Over the past three decades, China has built itself into a manufacturing powerhouse. The plan was simple: use exports as a way to avoid becoming too dependent on the west. But with US President Donald Trump imposing 145 per cent tariffs on the country, this strategy now hangs in the balance. The FT’s Beijing bureau chief Joe Leahy explains how Beijing built its export machine and whether its plan to sell the world cheap goods could go wrong. Clip from European Commission.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: Will China’s manufacturing juggernaut run out of road?  How China’s record trade surplus helped spark Trump’s tariff war  China says ‘sky won’t fall’ as exports surge ahead of Donald Trump’s tariffs  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Follow Joe Leahy on X (@leahyjoseph). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A huge chunk of any typical bank’s profits comes from charging interest. But what happens when you can’t do that? This week, we’re traveling to Pakistan with the FT’s Humza Jilani, where the country has decided to make its entire banking sector align with Islamic law, which forbids charging interest. We’ll discuss how Islamic banks function and if this banking model can become Pakistan’s dominant system.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: Meezan Bank’s soaring shares herald rise of Islamic finance in Pakistan Clerics’ rule change threatens to throw Islamic debt market into turmoil World Bank approves 10-year $20bn Pakistan lending package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Follow Humza Jilani (@humza_jilani) and Saffeya Ahmed on X (@saffeya-ahmed), or follow Saffeya on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.  Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.