China Lost BIG in Iran

Forget lab leaks. China's trying to smuggle in the dangerous biological agents. US troops are massing in China's backyard. And China is exploding. That and more on this week's China news headlines. Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell. This episode is sponsored by Surfshark. Whenever you go online, you really should be using a VPN like Surfshark to cover your tracks and protect your identity. I'll tell you more in a bit. Let's start with the latest update on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Chagos Islands deal, which would grant sovereignty over the area to pro-CCP Mauritius, 1,300 miles away. Even though China is reportedly looking to lease an island from Mauritius near the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia. It's the US's only base in the Indian Ocean. But it looks like this controversial deal has finally been paused over Trump's opposition. The British Foreign Minister admitted on Saturday night that because Diego Garcia houses a joint US-British base, the British government needs American cooperation to update certain terms before the deal can actually go through. You know, that point I made months ago. I'd say better late than never, but at this point, they better just sit down and shut up. So is the deal dead? Well, not quite yet. It's because it's been paused since the parliamentary session is over. It might still be reintroduced in the next parliamentary session starting in mid-May. But without Trump on board, it's going to be an uphill battle for the UK. And now on to everyone's favorite ongoing drama in the Middle East, Iran, where the news just keeps on coming. On Monday, the US Navy began blockading Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and tracking down ships in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. On Tuesday, the Chinese Communist Party called Trump's actions dangerous and irresponsible, saying that the blockade would only aggravate confrontation, escalate tensions, and undermine the fragile ceasefire. And it appeared that a sanctioned Chinese-owned oil tanker, the Rich Starry, was going to make it through the US blockade. Until Wednesday, when it turned around, reportedly because US forces told it to. Now that we all know the importance of trade routes, I think we owe George Lucas an apology. Also on Wednesday, Trump decided it would be a good idea to make the entire already volatile situation way more interesting by putting out this true social post. China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them. Also the world. The situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big fat hug when I get there in a few weeks. Which confused everyone. Including news outlets, some of which thought the US blockade had ended. It hasn't. Although I'm guessing the person most confused was Xi Jinping. On Thursday, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi reportedly pressed Iran to reopen the Strait, while reaffirming Iran's sovereignty. That's what I call aggressive negotiations. And now it's Friday, and I don't know what happens next, but I'll be sure to tell you next week. The Trump administration is also taking aim at banks handling Iranian money. The Treasury Department says they have evidence these banks allowed the Iranian regime to funnel illegal money through them. Some of these banks are in Gulf countries like the UAE or Oman, which, given that Iran fired drones and missiles at them, are likely to comply with US demands. But other banks are in Hong Kong and mainland China. An anonymous official at the Treasury Department reportedly says this is the first step to adding secondary sanctions on these banks if they don't comply with US demands. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant warned countries not to get involved with the Iranian regime financially. The other thing that we have done is we have told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure, and the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities. So we're going to blow up the money of all their leaders in the middle of the night? Man, economics is way more violent than I realized. So will this end up affecting China? Well, according to Trump, Xi Jinping promised not to send weapons to Iran. But I don't remember anyone making any promises about money, so I guess we'll see. While the CCP struggles on how to handle its relationship with Iran, it doesn't have nearly as much to worry about elsewhere. Because some of America's allies are continuing to get closer to China. For example, Canada and China held talks this week and agreed to expand trade and financial engagement, including strengthening our economic relationship. Wow. Given the state of China's economy, this is like going rock climbing and connecting yourself to a 200 pound lead weight. I'm sure you'll climb all the way to the top. All of this obviously is building on Prime Minister Mark Carney's Beijing trip earlier this year, when he said Canada aims to be a part of a New World Order. Seemingly one led by the CCP. Which, given how Carney is just ceding to them, might as well stand for the Cucking Canada Party. But Carney isn't alone anymore. This week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has made clear his disdain for the US-Israeli war on Iran, returned to China to seek deeper ties. Look, I totally get not being a fan of this war, but do you think China is the nation opposed to needless wars? This is like a vegetarian breaking up with her boyfriend for eating a hamburger, and her next relationship is with Hannibal Lecter. Sanchez has been a thorn in Trump's side for quite some time now. Besides opposing his policies towards the Middle East, Sanchez also refuses to increase Spain's NATO defense contributions to 5%, the only NATO country to do so. So is he really anti-war? Or is he just cheap? Spain is also closely cooperating with China in the EV sector, despite EU tariffs on Chinese EVs. So cheap, definitely cheap. And on this trip, Sanchez encouraged the CCP to play a more active role on the global stage, specifically saying that China can do more. For example, by demanding that international law be respected, and that the conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Gaza, and the West Bank and Ukraine cease. Because don't you know, the Chinese Communist Party has always safeguarded international law. So as Canada and Spain get closer to China, the US is seeking some new friends. Which is tough, because you know how hard it is making friends in your 30s. Imagine making new friends when you're 250. US Secretary of War Pete Heggseth announced a major defense partnership with Indonesia. This includes military modernization, as well as joint training exercises, military cooperation, and education. But one thing it doesn't include is blanket flyover permission for US military flights. So they're friends, just not with those benefits. This is because earlier in April, Indonesia's foreign ministry reportedly sent a letter warning that giving the US overflight permission would risk entangling them in South China Sea conflicts. AKA angering China. The deal still has to make its way through the Indonesian government after further review, so it's not a done deal yet. But it's noteworthy that Indonesia is on one side of the Strait of Malacca, which the CCP heavily relies on for trade. So if something bad happens in the South China Sea, which Indonesia and China have overlapping claims over, well, looks like Indonesia and the US might be able to muster up some leverage. And China might get harassed in other waters. Which isn't karma. Name 90 times China's ever done something like that. I'll wait. Speaking of South China Sea conflicts, the US and its allies will deploy over 17,000 troops to participate in the biggest ever joint drills in the Philippines. Besides American and Philippine forces, other military personnel participating include Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan. Yes, Canada. Guess that New World Order will have to wait a little longer. Hopefully forever. The Balikatan exercises start on April 20, and will run through May 8, with 10,000 US troops taking part. Despite everything going on in the Middle East. This is obviously to deter China, while increasing combat readiness and cooperation among key US allies. The drill's organizers said the training will include land, air, sea, space, and cyber capabilities, all of which should help the Philippines become more experienced and capable in light of China's doing absolutely nothing at all in the region. A biology researcher at Indiana University, or IU, has pled guilty to smuggling E. coli DNA from China concealed in a clothing shipment. Which is ridiculous. If he wanted E. coli in the US, he could have just eaten at Chipotle. 32-year-old Youhuang Xiang has been sentenced to over four months in prison and fined $500 with one year of supervised release. And that clothing shipment? Well, he apparently smuggled in the E. coli DNA in women's underwear. Where's a guy like that getting women's underwear? And just for good measure, Xiang also lied about his CCP membership when immigration authorities questioned him. In any case, Xiang wasn't the first such case, and almost certainly won't be the last. But on the bright side, this is as good a reminder as any to wash your underwear. Don't be nasty. And finally, earlier this week, a massive fire broke out at a parking garage in Shenzhen belonging to Chinese electric vehicle company BYD. Seriously, how did that fire get that big? The facility was used to store test or scrapped vehicles. No casualties were reported, but the company's shares traded in Hong Kong dropped by 0.91%, which isn't all that much, all things considered. Meanwhile, elsewhere in China, hundreds of parked electric bicycles caught fire. Ok, there isn't really a bright side to that. Except for the brightness coming from the light of the flames. There's speculation that this might be from a local heatwave, but in any case, it's not exactly inspiring confidence in Chinese transportation. And did you know that every time you go online, everything you do is potentially compromised? That's why the people at Surfshark created a VPN that keeps your internet activity private and secure. You may have noticed that phishing scams are on the rise. Scammers send 3.4 billion phishing attacks every single day, trying to convince you to sign in somewhere and enter your password. A lot of these emails look legit. That's why Surfshark created the Email Scam Checker. With one click, you can check to see if an email is probably a phishing attack. This could help you save yourself from having your identity and your hard-earned money stolen by scammers. You'll also get the Web Content Blocker, which allows you to block adult sites, drugs, gambling, and other harmful content on every device in your household. It lets you block the bad stuff without actually having to monitor what your family members are browsing. I've been using Surfshark for a long time, and it just keeps getting better. A lot of other VPNs just hide your internet activity. Surfshark does that, too, and very well. And it also goes the extra mile with add-ons that keep you and your family safe from all the malicious things that come through the internet. Plus, Surfshark has servers you can connect to in more than 100 countries, more than any other VPN. So stay safe, and get Surfshark. Go to surfshark.com slash uncensored, and use the code UNCENSORED to get up to 4 months extra. The link is in the description below. Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time.