Welcome to Episode 34 of Baiguan Radio. Today, Robert had a chat with Johnny of
again to talk about several important issues including:01:59 China's Limited Role in Middle East Conflicts
06:25 Trade War Semiconductor Negotiations Reaching an Impasse
12:00 Chinese Consumer Spending Shows Surprising Resilience
18:00 Emerging Consumer Energy and New Categories
21:29 Skepticism Toward China's Stablecoin Ambitions
The audio and the curated transcript below will be reserved for paying subscribers of Baiguan, who also enjoy a range of benefits, including access to Baiguan’s Discord community and complimentary access to
.Curate Transcript: Key Viewpoints and Insights
China's Limited Role in Middle East Conflicts
[00:01:59 - 00:03:08] Robert argues that China will remain largely passive regarding the US-Iran conflict, contrary to expectations from both China hawks and those hoping for Chinese intervention. He explains that China's primary concern is maintaining commercial interests, particularly ensuring the Hormuz Strait remains open for petroleum imports. The nightmare scenario for China would be complete disruption of oil supplies through the strait. However, Robert emphasizes there's no actual "Axis of upheaval" between China, Russia, and Iran - these relationships are far more transactional than ideological, limiting China's willingness or ability to meaningfully intervene.
