding fast fashion; A bumpy European tour; sensitive about corporate insensitivity
This episode returns us to the saga of Manus AI, which suffered a forced divorce, but is now clean and perhaps mean. It then notes Google’s effort to sterilize its China supply chain. Following this, it tracks Nvidia chip sales to China which aren’t getting the hundreds of thousands of expected...
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Smart moves and cracked chips; Mine cave in; requesting gold for frozen steel; shopping for success; social media turnoffs and blockages
We query Siri, without success, about Apple Intelligence’s progress in China. We then update the situation regarding Nvidia H200 and equivalent chip sales to China and the hot matter of American firms buying semiconductors from Chinese chip firms. We subsequently head to Australia where the...
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Dirtying singapore washing and blackening Chinese firms; blown circuits and dipping chips; disconnecting Chinese telecommunications; rusting steel deals, wind turbine hot air, and revving up tires; discounting shopping sites
This show taps into the tale of China’s termination of Meta’s purchase of Manus AI. Next, its discusses the United States’ updating of its Chinese military linked companies naughty list. Following this, it reviews some of the latest on the Nexperia and Wingtech conflict. It then chips away at the...
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Third Minutes of Tips from Top Talent: Mr. Ken Jarrett
We welcome Mr. Ken Jarrett, a Senior Advisor with Albright Stonebridge Group, as our guest on this episode. Ken previously served as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which followed a stint as Consul General in Shanghai, one of many in a distinguished foreign service...
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Mixup on Manus; keeping the Apple fresh; screeching tires, discharged EVs, and spinning turbines; Disconnecting Chinese chip sales, routers, telecoms, and more;
The show begins by discussing the turmoil surrounding Meta’s takeover of Manus AI, a deal China has rejected. It then shifts to Apple’s efforts to keep the situation in China peachy. Subsequently, it roams to the topic of the Italian government putting the brakes on Sinochem, the largest Pirelli...
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The China chip sale rollercoaster, on and off the DoD naughty list, Nexperia's nightmare, TikTok travails, shifting Shein and Temu fortunes, and mapping out Korea's tech landscape
This episode begins on the roller coaster known as artificial intelligence chip sales to China, a ride full of stops and starts and ups and downs. It then turns to the off and on again and off again placement of Chinese companies on the United States (US) Department of Defense’s Naughty List. It...
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Thirty Minutes of Tips from Top Talent: Mr. Ken Wilcox
This episode features Ken Wilcox, the author of The China Business Conundrum and former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (2001-2011), CEO of SVB's China joint venture (2011-2015), and then Vice Chairman of SVB's JV (2015-2019). In this program, Ken touches upon issues like the China Playbook…
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Cashing In and Cashiering Chips; Nipping at Nexperia; Discharging Mergers, Software, and Batteries; Timed Out or Time Out for Tik Tok Deal; Groping for GROK
This show starts by covering the ups and downs associated with the sale of advanced Nvidia and AMD AI chips to Chinese firms. It then turns to the battle between Nexperia Netherlands and China's Wingtech over control and transborder operations. The fourth part details Washington’s squashing of a...
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TiKTok off the Dock? Flattening Chinese Platforms; Fab about Selling Chips and Chip Making Equipment; Crisis over East Asian Tech Regulation; Intelligence about AI Regulation
In this episode, we discuss the non-definitive definitive TikTok divestiture deal. We then examine challenges facing Chinese platforms such as Shein, Alibaba, and Baidu. Next, we track the continuing saga involving the sale of high-end chips and semiconductor making equipment by Nvidia and others...
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Thirty Minutes of Tips from Top Talent: Mr. Eric Sundheim
In this segment of "Thirty Minutes of Tips from Top Talent," we interview Mr. Eric Sundheim, Principal & CEO, Mercovus Valuations, a Campbell, California (USA)-based valuation firm. During this episode, Eric enlightens us about the complexities and process of valuing intangible assets (e.g.…
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Apple Blossoms and Soft exits; Communicating about Qualcomm; Semiconductor designs; Nexperia Seizure; Social media on and Under Fire; Gnashing Google53:15 PM
This episode begins with a piece on Apple’s continued courting of Beijing and its harvest and the moves by others to reduce their roots in the Middle Kingdom. It then explores China’s anti-trust investigation of Qualcomm. The third content segment covers pressures on Nvidia from China and the...
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Banking on China; Maalox for Nvidia over Mellanox and More; Chips Now Out of Stock; the Dizzying Divestiture of TikTok; Regulating the Regulators, Trump Style; and Shop Wars
This episode begins by highlighting issues that Wells Fargo, Google, Apple, and Anthropic face with respect to China. It then focuses intently on Nvidia's challenges relating to a China antitrust investigation and China’s pursuit of semiconductor independence. It then shifts to the United…
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Getting in, Maybe to Get Out; Snacking on Chip Taxes; Knashing Nvidia; Chomping Chips; Korea Krumbs
This episode reviews various corporate exits from China and the tactics some companies like Apple are using to facilitate their China derisking; delves into the "unusual" and "unprecedented" chip tax deal AMD and Nvidia struck with the US government; examines President Donald Trump's hate and…
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Nvidia_a love hate story; continuing conundrums for companies in China; conundrums for Chinese companies; Google YouTube Yelps; and tech regulation around the world
In this episode, we discuss the love and hate swirling around AI semiconductor leader Nvidia. Following this, we cover continuing challenges for companies in China such as Apple, Sam’s Club, and Tesla. The second half looks at the ongoing conundrums that Chinese companies such as TikTok are...
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Reving up... and down in China; Chomping on Chinese companies; Timeless TikTok; Taking the Shine off Shein; Hairy Turns for Harley; and Korea Klash
Season 2, episode 7 delves into the ups and downs of companies in China; discusses the assault against Chinese companies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere; provides the latest on one of our favs TikTok; gives you the latest on the travails of Shein; motors around with Harley in Japan; and…
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Courting and criticized about China; Sour Apples; TikTok's Travails; Clued-in about Censorship, Content Moderation, and Media Control; and Korea Krush
Our June podcast ponders the sweet and sour environment surrounding companies dealing with China with a special focus on Nvidia and three hotel giants including Hilton; details the sour apples infecting the Apple tree; probes TikTok's travails; examines ongoing issues of censorship, content...
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Flogged about, Flirting with, and Fleeing China; The TikTok short app saga gets longer; Britain, Stealing, and a Chinese Steel Plant; and global tech reg. in the face of US threats.
The April edition of the Musings about Multinational Corporations podcast examines the political and economic challenges facing companies like Apple and Nvidia as they are flagellated about, flirt with, and flee China; watches the continuing saga of TikTok whose battle for survival in the US of A...
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Apple plane lands in Indonesia and China; Walmart and Costco experience the high cost of low price; AstraZeneca's China stimulants and depressants; get out of jail card ain't so free; EU regulation of high-tech companies, Asian countries follow suit, and Trump administration blowback; and unknown X cyberattackers
This episode probes the ever mobile Apple planes, with only one having a Cook aboard; discusses Walmart and Costco's discovery that low priced goods may be politically costly; and notes the release of jailed consultancy employees and China's efforts to court foreign executives while concurrently...
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Searching Deep for DeepSeek, part II; Stuck clock for TikTok; Tesla's bumpy road in China; Apple plane finally lands and Apple AI in China; Mapping out Google Maps; and tech potpourri
This episode continues our coverage of DeepSeek; looks at the stuck and ticking clocks facing TikTok; discusses the Apple plane's successful landing in Indonesia; offers intelligence on Apple intelligence in China; charts out the Google maps Gulf of something imbroglio; and offers a mix of…
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Clock ticking on TikTok; Apple plane still circling Indonesia; searching deep about DeepSeek; Shein's lost luster; and taxing tech and taxed by it
In this episode, we discuss the TikTok's ticking clock and the effort, by some, to rescue it; track the Apple plane waiting to unload iPhone 16s in Indonesia; dive deep into the growing control and regulation of DeepSeek; examine EU and US measures affecting fast-retailer Shein and also Temu; and...
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TikTok fun in Romania, Albania, and the US of A(nia); Google challenges in Japan, Korea, and Russia; Starlink Star Wars in India, Taiwan, and Italy; ABC on social media; and Moans about Meta drive mashing in Australia, the EU, and elsewhere
This episode, the first of 2025, delves into TikTok's challenges, above all in the US of A; Google's pressures chamber in East Asia countries like Japan and Korea and Russia; Australia's path breaking ban on social media usage for children; and Meta's challenges in Australia and the European…
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Volkswagen's Xinjiang unraveling and loose threads for Uniqlo; China pressures Nvidia; Sweet Apples in China while Intel makes offerings and riding the Meta Llama is scorned; the long and short of the US TikTok ban and troubles for TikTok in Romania and beyond; Indonesia vs. the smartphone companies; and Japan vs. the Amazons.
This episode examines Volkswagen's exit from Xinjiang and the loosening of Xinjiang threads for Uniqlo; Chinese pressures against Nvidia; Apple's continued courting of China, Intel's offerings to the Middle Kingdom, and the scorning of those riding Meta's Llama; the long and short of the US…
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Bombs on TikTok; the China challenge yet again; tech tensions in Korea and Vietnam; Indonesia drives a hard bargain; and the European Union sqeeze
Episode 7 scans the bombs raining on TikTok; surveys the challenges facing multinational corporations in China and those dumping on them for dealing with China; describes problems for tech companies in Korea and Vietnam; examines Indonesia's smarting policy towards smartphones; and reviews the...
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The Line on Line-Naver; Harley spills and 7 & I chills in Japan; X back in step with Brazil; Korea cracks Google and US cracks Korean chips; and the Travails of Telegram
In this episode, we update you on the LINE-Naver Saga; delve into Harley Davidson's bumpy ride in Japan and chills & spills regarding 7 & I; cover the challenges of Google and others in Korea and the challenges facing Korean chip companies; do a post about X and Brazil...and Australia...; and...
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Bull in a China shop; Modulating Content Moderation; G X Y or T K O? X; and Rocking TikTok
This episode covers the recent travails of those doing business in or with China as well as the struggles of Chinese companies venturing abroad. It also addresses the ever present theme of content moderation. It supplies, too, juicy content about X and the EU, X and Venezuela, and, most of all, X...
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Mashing Microsoft; Musk freed, flapped, and foiled; Australia acts Up and act up about Australia; and Europe energized before its summer slumber
Episode 4 of Season 1 looks at the softening of SOFTEE (aka Microsoft) around the world; the liberation, rerouting, and pummeling of Tesla; activist Australia and activists about Australian regulation; and the European Commission's latest burst of energy (at least until August) to regulate tech.
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Censorship and corporate compliance in China, censorship and content moderation elsewhere, big and small tech regulation, LINE-Naver shenanigans, and corporations caught in the US-China crossfire
This episode covers censorship and corporate compliance (capitulation?) in China, censorship and content moderation elsewhere, and the regulation of tech big and small, primarily in Europe. We also touch upon recent LINE-Naver shenanigans and corporations caught in the crossfire of the US-China...
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Apple looks elsewhere (and not); Tesla charged up in China; Japan searches for Google; Google Gags; Middle East Muddles and google; Content moderation conundrums
In this episode, we cover Apple's supply chain relocation; Tesla's charge up in China; Japan's search for Google (found it); Google gags (not the funny kind) in India; the Middle East muddle for google and others; and the complexities of content moderation for X in Australia and others elsewhere
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For MNCs, China churns; Korea chops; Japan maneuvers; and, well, EU regulates
This episode tracks stories appearing mostly during the 1st quarter of 2024 pertaining to MNCs and China; Korean regulatory endeavors; Japan's stiffening regulatory regime; and the ever wrathful European Union. Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft get "Face" time with a few mentions of Amazon and...
About this show
We cover stories relating to the political economy of multinational corporations in and from East Asia; bring you leading experts on related topics; and highlight the work of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations
Hosted by
Jean-Marc F. Blanchard