The Interview

“More Chinese companies are put out of business by other Chinese companies. Chinese companies are not put out of business because of Western companies, so this whole competition is not, from a Chinese guy's mind, like a US-China competition. It’s more ‘how do I survive this gym?’ because it's damn hard to keep staying alive at home. That in turn makes you very competitive in the rest of the world.”
Maura Fogarty speaks to Joe Ngai, Chairman of the China region for global consulting firm McKinsey.
He advises senior management at Chinese and multinational corporations in the region which gives him a unique insight into the world’s second-largest economy.
Having written numerous books and reports on China’s economic landscape, Ngai’s expertise has been recognised by accolades from the likes of Forbes China and Bloomberg.
In this interview, we hear his thoughts about how the Chinese market has changed in the 25 years since the country joined the World Trade Organisation, and on how AI is developing and managing tensions with US competitors.
Thank you to the Asia Business team for their help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, director Chloé Zhao, and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organisation. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presenter: Maura Fogarty
Producers: Ben Cooper and Jaltson Akkanath Chummar
Editor: Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Joe Ngai. Credit: Getty)

“Sometimes we confuse activity with impact. And here I think the way we measure results should be different. How many lives has the UN saved? How many people has the UN helped to live out of poverty? How many people have we prevented from conflict? How many people were we able to support?”

The BBC’s Anne Soy speaks to María Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador’s former foreign minister and a candidate to become the first woman secretary general of the United Nations.

She is seeking the role at a time when the UN faces severe financial pressure, falling international aid budgets and questions about its influence over major conflicts.

Espinosa believes the organisation remains essential, but warns that it could become irrelevant unless it changes how it works. She describes the choice facing the UN as “reform, transform or die”.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russia’s nuclear envoy Mikhail Ulyanov and UNICEF chief Catherine Russell.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Anne Soy
Producer: Osman Iqbal, Sharon Hemands and Farhana Haider
Editor: Damon Rose
(Image: María Fernanda Espinosa. Credit: Getty)

“I think Pac was actually traumatised by the poverty. You know, poverty can be very, very traumatic. Having no lights, having no food from time to time, having no clothes while you’re going to school, and bumming clothes. Them stories, it was real. That really happened to Pac. Pac was sensitive, so he felt things deeply.”

The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil speaks to Mopreme Shakur, step-brother of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur.

Tupac was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996, and now, almost 30 years later, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial in connection with his murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

Through music exploring poverty, racism and injustice, Tupac became one of hip-hop’s most loved and influential figures, selling more than 75 million records worldwide.

Mopreme recalls growing up with Tupac and explains why he believes poverty and politics shaped his brother and the music he went on to make.
He talks about Tupac's mother having been the section leader of the Harlem chapter of the Black Panther Party, and links Tupac’s own experience of abandonment to his concern with how neglected children can become hardened adults.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Shaimaa Khalil
Producers: Osman Iqbal and Regan Morris
Editor: Damon Rose
(Image: Mopreme Shakur. Credit: Getty)

“Was it good for our Constitution? Was it good for the American people? Was it good for my dad's legacy? No, on all counts. It was not. All I know is that I'm grateful that he did it for me.”

BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell speaks to Hunter Biden, son of former president Joe Biden, about his father’s controversial decision to give him a presidential pardon at the end of his one term in office.

The unconditional pardon was issued in December 2024, as Hunter faced sentencing for two criminal cases. In a statement at the time, the president said his son had been "singled out" and called the cases "a miscarriage of justice."

In an interview for BBC Newsnight, Hunter Biden also talks about the depths of his drug and alcohol addictions, and the toll it took on his family. He talks about the deteriorating health of his father and reveals whether he has presidential ambitions of his own.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk, South African minister Gayton McKenzie and New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Paddy O’Connell
Producer: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Hunter Biden. Credit: Reuters)

“[This weather] is a new norm, and we need to make sure that we are prepared to deal with that…these extreme wildfires put more responsibility onto improving our forecasting tools to support the brigades, to support communities.”
Victoria Gill speaks to Professor Celeste Saulo, head of the World Meteorological Organisation, about the extreme weather events making headlines in recent months. She says the wildfires, heatwaves, droughts and flooding are the new normal and the ability to forecast these events are more important than ever.
The WMO helps countries build resilience to weather, climate and water related hazards by monitoring conditions, improving forecasts and the global sharing of data and information.
Saulo took office in 2024, becoming the first woman and South American to lead the UN agency. She explains how climate change is one of the biggest threats facing the world today.
The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sumant Sinha the founder of India’s renewable energy company ReNew, executive director of Unicef Catherine Russell, and film director Rohan Kanawada. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producer: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Farhana Haider
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Celeste Saulo. Credit: Photo by World Meteorological Organization)