Week 39: Managed Decline, On Repeat
from The Common Thread
This Saturday, September 26, 2026, Max and Blake look at why the third Trump-Xi handshake in under a year still hasn't moved the needle on rare earths, using conservative news analysis grounded in limited government, free markets, and constitutional accountability to cut through the ceremony. Listeners get a clear-eyed breakdown of the week's China story, useful for anyone tracking Western values, trade policy, and where local action still matters. - The truce extension to January 10 marks meeting three with Xi, but no breakthrough is expected. - U.S. firms have waited over six months for rare-earth export licenses while soybean and Boeing deals move freely. - The Shenzhen visit produced vague, undated arrangements wrapped in restricted press access. - China's consolidating mineral dominance while the U.S. defers the real leverage fight, a pattern the hosts call managed decline, not a deal. The episode closes with a simple local action item: read the Shenzhen text yourself and call your representative if export-license exposure affects your business. New episodes every Saturday.
Embed this episode
No transcript yet.