ChinaTalk

ChinaTalk is a podcast and newsletter founded by Jordan Schneider in 2017 as a graduate school project from a Peking University dorm room. What began as a side project grew into one of the most influential China-technology policy publications in the English-speaking world, with over 65,000 free newsletter subscribers and a podcast that reached one million downloads in 2025. The organization describes itself as a hybrid think tank and media outlet with deep expertise on China and emerging technology. Its audience spans the U.S. government — including White House staff, federal agencies, and congressional offices — as well as Fortune 500 C-suites, sovereign wealth funds, venture capital firms, and over 1,000 journalists worldwide including staff at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times. Half of the podcast audience is international, including policymakers from capitals and embassies around the world. Jordan Schneider previously worked for the Rhodium Group and Bridgewater, holds a master's degree in economics from Peking University's Yenching Academy, and a BA in history from Yale. The ChinaTalk team has grown to include managing editor Lily Ottinger, AI and China analyst Irene Zhang, trade and semiconductors contributor Arrian Ebrahimi, editor Nicholas Welch, and Tarbell AI Journalism Fellow Nick Corvino. In 2025, ChinaTalk hired its first two full-time employees and announced plans to grow to at least five full-time staff, with the longer-term goal of building a formal ChinaTalk Institute modeled on internet-native think tanks like the Institute for Progress. The organization is supported by Emergent Ventures, Schmidt Futures, the AI Safety Tactical Opportunities Fund, individual donors, subscription revenue, and advertising partnerships.