Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast! Today’s episode, “RH 9.8.25 | China, Putin & Kim Parade, Taiwan Strait Tensions, Tariff Pain, Scamland Myanmar”, dives into one of the busiest weeks in global geopolitics—where Beijing is center stage and everyone else is reacting.

We kick off with the striking image from Beijing: Xi Jinping flanked by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, waving to crowds as intercontinental ballistic missiles roll through Tiananmen Square. This isn’t just parade fanfare—it’s China flaunting its ties to Russia and North Korea, two sanctioned regimes caught in their own wars and isolation. We break down what the trio’s stage-managed moment means, why it matters, and where the cracks still show.

Next, we head to the Taiwan Strait, where the Canadian frigate Ville de Québec and Australia’s guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane transited the waterway in defiance of Beijing’s claims. The PLA shadowed them with ships and jets, blasting the move as “provocative.” We’ll unpack what this signals about growing allied presence in the Indo-Pacific and why China’s attempts to frame the strait as its territory keep hitting resistance.

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are squeezing Beijing hard. Exports to the U.S. plunged 33% in August, while overall growth slowed. China is scrambling to lock in an ASEAN free trade upgrade and to pitch itself as a more “open” economy. Meanwhile, at Europe’s biggest auto show, Volkswagen and Stellantis complained about the double hit of tariffs and Chinese EV competition. Beijing may be hurting in Washington’s markets, but in Southeast Asia and Europe it’s pressing advantages.

We then cover Beijing’s global reach: the Chinese Navy’s hospital ship Silk Road Ark has embarked on a 220-day deployment across the South Pacific, Caribbean, and Latin America. Officially it’s a humanitarian mission, but strategically it plants the PLA Navy squarely in America’s backyard. This is soft-power competition with teeth.

Finally, we dive into one of the darker stories: Myanmar’s explosion as the global hub for cyberfraud. Scam compounds along the Thai border now employ more than 200,000 trafficked laborers, scamming victims worldwide and fueling a humanitarian disaster. It’s a fusion of organized crime, forced labor, and cyberthreats with global reach.