In this episode of the China Desk Podcast, host Steve Yates speaks with Indo-Pacific expert Cleo Paskal about China’s growing influence across the Pacific Islands and why the region is central to U.S. national security. The conversation explores geopolitical competition in Oceania, corruption and political warfare, Taiwan diplomacy, Guam’s strategic role, and how Chinese economic projects intersect with military strategy. Paskal breaks down the “3.5-tier” framework for understanding Pacific Island priorities and explains why Americans should pay closer attention to the region’s strategic importance.

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In this episode, host Steve Yates is joined by Leland Miller, co-founder of China Beige Book and U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission member, for a clear-eyed assessment of China’s economy heading into 2026.

Miller breaks down what analysts got wrong about China in 2025, why GDP figures and stimulus narratives are misleading, and how Xi Jinping is prioritizing advanced manufacturing and national security over household consumption. The conversation examines why a true shift to a consumer-driven Chinese economy is unlikely, how high U.S.–China tariffs have become sustainable rather than destabilizing, and why the real battleground has moved from trade wars to supply chain warfare.

Key topics include supply-chain weaponization, rare earths and pharmaceuticals, tariffs versus effective tariff rates, transshipment, robotics and demographics, and the strategic risks facing the U.S. and its allies as globalization gives way to a fragmented, security-driven economic order.

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In this episode of The China Desk Podcast, host Steve Yates sits down with Tiffany Meier, anchor and investigative reporter for NTD News, to unpack how the Chinese Communist Party exerts long-term influence across global media, Hollywood, technology, and politics.

Meier traces her path into journalism, explains how China In Focus emerged during the early days of COVID-19, and outlines the CCP’s strategy of soft power, censorship, and unrestricted warfare. The conversation explores Hollywood’s entanglement with Chinese censorship, the use of AI and surveillance as tools of authoritarian control, and why Taiwan remains central to global security.

This wide-ranging discussion also examines transnational repression, media capture, human rights abuses, and why understanding China’s long-game strategy is critical for policymakers, journalists, and citizens alike.

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In this episode of the China Desk Podcast, Luke de Pulford of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) joins host Steve Yates to examine China’s proposed “mega embassy” in London, the national security risks tied to Five Eyes intelligence cables, and how Western governments are capitulating under economic pressure from Beijing. The conversation explores parliamentary resistance, grassroots opposition, CCP coercion tactics, and why Taiwan, supply chains, and global deterrence now define the century’s central geopolitical struggle.

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In this episode of China Desk, Steve Yates analyzes the dramatic U.S. action in Venezuela, the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, and the disruption of an illicit oil “ghost fleet supplying China, Russia, and Iran. The discussion explores why Venezuela’s oil reserves matter so deeply to Beijing, how China’s hemispheric ambitions collided with renewed American resolve, and what the episode signals for future flashpoints—from Taiwan to the South China Sea. A clear-eyed look at geopolitics, energy security, sovereignty, and power projection in an increasingly unstable global order.

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In this episode, host Steve Yates is joined by Andrew J. Phelan, Australian med-tech entrepreneur, former government advisor, and longtime China watcher, for a wide-ranging conversation on the growing global confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party.

Phelan reflects on recent events in Australia, including the Bondi tragedy, and examines how information warfare, social media platforms like TikTok, and foreign influence operations are shaping public opinion—especially among younger generations. From there, the discussion expands to Australia’s China policy under Prime Minister Albanese, U.S.–Australia alliance dynamics, and the limits of appeasement.

The conversation dives deep into the technology Cold War: export controls, semiconductors, AI, supply-chain dependence, Chinese overcapacity, and the role of Western capital in financing China’s rise. Phelan argues that 2025 marks a true inflection point—one defined by economic bifurcation, strategic risk, and growing pressure around Taiwan.

This episode offers a clear-eyed assessment of where things stand heading into 2026—and why democracies must respond by grounding strategy in values, sovereignty, and long-term discipline rather than short-term convenience.

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In this episode of The China Desk, host Steve Yates speaks with US-China Economic and Security Review Commission members Randy Schriver and Mike Kuiken about the Commission’s latest annual report to Congress. The conversation breaks down China’s rapid advances in space as a warfighting domain, quantum computing and encryption threats, biotechnology competition, and deep vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains. Drawing on decades of national security experience, the guests explain why technological literacy, allied coordination, and long-term investment are now critical to maintaining U.S. and allied security in the Indo-Pacific.

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Investigative journalist and bestselling author Sam Cooper joins China Desk to expose the hidden financial and political networks linking Chinese organized crime, money laundering, and fentanyl trafficking across North America. Cooper breaks down the “Vancouver Model,” revealing how underground casinos, real estate, and foreign influence operations move billions of dollars through Canada—often with alleged links to Chinese state actors and election interference.

This episode explores how criminal networks exploit Western financial systems, the role of casinos in global money laundering, China’s United Front operations, and how illicit fentanyl cash fuels destabilization across borders. A must-watch conversation on national security, transnational crime, and the reality behind Chinese influence in democratic societies.

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This episode of The China Desk features Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, in a deep, candid conversation with host Steve Yates. They break down how China targets American states, the vulnerabilities inside U.S. supply chains and critical infrastructure, the threat of Beijing’s political warfare operations, and why state-level stress tests and new legislation are becoming essential defensive tools. Lucci explains real-world cases — from foreign land purchases near military bases to spyware-enabled tech in hospitals — and outlines what lawmakers, governors, and citizens must do to confront the CCP’s growing influence. Essential viewing for anyone tracking national security, state resilience, and U.S.–China policy.

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America’s solar industry is growing fast—but China still controls huge portions of the global supply chain. In this interview, Steve Yates sits down with Ben Delman of Solar United Neighbors to break down how U.S. solar manufacturing is changing, where our steel and panel components really come from, and how new policies could shift the balance of power.

Delman explains the rise of American solar production, the role of China’s subsidies, the struggle over rare earths and raw materials, and how state-level battles over net metering and community solar will shape the next decade. He also discusses how AI-driven data centers, steel manufacturing in the Rust Belt, and innovations like plug-in balcony solar could redefine American energy independence.

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