China Unscripted

Jonathan Cristol, an expert on China's strategy in the Middle East, discusses China's alliance with Iran, the barter system between the two countries, China's impact on Iranian politics, China's growing role in the Middle East, tensions in the Iran-China relationship, investments in alternative energy in the Gulf region, and potential consequences of China withdrawing from the Middle East.

China has vowed to take control of Taiwan, an independent democratic country about 70 miles from its coast. But that's not all China wants. China is seeking world domination, and Taiwan is just the start. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss how Taiwan could be the first domino in China's quest for domination in space as well, how Japan's islands could be next, and why China's exploration of the moon could determine its dominance on earth. Joining us in this episode of Rick Fisher, Jr., a weapons expert, a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, and author of the book "China's Military Modernization: Building for Regional and Global Reach."

Guest Bill Holstein, co-author of 'Battlefield Cyber: How China and Russia are Undermining Our Military Strength,' discusses China's smokeless war against the US, how China could cripple the US with the press of a button, and how the US can fight back. Topics also include China's cyber espionage, global ambitions, the need for a Department of Digital Services, bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the US, challenges for companies dealing with TikTok, and negative impacts of technology on democracy.

Cleo Paskal, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses the potential collapse of the Chinese Communist Party and the implications for China's influence. They also explore China's push towards a cashless society, the impact of fentanyl, and the changing dynamics in the Asia Pacific region.

For a long time, there was a pervasive belief in Washington and other western capitals that China would liberalize once it's population had obtained a certain amount of prosperity. What many people failed to understand was the ideology that drove the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and how it could employ capitalism to a communism end. Without a true understanding of what communists believe, it can be easy to fall prey to what they preach, which is very different from what they practice. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss the core beliefs of Xi Jinping and the Communist Party, the connection between progressivism and communism, and how the US can help Chinese people topple the Chinese Communist Party. Joining us in this episode is Brad Thayer, director of China policy at the Center for Security Policy and co-author of “Understanding the China Threat”.

Christopher Balding, Senior Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and founder of New Kite Data Labs, discusses China's economy, the overvaluation of real estate, the comparison of China's bailout with the US's, increasing debt and unsustainable infrastructure model, the impact of higher education investment, and the environmental impact of Chinese electric vehicles.

China knows the geopolitical significance of the Solomon Islands and the rest of the Pacific islands if it were to go to war with the US and its allies. And it's been slowly tightening the noose around the country's democracy by bribing its officials, training Solomon Island police, and sending Chinese nationals to infiltrate its society. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss how soon before China has complete control of the Solomon Islands, what the US and Australia could do to stop Chinese corruption there, and what Chinese corruption in the Solomon Islands looks like. Joining us in this episode is Colonel Grant Newsham, a former Marine intelligence officer and author of the book When China Attacks: A Warning to America.

Many people think that because China's Navy is relatively untested that it's nothing to worry about. However, that's not necessarily the case. China's weapons have been getting better, it's experience on the sea is growing each day, and it's training is getting more sophisticated. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss China's maritime buildup, it's conflict with the Philippines over a rusty old ship moored on a shoal, and why China might want to go to war sooner rather than later. Joining us in this episode is Captain Jim Fanell, the former director of intelligence and information operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior intelligence officer for China at the Office of Naval Intelligence.

China's economy is imploding, and the foreign investment that has been propping it up for so many years is starting to decline. In this just us episode of China Unscripted, we discuss China's real estate crisis, BlackRock's outlook on a US-China-Taiwan conflict, and why CCP officials need to start wearing black sharpie goatees.

China might invade Taiwan in August, or at least some of its islands, according to this week's China Unscripted guest Guermantes Lailari. In this episode, we talk about what makes August the most likely month, what Taiwanese islands China might want to take, and how the US could deter China from invading. Guermantes is a retired US Air Force Foreign Area Officer specializing in the Middle East and Europe, as well as strategy, irregular warfare, and missile defense. Last year, he was a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan Fellow. This year he is a visiting scholar at National Chengchi University in Taipei.