Alice Han

And on the Iran issue,

I think people need to follow this closely because Iran is strategically way more important to China than Venezuela was and is.

Venezuela, in many respects, if you recall the Belt and Road Initiative and debt trap diplomacy, we talked a lot about this, I think, back in the day.

Venezuela was always cited as an example of where Chinese money had gone to waste.

So I think when we think about the axis of ill will,

When we think about the importance of Russia, Iran, North Korea and China as strategic partners, the Iran movement that we're seeing right now is going to be really significant for China's geopolitical strategy, not just in the Middle East, but more broadly.

And it's interesting that it follows right after the naval exercises that we saw off the coast of South Africa happened.

amongst Russia, China and Iran.

So we'll see how China fits the puzzle of BRICS, this sort of anti-US coalition in 2026 at a time where Trump is being way more assertive.

But I certainly think, James, and I wonder what you think about this.

This is the weakest I've seen the access of ill-willed countries.

When I think about where Russia is, you know, depleting its resources and manpower in the conflict with Ukraine, Iran facing these massive protests.

And on the brink, it seems of a collapse potentially.

And obviously, we haven't even mentioned North Korea, but that's always been a basket case.

And I wouldn't be surprised if that rears its head again in 2026, if Trump decides to make this an issue again, if you recall, in the first Trump administration.

He was very keen to try to negotiate anti-nuclear proliferation and getting North Korea to walk back on its weapons system.

But at the end of the day, I don't think anything really came out of that.

And I think North Korea has again advanced further in its nuclear development.

And I think the key question that everyone should look into is whether or not we see the top leadership double down on its partnerships and commitments to these access available countries, or if it decides that it needs to take a different tack.

Because certainly in previous trips to China, I met more liberal voices who were more sympathetic to the view that China actually should be investing in improving its relationships with the G7 countries and notably Europe, where there's still a lot of trade and strategic tensions.