Former WSJ Reporter Paul Beckett on China, the U.S., and Labubus

On the inaugural episode of the Red Book Podcast, we sit down with former Wall Street Journal reporter and editor Paul Beckett for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of US-China relations, the changing nature of foreign correspondence in Asia, and how the Labubu craze became an unlikely cultural bridge between mainland China and the rest of the world.

Paul brings the perspective of someone who has watched the region evolve over decades — a useful counter to the noise of the daily news cycle. We talk about what reporters get right and wrong about China, what changed when foreign newsrooms started leaving Beijing, and where the most important untold stories are right now.