Patrick Cronin appears on the Defense and Aerospace Podcast to discus political chaos in Washington and its impact on international relations, Chinese and Russian influence operations (minute 17), and Beijing’s sensitivity to soft power—from soccer star Lionel Messi’s snub during a football match in Hong Kong to Taylor Swift’s immense popularity (minute 37).
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A robot from AgiBot is seen during the Global Developer Conference, organized by the Shanghai AI Industry Association, in Shanghai on February 21, 2025. (Hector Retamal via Getty Images)