Hi everyone, welcome back to the Insider from our studios in London.
I'm Zanny Minton Beddoes, the Economist's Editor-in-Chief.
Last night, President Trump vowed to hit Iran, in his words,
'extremely hard' over the next two or three weeks.
In a speech at the White House, the President threatened to bomb Iran's energy infrastructure
if the regime didn't agree to a peace deal.
He also said that America was on track to meet its military objectives.
So, President Trump's now-typical mixed messaging.
A month into the fighting, and his logic seems ever more hubristic and hard to make sense of.
But one thing is clear, this is not the short, sharp war Mr. Trump wanted.
Who knows what the long-term consequences of this conflict will be for America or the world,
but one country, America's most formidable adversary, is looking on with great interest.
One of the most important questions for all of us is whether China's leaders
see the war as an acceleration of American decline and thus as a time for opportunity.
With me to discuss this are three of my colleagues
who have just come back from a long trip to China.
Ed Carr, Deputy Editor.
It's very nice to see you in the studio again.
Nice to be here.
David Rennie, our Geopolitics Editor and host of our sister show, Inside Geopolitics, very nice to see you.