We Cut Off Its Oil & Attacked Its Partners; China Seems Willing to Wait...Why?

About this episode

The episode discusses China's strategic patience in response to US actions in Iran and examines whether this reflects restraint or a calculated move.

China loses two oil partners to US action in Iran. Their response? Strategic patience. Are we watching restraint or preparation for what’s next? There’s an old saying: When your enemy is digging himself a hole, the smart move is to hand them a bigger shovel. China appears to be doing exactly that — watching, waiting, keeping its powder dry while America commits massive military resources to the other side of the world. On this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast , USC professor of international affairs David C. Kang returns to examine whether China’s restraint vindicates his contrarian thesis, or reveals something more calculated. Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Guest: David C. Kang

Topics covered

• China
• oil partners
• US action
• Iran
• strategic patience
• military resources

Keywords

• restraint
• preparation
• international affairs

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Talk Cocktail Podcast

Places: China, US, Iran, America

More episodes of Talk Cocktail

• Russia’s Descent Into Madness: Slowly, Then All at Once · June 11, 2026 · 34 min
• No Rules, No Order: The World on a Knife’s Edge · June 6, 2026 · 35 min
• The Democracy of Grief · June 4, 2026 · 32 min
• California's Generic Governor's Race and the End of Local Politics · May 30, 2026 · 33 min
• How Civilizations Lose the Signal · May 27, 2026 · 46 min
• Teaching Students to Navigate Algorithms and Deepfakes · May 21, 2026 · 39 min