Translating Beijing: How Europe (Mis)Understands China with Lea Sahay

In this episode, we welcome Lea Sahay, China correspondent for the German Süddeutsche Zeitung in Beijing. We talk about Lea’s experience as a journalist in a rapidly changing China over the past decade and explore what shapes Europe's image of China in a contradictory era of derisking, dancing robots, and China-maxing. We ask what European political delegations may miss about China’s societal model among high-tech factory tours, and look at the role journalism can play in translating a country full of contradictions. The conversation also asks where EU-China relations are heading looking forward and where room for engagement remains.

Lea Sahay is the China correspondent of the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in Beijing and the author of “Das Ende des Chinesischen Traums: Leben in Xi Jinpings neuem China” (2024). You can follow Lea on Instagram @lea.sahay and subscribe to the “China und wir” Podcast on Spotify.