The President's Daily Brief - June 19th, 2025: Xi Jinping Breaks Silence With Warning on Israel-Iran Conflict & North Korea Doubles Down On Putin Partnership

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:    First, Chinese leader Xi Jinping breaks his silence on the war between Israel and Iran, urging de-escalation and positioning the CCP as a mediator for peace. But what are China’s true motives regarding the intensifying conflict? We’ll break down the economic ties that bind the communist party and the mullahs of Iran.  Later in the show—North Korea doubles down on their strategic partnership with the Putin regime, pledging to send 5,000 additional construction workers to western Russia to help rebuild their battered infrastructure.  Plus—India and Canada reach a diplomatic breakthrough, restoring relations after a nearly two-year standoff over New Delhi’s alleged involvement in an assassination campaign against Sikh separatists living abroad. In our 'Back of the Brief—U.S. senators move to block attempts by the communist Chinese government to buy up land near American military bases. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.   YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase TriTails Premium Beef: Stock the freezer and keep the grill happy. Visit https://Trybeef.com/PDB for 2 free flat irons with your order. Beam: Visit https://shopbeam.com/MIKE and use code MIKE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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You talking to me? Kayak, got that right. It's Thursday, the 19th of June. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Chinese leader Xi Jinping breaks his silence on the war between Israel and Iran, urging de-escalation and positioning the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, as a mediator for peace.

But, you ask yourself, what are China's true motives regarding the intensifying conflict? We'll break down the economic ties that connect the communist. party and the mullahs of Iran. Later in the show, North Korea doubles down on their strategic partnership with the Putin regime, pledging to send 5,000 additional construction workers to Western Russia to help rebuild their battered infrastructure. Plus, India and Canada reach a diplomatic breakthrough, restoring relations after a nearly two-year standoff over New Delhi's alleged involvement in an assassination campaign against Sikh separatists living abroad. And in today's Back of the brief, U.S. Senators moved to block attempts by the communist Chinese government

to buy up land near American military bases. But first, today's BDB spotlight. We'll begin today with China as communist leader of Xi Jinping finally breaks the silence on the war between Israel and Iran. Speaking on the sidelines of the China's Central Asia Summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, she said he was, quote, deeply worried about the escalating conflict and opposes any actions that infringe upon the, quote, security and territorial integrity of other countries. While he refrained from directly naming Israel, she pointedly said that, quote, military conflict is not a way to solve problems, a not so thinly veiled rebuke of leaders in Jerusalem for deciding to strike against Iran's runaway nuclear program. Well, one can hope that she will follow his own

advice when it comes to Taiwan. She continued, quote, all parties should work to de-escalate the conflict as soon as possible and prevent the situation from worsening further, adding that the war is, quote, not in the common interests of the international community. Notably, he also said that China stands ready to play a, quote, constructive role in restoring peace to the region. Reminiscent of China's public position regarding Russia's war in Ukraine, it appears that Xi is once again attempting to position his regime as a responsible international actor and potentially unbiased mediator in the intensifying conflict. His remarks followed a statement from a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry,

who said Tuesday that CCP officials were already in contact with Iran, Israel, and various other regional parties to promote a ceasefire. In a clear shot at the Trump administration, the spokesman called on, quote, those countries that have a special influence on Israel to shoulder their due responsibilities, take immediate measures to cool down the tense situation, and prevent the conflict from escalating and spreading, end quote. China's position echoed that of Russia, Iran's other major eastern ally. Russian President Putin is also urging de-escalation and has offered to help broker his ceasefire because, as we know from his own actions, there's nothing Putin likes better than peaceful existence with one's neighbors.

As we discussed earlier this week on the BDB, Russia's position, well, shouldn't come as a surprise given the deep military ties that are forged between Moscow and Tehran, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, especially. But China also has a strong economic incentive to see the Iranian regime left intact. China is now the dominant buyer of Iranian oil, with Chinese companies purchasing more than 90% of the regime's oil exports just last year, almost always at a steep discount when compared to global prices. For some background, Iranian oil exports represent less than 2% of global demand, and most

countries won't touch their crude oil due to sanctions imposed during President Trump's first term in 2018. With limited options available, the sanctions have forced Iran to covertly sell their oil at bargain rates to the CCP, using a so-called dark fleet of tankers that sail with their transponders turned off. The oil is mostly bought by private Chinese, quote, teapot refineries, that switched to purchasing illicit Iranian oil en masse back in 2022 in order to protect their profit margins, That's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. It's hard to overstate the importance of that relationship, as Iran's oil sales to China represent about 6% of Iran's entire economy or roughly half of their annual government spending.

The arrangement gives China considerable leverage over Tehran, as their purchases have almost single-handedly propped up the Islamic regime's last meaningful source of international revenue. The arrangement also pays dividends for China's export-driven economy. The oil is paid for exclusively in Chinese currency, meaning that the Islamic regime has little choice but to spend the profits on Chinese goods. For now, Israel has not attacked Iran's energy export hubs, but if that calculus changes, China could see itself cut off from their cheapest source of oil. For example, if Israel seeks regime change in Iran, they'll likely target Karg Island in the Persian Gulf,

home to most of Iran's oil tankers. That would effectively destroy Iran. ability to export their oil and would force China's private refineries to pay full price from countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Put somewhat simply, China stands to suffer a major geopolitical setback depending on how the Israel-Iran war evolves. Given the stakes, Xi Jinping is eager to protect his strategic economic relationship with the mullahs and steer events in Beijing's favor. All right. Coming up next, North Korea doubles down on their strategic partnership with the Putin regime, and India and Canada restore diplomatic relations

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Thousands of North Koreans are heading to Russia, this time not to fight, but to rebuild its war-scarred western border in a sanction-defying move that underscores the growing alliance between, the regimes. The announcement came Tuesday from Sergei Shogu, a long-time Putin confident, and the Kremlin's Security Council Secretary, who told reporters that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had agreed to dispatch 5,000 construction workers and 1,000 combat engineers to Russia's Kursk region. As we've discussed here on the PDB, it's the same border area that saw intense fighting earlier this year, including the deployment of up to 14,000 North Korean troops who, according to Kremlin officials helped repel Ukrainian incursions. Moscow now claims the region is fully under its

control. Now that's a claim that Kiev is flatly denied, insisting that clashes persist in Kursk. Shogu's visit to Pyongyang this week was his third since March, and the optics left little doubt about the warmth of this partnership. Russian state media broadcast footage of Kim hugging Shogu, with North Korean media offering its own take, stating that Kim made his decision to dispatch workers based on a quote, correct understanding of the current situation, a phrase that, well, depending on interpretation, could mean basically anything. According to South Korean intelligence, the new labor deployment will add to the at least 15,000 North Koreans that were already working inside Russia as of April.

Most of them, laborers, forced to surrender the bulk of their wages to the Kim regime. That, of course, is part of Pyongyang's well-documented effort to extract hard currency from any of its citizens abroad. They'll reportedly be tasked with rebuilding roads, power grids, and infrastructure obliterated by the war. For Russia, the influx of new workers is a welcome development. A May report from the Higher School of Economics, one of Russia's top research institutions,

found the country ended in 2024 with a shortfall of more than 2.5 million workers. That's the worst labor crisis for them on record. That's been driven by mounting battlefield losses, a collapse in migrant labor, and a ruble weakened by sanctions and war spending. To stabilize inflation, Russia's central bank has jacked interest rates from 7% in July of 2023 to a punishing 21% this year. Now, Seoul wasted no time in issuing a rebuke.

South Korean officials called for a, quote, immediate end to what they called illegal cooperation between the two sanctioned states. Officials there warned that the arrangement likely involves barter payments in the form of fuel, food, and likely weapons technology to the Kim regime. Transactions, of course, that would amount to yet another violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Still, Moscow appears undeterred, choosing to deepen its reliance on Pyongyang as its war on Ukraine grinds on, and the costs, both human and economic, continue to mount. All right, shifting gears, India and Canada have agreed to restore diplomatic ties nearly two years

after the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader put relations between the two nations on ice. The announcement came Tuesday after Indian Prime Minister Modi met his newly elected Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta. A statement from Carney's office said the two leaders agreed to, quote, return to regular services to citizens and businesses in both countries, and recommitted to mutual respect and the principle of territorial sovereignty. Well, that's nice. Under the deal, both sides will install new high.

commissioners, which is the Commonwealth's version of ambassadors, tasked with resuscitating diplomatic services and rebuilding trust between the two countries. India's foreign ministry issued a statement calling for senior ministerial meetings to resume in order to, quote, rebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship. Now, longtime PDB listeners may recall our coverage of the September 2003 rupture between Ottawa and New Delhi. That's when then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament that there were, quote, credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the assassination of Hardip Singh Nijjar. Now, that was near Vancouver in Canada. India dismissed the claim as baseless and accused Trudeau's government of harboring extremists. For background,

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen and prominent voice in the Khalistan movement. That's an outlawed campaign in India's Punjab region, seeking a separate Sikh state. He was designated a terrorist by the Indian government back in 2020. Sikh advocacy groups abroad, however, described him as a peaceful proponent of human rights. It's worth noting that the U.S. has not designated the Kalesan movement as a terrorist organization. The fallout escalated quickly. By October of that year, India had expelled Canadian diplomats and recalled its high commissioner. Ottawa retaliated in kind, accusing New Delhi of running an intimidation campaign, targeting Sikh Canadians, allegations that India categorically denied. At the heart of the dispute lies a familiar tension, Canada's sizable Sikh

community, which makes up roughly 2% of its population, and India's longstanding sensitivity to pro-Kalistan activism abroad. The Nizjar case poured gasoline on essentially an already smoldering fire, testing the boundaries of foreign policy discretion. Still, in this week's meeting, Modi and Carney looked ahead, pledging to expand cooperation in sectors like digital innovation, food security, and critical minerals, areas where both sides, of course, see strategic value. Now, whether this diplomatic reboot leads to a broader reset remains to be seen, as some mistrust obviously still lingers between the governments. But for now, the decision to reopen channels, signals of willingness by New Delhi and Ottawa, to compartmentalize their grievances

and seek areas of pragmatic cooperation. All right, coming up next in the back of the brief, U.S. senators move to block attempts by the communist Chinese government to buy up land near American military bases. I'll have those details next. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, look, when it comes to feeding your family, you obviously want to give them the best, right?

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to a Chinese company purchasing land near a U.S. Air Force base in North Dakota three years ago. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott introduced the Protect Our Bases Act this week, legislation designed to tighten oversight of foreign real estate transactions near sensitive military installations. The measure would force the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., known as Misypheus, because of course there's an acronym, to update its list of designated military sites annually and notify Congress of any transactions that might jeopardize national security. The legislation is a direct response to a 2022 episode involving the Fu Fang Group. That was a Chinese agricultural conglomerate specializing in sugar substitutes and fertilizer

that attempted to purchase land near Grand Forks Air Force Base. Now, the deal raised immediate red flags among U.S. intelligence and defense officials as the base houses sensitive drone and satellite operations. At the time, the Committee on Foreign Investment declined to act, citing the Pentagon's failure under then-President Biden, to designate the base as a protected site. The Grand Fork City Council did eventually step in and kill the deal, but lawmakers say it was a near-miss that underscored a dangerous blind spot

in America's foreign investment screening process. Scott told New York Post, quote, the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to infiltrate and surveil all parts of the U.S. national security apparatus require vigilance from our national security agencies, end quote. He went on to say, This legislation will enhance the review of foreign real estate transactions near critical national security installations, helping ensure the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has the information that it needs to protect our homeland, end quote. Now, the urgency behind the bill has been magnified by Ukraine's 1st of June Operation Spiderweb,

which, as we covered here on the PDB, was the largest drone strike on Russian bases during the war. It saw more than 100 Ukrainian drones that were launched from inside Russia, borders destroyed dozens of military aircraft. The operation reignited concerns about the vulnerability of even well-defended bases to small-scale, low-cost precision attacks by infiltrators. China, widely seen as the global leader in drone manufacturing, poses a similar threat if it can secure land near U.S. military sites under the guise of civilian ownership. The Protect Our Bases Act already has backing from nearly a dozen Republican senators. Lawmakers argue that the measure is necessary to prevent a repeat of the Fufang incident, which many now view as a major

national security wake-up call. All right. That, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, the 19th of June. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, which you can do, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDP afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.