China Desk

What should the United States realistically expect from high-level diplomacy with China — and where are the real risks in the relationship? In this episode of The China Desk , host Steve Yates is joined by Andrew Harding , Policy Analyst for National Security and Indo-Pacific Affairs at The Heritage Foundation, for a detailed breakdown of President Trump’s recent summit with Xi Jinping and the bro...

What happens when someone raised inside China’s education system begins questioning everything they were taught? In this episode of The China Desk , host Steve Yates sits down with independent China analyst and journalist Terence Shen for a wide-ranging discussion on CCP propaganda, Chinese political culture, Taiwan, and the future trajectory of the People’s Republic of China. Born and raised in B...

After 100 episodes, what has the China Desk revealed about the Chinese Communist Party, U.S. strategy, and the future of global competition? In this special milestone edition of The China Desk , the roles are reversed. Host Steve Yates becomes the guest, while Andrew Langer , host of the Lunch Hour Podcast, steps in to lead the conversation — reflecting on the biggest lessons, themes, and takeaway...

Is “China” as we understand it today really a continuous civilization — or a modern political construction? In this episode of The China Desk , host Steve Yates sits down with Bill Hayton , journalist and author of The Invention of China , to unpack one of the most provocative ideas in China studies: that many core concepts of modern China — including its identity, history, and territorial claims...

China’s strategy in the Pacific is not just military — it’s political, economic, and deeply embedded in places most Americans rarely think about. In this follow-up episode of The China Desk , host Steve Yates welcomes back Cleo Paskal , Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to build on their earlier conversation and go deeper into what a real Pacific conflict could look like...

Taiwan is often framed as a binary choice: surrender it to China or risk World War III. But is that really the full picture? In this episode of The China Desk , host Steve Yates is joined by Eyck Freymann , Hoover Fellow at Stanford University and author of Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China , to break down a more realistic — and more strategic — approach to one of the most dan...

China’s influence operations are no longer limited to Washington — they are increasingly playing out at the state and local level across the United States. In this episode of the China Desk Podcast , host Steve Yates is joined by Ambassador Joseph Cella , founder and president of the Secure Our States Coalition and former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, for a wide-ranging discussion on how the Chinese Co...

In this episode of the China Desk Podcast , host Steve Yates speaks with Grace Jin Drexel , human rights advocate and daughter of Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of one of China’s largest underground house church networks, about the Chinese Communist Party’s intensifying crackdown on religious freedom. Grace shares the personal story of her father’s detention in October 2025, when Chinese authorities car...

What if one of the most critical components in modern technology — from fighter jets to smartphones — is also one of the most overlooked? In this episode of The China Desk Podcast , host Steve Yates sits down with David Schild , Executive Director of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) , to break down the strategic importance of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and why they have...

Host Steve Yates welcomes back Andrew Phelan, Australian med-tech entrepreneur, former DFAT Australia-China Council scholar, and longtime China Desk guest (episodes #72 & #85).  They explore grassroots concerns in rural Australia: PRC-linked entities acquiring prime farmland and mineral sands through opaque offshore structures. State governments are forcing wind and solar farms on farmers under th...

In this episode of The China Desk Podcast, host Steve Yates sits down with journalist and documentary filmmaker Jan Jekielek, host of American Thought Leaders and author of Killed to Order. The conversation explores the disturbing allegations surrounding forced organ harvesting in China, a practice critics say is linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s detention system and repression of dissident...

Is China competing—or executing a long-term strategy to dominate global industry? In this episode of The China Desk, legendary CEO advisor Ram Charan joins Steve Yates to break down his book China’s 90% Model: China Has America by the Throat — Here’s How to Fight Back and Win . Charan argues that China’s strategy is deliberate: build capacity to meet 90% of global demand, sell below marginal cost,...

What happens when the world’s most valuable tech company becomes deeply tied to China’s manufacturing ecosystem? In this episode of the China Desk Podcast, host Steve Yates sits down with journalist and author Patrick McGee to unpack the geopolitical stakes behind Apple’s rise, global supply chains, and the future of U.S.–China economic competition. Drawing from McGee’s research and reporting, the...

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 intersec...

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...

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 s...

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...

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 futu...

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 Ti...

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. su...

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 wit...

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 def...

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...

This episode of The China Desk dives deep into one of the most urgent national-security challenges facing North America: the Chinese Communist Party’s long-running campaign of espionage, foreign influence, and elite capture. Host Steve Yates sits down with Canadian intelligence expert and author Dennis Molinaro —whose new book Under Assault uncovers five decades of covert CCP operations targeting...

Former DMG Entertainment executive Chris Fenton joins host Steve Yates to reveal how Hollywood’s ties with Beijing reshaped global storytelling, what “Feeding the Dragon” really means, and why America’s entertainment industry must rethink its relationship with China. From Iron Man to propaganda, Fenton exposes the inside story of U.S.–China influence and the cost of reckless capitalism. Watch Full...