(Preview) Xi Wants the Strait of Hormuz Re-Opened; Cakes and An E-Commerce Crackdown; The Next Stage of Decoupling; The MATCH Act in Congress

On today’s show Andrew and Bill return to discuss the PRC’s posture amidst the ongoing war in Iran. Topics include: Xi’s call to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, an interdicted Iranian ship that may have been carrying missile precursors from China, Trump’s posture toward China three weeks before his summit in Beijing, and deals between the US and Indonesia and the US and the Philippines. Then: The SAMR fines several e-commerce giants over food safety concerns in the “ghost delivery” sector, plus thoughts on the ongoing struggle to combat involution. From there: New regulations in Beijing to crack down on foreign companies attempting to diversify supply chains, the USTR’s Jamieson Greer comments on US partners and a new rare earth strategy, and notes on tensions between the PRC and Japan. At the end: The MATCH Act in Congress and the continued scrutiny over semiconductor manufacturing equipment, an updated timeline for DeepSeek’s new model, and a Mandelson mess continues to unspool in the U.K.