A Soybean faux-détente

About this episode

The episode discusses the complexities of US-China relations following a summit between Trump and Xi, highlighting skepticism about the outcomes and broader geopolitical implications.

Trump and Xi shook hands in Beijing, and yes, the soccer mom in all of us should appreciate that two nuclear superpowers are behaving like adults. But let's not kid ourselves :) soybeans and Boeing orders don't a détente make. JShap thinks Trump can't carry the baton; Marko says he's the only one who can land the plane he launched. Meanwhile, the CIA's running around Mexico, Cuba's running out of diesel, and AOC is sharpening her ideological fangs. After Dark, as advertised. -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Show rundown and updates (00:45) - After Dark banter (01:47) - Trump meets Xi (02:47) - Why the summit matters (05:42) - Messaging and skepticism (08:04) - Military intelligence complex (09:46) - Tech split and hardware lobby (14:05) - Globalization lessons and leverage (20:29) - COVID and Nixon to China (25:00) - Who carries the baton (34:46) - China economics and engineering state (37:54) - Consumers inflation and pain tolerance (46:12) - Pentagon report dime framework (46:57) - DIME Framework Roast (47:53) - China and Hormuz Deal (52:11) - Chinese Shipping Boom (53:02) - Gulf Commodities Pivot (55:11) - US China Mixed Signals (59:12) - Mexico Relationship Flashpoints (01:01:23)…

People in this episode

Hosts: JShap, Marko, Jacob Shapiro, Marko Papic

Topics covered

• US-China relations
• geopolitics
• trade
• military intelligence
• populism
• globalization

Keywords

• Trump
• Xi
• CIA
• AOC
• geopolitics
• trade
• military intelligence
• globalization
• COVID
• populism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA, Boeing

Places: Mexico, Cuba

More episodes of Geopolitical Cousins

• The Most Important Of All Unimportant Forecasts · June 10, 2026 · 1h 13m
• The Second Derivative · June 1, 2026 · 1h 33m
• Forty Meters Under Fordow · May 27, 2026 · 1h 32m
• TVI26: C***** Goes #1 · May 22, 2026 · 1h 17m
• TVI26: Jinping Rising · May 22, 2026 · 48 min
• TVI26: Benchwarmers · May 22, 2026 · 1h 42m