RH 2.2.26 | China: Allies Drift, Taiwan Pressured, Rare Earths Weaponized

👉 Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast  https://www.restrictedhandling.com/  China had a busy week, and if you blinked, you probably missed how many pressure points Beijing decided to lean on all at once. This episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast breaks down how China is tightening its grip abroad while wrestling with serious stress at home, and why those two things are more connected than they might look at first glance.  We start with China's diplomatic momentum and the quiet return of Western leaders to Beijing. Britain and Canada are reopening doors, cutting deals, and talking up "stability" while carefully avoiding landmines like Hong Kong, political prisoners, espionage, and Taiwan. The result is a familiar pattern. China gives just enough economic access to keep allies engaged while making no meaningful concessions on security, trade imbalances, or human rights. It is not charm. It is leverage.  From there, we turn to Taiwan and the near seas, where China is dialing up pressure without crossing the line into open conflict. Naval and air patrols around disputed waters, electronic warfare demonstrations near Taiwan, and increasingly visible coordination between destroyers and aircraft carriers are sending a message. Beijing is showing it can control the environment, not just the battlespace. This episode explains why that matters more than any single missile or exercise.  We also dig into what is happening inside the Chinese military. President Xi Jinping has sidelined or removed most of the top generals he personally promoted just a few years ago. The result is a People's Liberation Army that is more politically loyal but thinner on senior experience. We walk through why that creates risks, why Beijing may compensate with more visible military activity, and why this echoes patterns seen in past authoritarian systems, including the late Soviet era.  Economic pressure is another major theme. China's restrictions on rare earth exports are already hitting Japanese industry, forcing companies to burn stockpiles and redesign products. This episode explains how Beijing uses supply chains as a strategic tool and why the goal is not immediate disruption but long term dependence and costly adaptation.  At the same time, China is signaling selective openness. The launch of the massive Hainan Free Trade Port is designed to show reform without losing control. Lower taxes, visa free travel, and limited internet access sound impressive, but the real question is whether this becomes a model or remains an isolated experiment.  We close by looking inward. China's demographic decline is accelerating, corruption probes are reaching senior civilian officials, and state security services are warning about foreign intelligence activity in professional online spaces. The picture that emerges is a system projecting confidence abroad while tightening discipline at home.  If you care about China, Taiwan, great power competition, or how pressure works in modern geopolitics, this episode connects the dots without drowning you in jargon.   👉 Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast  https://www.restrictedhandling.com/  Get the daily intelligence brief Ryan and Glenn read covering Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, geopolitics, sanctions, military and intel operations. Save a few hours of your time getting ahead of the news cycle at restrictedhandling.com.