The Cambodian government is leading a massive, unprecedented crackdown on the scamming business that once accounted for an estimated one-third of the country's GDP. For the past six months, heavily armed security forces have raided scam centers across the country and arrested more than 6,000 in the first couple months of the year.

The campaign began last fall when the United States issued a criminal indictment against Chen Zhi, a multi-billionaire Chinese national who built a vast empire in Cambodia that included a huge network of scam compounds that generated a staggering $30 million a day.

Huang Yan, a Chinese journalist based in Southeast Asia, is among a small group of international journalists covering every detail of the ongoing crackdown against scam centers. Huang joins Eric from Bangkok to discuss why the fall of Chen Zhi was so important and what it reveals about the outsized role that Chinese actors are playing in this saga.

📌 Topics Covered in this Episode

• Cambodia's scam crackdown: reality vs. narrative
• Chinese kingpins behind the networks
• Life inside scam compounds
• The Chen Zhi case and global pressure
• Why the industry persists
• Where the scams are moving next

Show Notes:

• Cambodia: Rain and Dust: The Rise and Fall of Chen Zhi by Huang Yan
• The New York Times: Why Cambodia Handed Over a Man Accused of Stealing Billions in Crypto Scam by Sui-Lee Wee

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X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander

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U.S., European, and Japanese leaders are all talking about the urgency of building new supply chains to end their reliance on China for critical minerals and batteries that will power next-generation mobility, technology, and weapons. It all sounds great and makes for good politics at home, but the reality is that China's dominance of these vital supply chains is so big and still growing that it will be nearly impossible to close the gap anytime soon.

Zeyi Yang, a senior writer covering technology and business at Wired, recently detailed this phenomenon in a cover article for the magazine about how "Chinese EV batteries are eating the world." Zeyi joins Eric to discuss why it's going to be so difficult for the rest of the world to match China's near-total dominance of this increasingly vital sector.

📌 Topics Covered in this Episode

• China's 80% dominance in EV batteries
• Why Chinese firms are expanding globally
• Key players like CATL, BYD, and Goshen
• Expansion into Europe and Southeast Asia
• Local tensions over the environment and labor
• Batteries as a strategic energy resource

Show Notes:

• Wired: Chinese EV Batteries Are Eating the World by Zeyi Yang: https://tinyurl.com/595hnzrh

Join the Discussion:

X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social

Follow CGSP in French and Spanish:

• French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
• Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

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Conservative media outlets and think tank analysts in the United States have sharply criticized China for what they say is Beijing's failure to support its supposed "allies" in Venezuela and Iran. Their arguments have gained traction on X and other social media platforms, where critics portray China as an unreliable partner that avoids confrontation, especially with the United States.

Other analysts dispute that interpretation. Scholars such as Evan Feigenbaum of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argue the criticism rests on a flawed assumption: that China's relationships with countries like Iran resemble the formal alliance commitments the United States maintains with its partners. In reality, Beijing's partnerships carry no comparable security guarantees.

In a recent Foreign Policy article, Wang Zichen, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, pushes back against these critiques. He outlines China's strategic priorities and explains why Beijing is unlikely to offer the kind of security commitments that define U.S. alliances.

Zichen joins Eric to discuss why China structures its global relationships differently—and why Beijing has little intention of acting as a security patron for partners like Iran.

📌 Topics Covered in this Episode

• Why U.S. critics say China is abandoning its partners
• Why China does not treat Iran or Venezuela as formal allies
• The difference between U.S. alliances and Chinese partnerships
• How China's domestic priorities shape its foreign policy
• Why Beijing avoids acting as a global security guarantor
• What this debate reveals about U.S. and Chinese strategic thinking

Show Notes:

• Foreign Policy: China Won't Play Security Patron for Iran by Wang Zichen
• Beyond the Ideological: The Iran Question Is All About China by Zineb Riboua
• Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Beijing Offers Tehran Lukewarm Rhetorical Support as Iranian Actions Threaten China's Oil, Trade Flows by Jack Burnham and Max Meizlish

Join the Discussion:

X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social

Follow CGSP in French and Spanish:

• French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
• Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth