Tech and Global Power, with John Lee

Our 2025 TOY Senior Fellow on the interplay between tech and geopolitics

Semiconductors, EVs, AI, TSMC, BYD, DeepSeek...In a time when trade, technology, and global power dynamics are more interconnected and in flux than ever before, we turn to an expert on all those things on this episode: John Lee, a leading voice on high-tech industries in China and the region, and on how they impact foreign relations.

John is the 2025 TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Switzerland, which means he'll be around frequently this year to explore key global challenges, geopolitics, and the impact of technological advances on it all.

He has also been named a Fellow at Asia Society's Center for China Analysis. The TOY Senior Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Max and Monique Burger & the "Thinking of Yves" Family, Hong Kong. He will provide analysis on a range of technology and political issues including semiconductors, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, national security matters, and the evolving role of technology in geopolitics.

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE

John Lee is the 2025 TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Switzerland and a Fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. He is the Director of East West Futures, a consultancy specializing in China's high-tech industries, political economy, military capabilities, and international diplomacy. He holds two Master's degrees in International Law from the Australian National University and War Studies from King's College London.

John was a Senior Analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin and previously served in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Department of Defence. Currently, he is a researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre and a Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, National University of Singapore. He co-leads the EU-China Semiconductor Observatory project funded by the European Union, and is a member of the European research consortium Digital Power China. 

His research focuses on China's influence on the semiconductor and automotive industries, telecommunications and the internet of things, and governance of cyberspace and the internet. He also works on defence sector matters, including military applications of artificial intelligence. His research has been published by leading academic and think tank publishers, and he has been featured and quoted in major international media outlets, including the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, South China Morning Post and Le Monde Diplomatique. 

STATE OF ASIA podcast

Season 8, Episode 8 – published March 4, 2025

Hosts: Nico Luchsinger and Remko Tanis, Asia Society Switzerland

Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Find previous and future episodes here, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or search for 'State of Asia' in any other podcast app. We're also on YouTube.

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