What happens when economic sanctions stop working and the targeted countries refuse to play by Washington’s rules?
In this episode of Silk and Steel, Carl Zha welcomes back Australian geopolitical analyst Dr. Warwick Powell for a discussion about the current evolution of international order.
Trump has announced a new wave of economic pressures against Iran. He also threatens secondary sanctions against countries who continue to trade with Tehran.
There is a major obstacle—China and Russia.
Powell argues that Washington’s strategy is far more difficult to enforce if China refuses to participate in the isolation of Iran. The discussion expands to examine how the strategic architecture of the Middle East has changed, the future of the Strait of Hormuz, and whether the U.S.-dominated regional order will now give way to something very different.
Carl and Warwick turn to a much bigger question:
Has the United States underestimated the industrial, technological and human-capital capabilities of China, Russia and Iran?
They discuss China’s decades-long investment in education and industrial systems, the difficulty to rebuild sophisticated supply chains overnight, and why tariffs alone cannot magically recreate the manufacturing capability that took generations to develop.
The conversation examines an unexpected vulnerability for the United States: It has lost talented scientists, engineers and researchers. As Washington becomes less welcoming to foreign researchers, could China, Canada, Australia and other countries be the beneficiaries?
Finally, Carl shares firsthand experience with the Chinese medical system after he suffered a wrist injury in Shanghai. It includes X-rays, a CT scan and treatment completed in roughly two and a half hours for about 1,200 RMB (around US$177) out-of-pocket.
This episode goes beyond Iran.
It is a conversation about power, industrial capacity, human capital and new rules of the global system.