Geoeconomic Competition
Welcome to "Geoeconomic Competition", a thought-provoking podcast diving deep into the intricacies of geoeconomics. In each episode, Francesca Ghiretti engages with other economic security and geoeconomics experts to navigate the intricate and often hidden manoeuvres of economic security and of global economic power plays. From the growing set of policies to the changes in globalisation, we explore how countries leverage their economic strengths, engage in trade wars, and form strategic alliances to gain geopolitical advantages.
Logo by Daniele Saccani
Episodes
40 episodes
Deep Dive: What to expect from China's 15th Five Year Plan with Gerard DiPippo
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 wha...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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35:02
Deep Dive: China's Export Controls with Rebecca Arcesati
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.
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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41:23
The Key is Heavy Rare Earths with Jason Bedford
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 C...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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19:49
The importance of migration for European competitiveness with Alberto Rizzi
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 a...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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26:42
The Hidden Risks of Connected Vehicles with Project Lion Cage
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 secur...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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29:23
Is the EU stuck between a rock and hard place? with Iana Dreyer
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 an...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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29:49
The Defence Spending-Growth Conundrum with Stuart Dee
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-...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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40:33
The US-China "deal" with Reva Goujon
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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30:33
The EU-UK deal with Georgina Wright
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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23:51
The UK-US prosperity deal with Sam Lowe
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, Fra...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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29:06
China's response to Trump tariffs with Henry Gao
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.
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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25:57
Tariffs and the EU's response with Tobias Gehrke
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 po...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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28:26
The EU Green Industrial Plan with Simone Tagliapietra
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 Univer...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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31:26
Trump's Economic Statecraft with Philip Luck
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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34:55
The role of the super rich with Guido Alfani
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 c...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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38:54
Implications for partners of the AI diffusion framework with Emily Kilcrease
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 D...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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28:16
Nippon Steel almost acquisition of US Steel with Deborah Elms
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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28:53
Let's talk about Northvolt with Cecilia Trasi
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 manuf...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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38:17
Trump 2.0 - China policy with Barath Harithas
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 epis...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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33:14
The Economy of the second Trump Presidency with Matthew Goodman
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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25:40
The EU-China (non)Trade War with Ignacio Garcia Bercero
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 w...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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21:50
Taiwan's semiconductor challenge with Jeremy Chih Cheng Chang
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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36:57
De-dollarisation: myth or reality with Nicola Bilotta
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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31:00
The Geoeconomist with Mikael Wigell
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 epis...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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28:36
Chinese greenfield investments in the EU with Gregor Sebastian
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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27:25