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Former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd is a long time scholar of China. In his new book, The Avoidable War, he argues that it is cultural misunderstanding and historical grievance which make Chinese-US relations so volatile. Rana Mitter asks him how he sees China's current positioning of itself on the world stage. We hear why it is that the ideas of Hegel and not Kant resonate in Chinese politics. And, in the spirit of better understanding the rich artistic traditions and cultural history of China, we hear from three researchers about the latest thinking on Hong Kong ink art, representations of sleep, Chinese identity and contemporary classical music and insomnia from the cultural revolution to the present day.

Kevin Rudd is President and CEO of Asia Society and a former Prime Minister of Australia. He is a leading international authority on China and began his career as a China scholar, serving as an Australian diplomat in Beijing before entering Australian politics. His latest book is The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China.

Alexander Ho is a British-Chinese composer based at the Royal College of Music in London. His work has been commissioned or performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, ±«Óãtv Radio 3 and the Royal Opera House.

Ros Holmes is a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of St Andrews. Her research focuses on ideas about sleep and the art and visual culture of twentieth century and contemporary China.

Malcolm McNeill is Director of Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art at SOAS, University of London. He is a specialist in Chinese paining and he has worked for museums in the UK and Taiwan. Malcolm McNeill would like to credit research on Lui Shou-Kwan’s relationship to British Modernists and Studio Magazine mentioned in this programme to Jennifer Fleming, PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London.

Producer: Ruth Watts

Image: Raymond Fung, Breathing 23 (detail), 2021. Ink and colour on paper, 90 x 270cm. Courtesy of 3812 Gallery and the artist

Music: Can I play, too? for clarinet, violoncello, piano, and two table tennis players was commissioned by Chinese Arts Now for performance at SoundState Festival, Southbank Centre, London

You can find other episodes exploring Chinese and South Asian history and culture including
China, Freud, War and Sci-Fi /programmes/m0014grr
Bruce Lee's Film Enter the Dragon /programmes/m0015l7z
Africa, Babel, China /programmes/m0002h89
The Inscrutable Writing of Sui Sin Far /programmes/m000v9gl