Alice Han

under Eisenhower came in after diplomacy failed and basically economically coerced the Brits and the French to back down

thus paving the way for America overtaking the British Empire.

And so the big question as we look forward is, is Iran the Suez crisis of today?

And does that mean that China is ascendant and the U.S.

is in decline?

So I'll leave that big epic thought for a future episode, but I think that's something worth bearing in mind.

Okay, we'll be back with more after a quick break.

Stay with us.

Welcome back.

BYD, the largest of Beijing's auto giants, is making serious moves.

It recently signaled to analysts that it is on pace to beat its 2026 exports target by 15%.

Earlier this year, the company reported a 7.7% increase in global sales, even as domestic sales declined by almost 8% in 2025.

But competition from other Chinese manufacturers, along with weakened demand at home, has made them less of a behemoth domestically.

BYD's net earnings declined by 19% to $4.7 billion last year, the first profit decline since 2021.

But a broad BYD is ascendant, and this comes at a time when Tesla's market dominance continues to decline in the US.

Tesla is investing heavily in artificial intelligence and robo-taxis, while BYD is pushing ultra-fast charging technology in batteries and overseas expansion.

James, I think this story is timely and it somewhat links to the Iran crisis issue, right?

Because if we see oil prices continue to rise in the U.S., for instance, I'm hearing they're up a dollar a gallon at the pump for consumers.

This may incentivize a lot of consumers across the world to go, maybe I'll buy an EV instead.

And actually, these Chinese EVs are very, very competitive and energy efficient, right?