The China-Global South Podcast

China was among the first and most vocal opponents of the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro. Curiously, though, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to launch military strikes against Iran as Tehran dealt with a massive popular uprising, China was largely silent.
Both Venezuela and Iran have high-level strategic partnerships with China, yet the Chinese leadership's responses to the crises in each country are radically different.
William (Bill) Figueroa, a leading China-Iran scholar and an assistant professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, joins Eric to discuss his latest CGSP column, which explains Beijing's low-key response and why the strategy is often misunderstood by many U.S. and European stakeholders.
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
Why Iran's latest protests are more serious than past unrest
How the crackdown escalated and what makes it unprecedented
U.S. regime-change talk and the "boxing in China" narrative
China's real exposure to Iranian and Venezuelan oil
Debunking the myth of a deep, all-weather China–Iran alliance
Why Beijing stayed quiet on Iran but reacted strongly on Venezuela
Hard power limits and why China won't intervene militarily
The quiet influence China already exerts behind the scenes
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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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

In this special bonus episode, Eric speaks with Kaiser Kuo, host of the popular Sinica Podcast, about China's response to the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
Many U.S. and European analysts have framed Maduro's downfall as a "setback" or even an "embarrassment" for Beijing, but while that may be true, Eric argues that it's also premature to make such declarations less than a week after Maduro's downfall. After all, U.S.-led military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya all started well but ended up being very costly failures for Washington.
📌 Topics covered include:
China's reaction to Maduro's detention
Why "China setback" claims may be premature
Beijing's messaging vs. Chinese social media
Why Venezuela ≠ Taiwan
China's economic exposure in Venezuela
The rise and fall of oil-backed loans
What "all-weather partnership" really means
Panama Canal risks for China
Limits of U.S. hemispheric leverage
China's Latin America knowledge gap
Beijing's coup-response playbook
Military lessons—and misreadings
Instability as a threat to China's trade model
What signals to watch next
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 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

One of the prevailing narratives that's emerged following the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the detention of President Nicolás Maduro is that this is a major setback for China. Some analysts have called it a "strategic failure" on Beijing's part, while others have described it as "reality check" for China's role as a "global player."
But China's ability to influence events in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America is extremely limited, so the assessment that what happened in Caracas was a blow to Beijing may also be overstated.
Alonso Illueca, CGSP's non-resident fellow for Latin America and the Caribbean, joins Eric from Panama City to discuss whether Maduro's capture presents new risks or opportunities for China.
📌 Topics covered include:
China's response to the U.S. detention of Nicolás Maduro
Why Venezuela matters to China: oil, loans, and exposure
Why Venezuela is not a Taiwan precedent
The U.S. "Our Hemisphere" doctrine and spheres of influence
China's special envoy visit to Caracas
Short-term setbacks vs. long-term gains for China
Electoral pushback against China in Latin America
Panama tensions over ports and Chinese-linked infrastructure
Why Latin America cannot quickly decouple from China
Military force vs. economic leverage in U.S.–China rivalry
Show Notes:
The China-Global South Project: Q&A: Maduro's Fall Tests China's Influence in Washington's Backyard by Alonso Illueca
The China-Global South Project: U.S. Strike in Venezuela Intensifies Chinese Media Debate Over Taiwan by Han Zhen
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud
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 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

In this special year-end edition of The China-Global South Podcast, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud look back on the top stories of 2025 and look ahead to the key trend to watch in 2026. 
📌 Topics covered include:
Simandou goes online (Guinea) and the iron ore geopolitics shift
Zambia's Kafue River spill and the China narrative battle
China's manufacturing push, overcapacity, and export pressures
Soybeans and South America's growing leverage in U.S.–China trade
China–India détente and what it changes (and doesn't)
G20 turbulence around South Africa and global governance fractures
2026 outlook: Southeast Asia rivalry, Zimbabwe lithium value-add, Senegal hidden debt
Show Notes:
The Financial Times: The American company seeking to counter China in Africa by David Pilling and Leslie Hook
Foreign Policy: China's Appetite for Rosewood Is Causing Chaos in Africa by Joshua Eisenman and Caroline Costello
Environmental Investigation Agency: New Report Finds That Home Depot Sold Illegally Sourced Tropical Wood for Years
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud
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 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

The increasingly acrimonious U.S.-China relationship is the defining trend of this era, upending global politics, economics, and security, especially across the Global South. Countries that have worked hard from having to pick sides in this new competition, may longer have that luxury as this rivalry intensifies.
Jane Perlez, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a former longtime China correspondent for The New York Times, has been covering this story since the 1980s. Now, together with acclaimed Harvard University China scholar Rana Mitter, she's launched season 3 of her award-winning podcast Face Off: The U.S. vs. China, where they explore the key trends reshaping ties between these two powers.
Jane joins Eric from Sydney to discuss the forces driving this rivalry: leadership personality, domestic pressure, technological competition, and the tightening link between geopolitics and economic strategy.
📌 Key topics explored:
How China defines and uses foreign aid
Aid vs development finance in China's system
The role of Chinese development banks
Myths around "free" Western and Chinese aid
Aid as diplomatic influence
China's engagement with regional blocs (AU, ASEAN)
What China's aid strategy means for the West
Show Notes:
Listen to season 2 of Face Off: The U.S. vs. China on Spotify
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 Spanish and French:
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