Geoeconomic Competition

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Noah Barkin, Senior Advisor at Rhodium Group about the outcome of the Trump-Xi summit and especially, the implications for Europe. Is Europe collateral damage or the ongoing (precarious) stabilisation process bring advantages for Europe too? What does it mean for the de-risking agenda?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Abraham Newman, Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and co-author together with Stecis Goddard, Betty Freyhof Johnson ‘44 Professor of Political Science and Associate Provost for Wellesley in the World, of Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System. The episode unpacks neo-royalism and its implications for Europe and the world. What is neo-royalism and how is it reshaping global politics? How does this trend affect Europe's strategic positioning? What does the rise of neo-royalism mean for the future of geoeconomic competition and international order?Link to article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/further-back-to-the-future-neoroyalism-the-trump-administration-and-the-emerging-international-system/ABB12906CA345BBCA5049B544363D391

In this quick 10 minutes episode, Francesca Ghiretti unpacks China's State Council Decree Number 834: the Regulations on Industrial and Supply Chain Security, and Decree Number 835: the Regulations on Countering Foreign Improper Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. Why are these law so important? And what are the main elements we should pay attention to?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Wendy Cutler, Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, about the upcoming Trump-Xi summit. What are the key issues likely to dominate the agenda? How might the summit reshape the trajectory of US-China trade tensions? What would a successful outcome look like for both sides? And what could be the implications for the rest of the world?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Sander Tordoir, Chief Economist at the Centre for European Reform, about the EU Industrial Accelerator Act and "Buy European". What are the key elements of the Industrial Accelerator Act? How does Buy European aim to promote European competitiveness and resilience? What do these initiatives tell us about the EU's shift toward a more assertive industrial policy?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Dr. Jost Wübbeke is Managing Partner at Sinolytics, about the content of China's 15th Five Year Plan (2026-203). What are the new priorities? Does the plan tackles some of China's economic challenges? What about consumption? What does the plan tell us about the trajectory of China's tech self-reliance? 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at GMF, about the future of the EU–India agreement and what it reveals about shifting geoeconomic priorities. The conversation explores the details of the EU-India FTA and the future of the relationship as Brussels and New Delhi deepen engagement amid global economic competition.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Cory Combs, Associate Director at Trivium, about the intensifying global competition over critical minerals and the strategic responses taking shape in Washington and beyond. The conversation explores how US policy is evolving, how allies are aligning - or diverging - and what this means for China’s central role in global mineral supply chains and the future of economic security.

How is the European Union redefining economic security in an era of geopolitical tension? In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti sits down with François Chimits, Head of the Europe Program at Institut Montaigne, to examine the EU’s progress, its strategic direction, and the challenges it still must overcome.

At the end of January 2026, Qiushi published a 2024 speech by Xi Jinping that, among other themes, underscored the strategic importance of having a global reserve currency. In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Gerard DiPippo breaks down China’s evolving ambitions for an internationalised renminbi, and how realistic Beijing’s ambitions are.

Europe and the US are racing to bring manufacturing back home - but should they be? Inspired by an article from The Economist, Chris Miller, Professor of International History at Tufts’ Fletcher School and author of Chip War, digs into the real economic benefits of manufacturing. We unpack why policymakers are so keen on factories, whether manufacturing still delivers meaningful gains in jobs and growth, and what it might mean for advanced economies to fully embrace a service-led future.

With the EU and China reaching price undertakings on Chinese EV imports, this episode features Ágnes Szunomár, Associate Professor at Corvinus University of Budapest, to unpack the scale, motives, and consequences of Chinese investment in Europe’s BEV sector. The discussion probes whether Chinese investments in the sector can become genuine growth poles for European supply chains or remain technologically self-contained enclaves. We examine what Europe gains in terms of strategic know how, industrial competitiveness, and market share. Finally, we assess how these developments reshape Europe’s economic dependencies and strategic autonomy in the green transition.

In the final 2025 episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Yanmei Xie tackles the big questions behind China’s anti-involution campaign. What distinguishes involution from overcapacity, and why does that distinction matter? Why is China’s overcapacity treated as a  problem when similar conditions elsewhere are not? And can the anti-involution drive meaningfully address China’s economic challenges? Finally, could it ease some of the core tensions between China and the EU?

On the 18th of December, the leaders of the EU will discuss the much debated reparation loan, a proposal to use the frozen Russian assets to finance the Ukrainian war effort. In this episode, Lucas Guttenberg, Director of the programme Europes Future at Bertelsmann Stiftung unpacks what the reparation loan is, how it works and why this decision is so important for Europe.

On 5 November, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument on the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs. The decision, which is expected in the next few months, will determine the future of both Fentanyl tariffs as well as Liberation Day tariffs. The decision, however, will have much wider and deeper implications for Trump's wider approach to trade as well as the functioning of check and balances in the United States. Francesca Ghiretti unpacks the story with Geoffrey Gertz is a senior fellow with the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and co-host of the Derisky Business podcast.

In October, the Dutch government took over Nexperia, a Dutch chip maker owned by the Chinese Wingtech. The initial and main reason for the takeover was bad management. In the meantime, tensions between The Netherlands and China have escalated, a Chinese delegation visited Brussels and Trump and Xi met. To understand why this is so important and what is happening with Nexperia, Francesca Ghiretti has a chat with Juidth Huismans, Research Leader at RAND Europe's The Hague office. 

The 4th Plenum unveiled information about what to expect from China's 15th Five Year Plan (March 2026). Francesca Ghiretti chats with Gerard DiPippo, an Associate Director, RAND China Research Center and expert in China's economy to analyse what we can expect, clarify key point and untangle contradictions. 

This episode is a deep dive into the details of the development of China's export controls, from 2022 to the updates of October 2025. Rebecca Arcesati is Lead Analyst, in the Science, Technology and Innovation Programme at MERICS. 

Francesca Ghiretti speaks with Jason Bedford, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore. In his paper RARE EARTHS AND INDUSTRY: WHY DEPENDENCE ON CHINA ENDURES, Jason explores the details of China's REE leverage. In this episode, we unpack why the difference between heavy and light REE matters and stands at heart of China's ability to impose painful export controls. Apologies for the audio quality, I had a cold.

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti hosts Alberto Rizzi, Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations' Rome office. In his policy brief "Markets, migrants, microchips: European power in a world of demographic change", he tackles an issue at the heart of European ability to compete economically. demographics. What's Europe's demographic situation? What are some best practices that exist in the world and in Europe that we should support and adopt? How important is to think about a serious and well-though migration and skilling policy? 

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti hosts the leader of Project Lion Cage, Tor Indstoy and Arild Tjomsland. The project "explores how everyday connected technology—such as smart vehicles and IoT systems—could be exploited in future security crises". How do connected vehicles work? What type of data they collect and where are they stored? Can these vehicles be remotely hijacked? What are mitigating measures that can be adopted?A few highlights:- When it comes to Chinese made EVs, 90% of data goes to China (regardless of where the vehicles operate)- According ot US law, any data collection (including involuntary espionage) is responsibility of the car owner - Cybersecurity of many Chinese made vehicles is poor - it took Project Lion Cage's white hat hacker only four days to hack into the system

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti chats with Iana Dreyer, Founder and Editor ot Borderlex, a magazine specialised in trade. With Iana, we try to understand the implications of the EU-China summit as well as the tariff "deal" between the EU and the US. We touch upon EU resilience and strategic autonomy and what are the options for the EU ahead. 

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti chats with Stuart Dee, Research Leader and co-Director of the Centre for Defence Economics and Acquisitions at RAND Europe. Stuart joined RAND after spending over a decade in industry, most recently at Rolls-Royce plc where he was involved in a number of large defence programmes including Eurofighter Typhoon, the Future Combat Air System and AUKUS.In light of the recent NATO Summit in The Hague and the push across Europe for defence spending, the episode unpacks the relationship between defence spending and economic growth. What do we need for that relationship to work and what are the main challenges. 

This is the third episode of the Geoeconomic Competition series on new "trade" deals. In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti chats with Reva Goujon, Director at Rhodium Group. What are the tariffs China and the US imposed on each other? How has the Geneva "deal" changed those tariffs? What has happened since then and what can we expect from the coming month - after the pause ends? Are some of the questions analysed in this episode

This is the second episode of the Geoeconomic Competition series on new "trade" deals. In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti chats with Georgina Wright, special adviser to the president and senior fellow at GMF. How did we get to the EU-UK summit, what does the deal (memorandum of understanding) contain? What are its shortcomings and successes? But most importantly, what can we expect next?

This is the first episode of series on new "trade" deals and they are and will shape the global system. The UK has been the first country to strike a deal with the US after Washington imposed widespread tariffs. In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti unpack the UK-US "Prosperity Deal" its implication for the UK and what it tells about future similar deals with Sam Lowe, Partner at Flint Global and heads of trade and market access practice. 

In this episode, Francesca is joined by Henry Gao, Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University. The episode unpacks US tariffs against China, China's response and potential future responses and the impact on global trade.

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti chats with Tobias Gehrke, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and an expert in European economic security. The episode unpacks US tariffs agains the EU, EU response and potential future response and what may be in the EU's playbook.

The episode unpacks the EU Green Industrial Plan, Francesca is joined by Simone Tagliapietra, Senior fellow at Bruegel and Professor of Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy at the Catholic University of Milan and at The Johns Hopkins University - School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Europe. We talk about the six pillars of the plan, path to implementation, challenges and the relationship with defence industrial policy.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Philip Luck, Director of the CSIS Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business. He served in the Biden-Harris administration as the deputy chief economist at the U.S. Department of State. As the Trump administration keeps adopting new tariffs, we investigate what the are the main drivers of the US economic statecraft toolbox, and what may be future developments for tariffs and beyond.

In this special episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Guido Alfani, Professor Economic History at Bocconi University in Milan and author of "As Gods among Men. A History of the Rich in the West". As 2025 brings new challenges, this unusual episode delves in some of the key questions of our time explored in the book such as how the rich historically helped their societies in times of crisis, why they no longer do, and what that may mean for social stability. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Emily Kilcrease senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and co-host of CNAS' podcast De-risky Business. The episode dives into the details of the AI Diffusions Framework with an eye to the implication for US' partners. It unpacks the innovative elements of the framework, how they impact US partners and whether it may become a blueprint for future economic security measures.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Dr. Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation. The episode analyses the case and long adventure of Nippon Steel's acquisition of US Steel. Despite the lack of clear national security threats, the deal has been (temporarily) blocked by US President, Joe Biden. The episode analyses the importance of this case in the broader picture of how investment screening may be changing, the growing tension between national security and competitiveness and how the picture may change with the forthcoming Trump presidency.  Link to book "Chinese investments and the economic security turn in Europe": https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/chinese-investments-and-the-economic-security-turn-in-europe 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Cecilia Trasi, Research Analyst at Bruegel. The episode analyses the case of Swedish battery manufacturing Northvolt. Why it was/is the big European hope in battery manufacturing? What led it to file for bankruptcy? What can Europe learn from this?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Barath Harithas, Senior fellow in the Economics Program and Scholl Chair for International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The episode analyses the elements of (potential) continuity and the differences in the approach to China of the first and second Trump Presidency. It dives into tariffs and export controls, the appointments made so far and recommendations of things to keep an eye on. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Matthew Goodman, distinguished fellow and director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he also leads RealEcon: Reimagining American Economic Leadership, a CFR initiative that explores the U.S. role in the international economy. Based on Trump's first term as President, the developments of the past years and the announcements done during the campaign, the episode delivers an early assessment of the potential economic policies of the second Trump Presidency, and what could be their impact on US economy and on partners. 

In this special edition of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Ignacio Garcia Bercero, former DG Trade and Bruegel non-resident Senior Fellow. The episode dives into the EU's tariffs on imports of EVs from China, asking how we got to this point, why EVs were the main concern, what is the future trajectory of the dispute between the EU and China and whether the label of Trade War is justified at this point. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Dr. Jeremy Chih Cheng Chang, CEO of the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET) in Taiwan. The episode takes a wide overview of Taiwan's position as the semiconductor factory of the world, how it got here, what challenges it faces and what is the future trajectory for the industry and for Taiwan. Among the topics discussed: Competition with China, the relationship with the US and challenges related to the opening of new plants in the US, Japan and the EU.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Nicola Bilotta, coordinator of the EU-Supervisory Digital Finance Academy (EU-SDFA),  Research Associate at the Florence School of Banking and Finance and Associate Fellow at Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). The episode unpacks the debate on de-dollarisation. How does a currency become international and why do we need an international currency? What are the ongoing and future trends? Ultimately, is de-dollarisation happing?

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti talks with Mikael Wigell, Research Director at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and co-founder of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Week and the Geoeconomics Society. The episode touches upon the debate over geoeconomics, economic security and economic statecraft. It then engages with the question of who is a geoeconomist.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti has a chat with Gregor Sebastian, Senior Analyst at Rhodium Group. The episode provides an overview of the current situation and engages with the debate on the advantages and risks of Chinese greenfield investments in the EU EV sector. Articles cited:https://ip-quarterly.com/en/solution-eus-chinese-greenfield-investments-conundrumhttps://rhg.com/research/aint-no-duty-high-enough/https://rhg.com/research/pole-position-chinese-ev-investments-boom-amid-growing-political-backlash/

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Senior Fellow at Bruegel and Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. The episode focuses on the Third Plenum and on the implications its outcomes (if any) may have for European businesses.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Dr Mona Paulsen, Assistant Professor in International Economic Law at the London School of Economics (LSE). Starting from her article titled The Past, Present and Potential of Economic Security, the episode looks at the history of economic security to show that economic security is not an exceptional state of the globalised economy nor should it be treated as something exceptional in the policymaking of governments.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Jonathan Hackenbroich from the European Commission - DG Trade to discuss how the EU economic security strategy has performed from the perspective of one of the main DGs involved in its design and implementation.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Elvire Fabry and Nicolas Koehler-Suzuki to discuss how the EU economic security strategy has performed in its first year compared to the economic security approaches of other actors.

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti discusses the EU's vulnerabilities - real and only perceived - with Luke Patey, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). The episode starts with critical minerals and then expands to other sectors to build the argument that the EU is less vulnerable to China than it thinks. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti discusses the recently announced US tariffs with Ilaria Mazzocco, Senior Fellow with the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The episode explain what is section 301, the reason for the adoption of this latest round of tariffs, why EV are the centre of attention and last, but not least, what Beijing thinks of them. 

In this episode of Geoeconomic Competition, Francesca Ghiretti discusses the issue of extraterritoriality with Georgina Wright, Deputy Director for International Studies at Institute Montaigne . The episode is a primer on the complex topic of extraterritorial measures, which are growing in number and in importance. What is extraterritoriality? And what should we do about it? Are only two of the questions addressed in this episode and in the report on extraterritoriality published by Institute Montaigne.

In this episode, Francesca Ghiretti discusses outbound investment screening with Sarah Bauerle Danzman, Associate Professor at Indiana University and Scholar in Residence at the Atlantic Council . The episode explores the emergence of the debate in the US, the (potential) implications of the regulation that will follow the executive order, and the different ways to approach the issue. 

In this third (and last) episode of the short series on industrial policies, Francesca Ghiretti engages with Todd Tucker, Director of Industrial Policy and Trade at the Roosevelt Institute. The episode focuses on the US' turn to industrial policies, what has driven it, what are its main components and focus points, how much it has already contributed to US' competitiveness and where it is going. The episode also explores the question of a potential subsidy race and the role of coordination with partners.