
Why Chinese consumers are turning their backs on American fast-food chains
Our weekly podcast on China. This week: what changing tastes in China reveal about the country’s attitude to the outside world
American fast food was once a symbol of modernity in China. Pop songs were sung in honour of McDonald’s and families flocked to its restaurants. So why are a growing number of Chinese now favouring local brands?
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” podcast and Don Weinland, our China business and finance correspondent, discuss a potted history of American fast food in China and ask: what does the country’s changing appetite reveal about China today?
Explore more
More from Podcasts

Editor’s Picks
Will Europe’s new migration pact be effective?
A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist
8:24

The Intelligence
Why Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina flew the coop
Also on the daily podcast: a revealing ride in a Chinese robotaxi and remembering a nuclear-disarmament pioneer
24:16

Editor’s Picks
The Middle East is bracing for a wider regional war
A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist
5:57
The Intelligence
The falsehoods and the real concerns behind Britain’s riots
Also on the daily podcast: social-media populism arrives in Japan, and political lessons from “House of the Dragon”
22:37
Editor’s Picks
Kamala Harris has had a big effect on the polls
A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist
5:21