How well does the West actually understand China? In this Kianistan Podcast episode, host Tafhim Kiani sits down with Cyrus Janssen, the YouTuber, entrepreneur and CEO of Fast Forward Marketing, who first moved to Shanghai in 2007 and spent roughly 14 years living in China and Hong Kong.

Janssen argues that most Western commentary views China through an American lens, and that this lens produces caricatures: a North Korea-style authoritarian state on one hand, or a future hegemon plotting to replace the United States on the other. Drawing on two decades of travel, business and fluent Mandarin, he offers a very different picture.

The conversation moves from Chinese tourism and Western ideas of freedom to John Mearsheimer’s views on China, the logic of BRICS and the Global South, the war on Iran, Trump’s UN General Assembly speech, Hong Kong, Chinese technology and the everyday experience of travelling in China today.

Whether you agree with every point or not, the episode makes a clear case for why understanding China’s worldview matters for geopolitics, trade and the future of the global economy.

Key Topics Discussed

Two Different Views of Freedom: How the West Sees China

Janssen explains the gap between Western perceptions of China and what he saw living there, starting with the idea that China is simply an authoritarian dictatorship.

• Janssen says many Americans picture China as North Korea: one man in charge and a population with no outside awareness.
• He points to Chinese people being among the world’s biggest tourists, and returning home afterwards, as evidence against that picture.
• He argues the word freedom means different things in different cultures and that China cannot be judged only through an American definition.
• He and the host both reject the assumption that Chinese people given freedom would simply become Western individualists.

The WTO Assumption and Western ‘Patronizing’ Expectations

A recurring Western claim is that China ‘tricked’ the West by joining the WTO in 1999 without becoming a liberal democracy. Janssen disputes the premise.

• He says China never promised to become a democracy; the expectation came from the West.
• In his view, China wants trade and win-win deals, and is the top trading partner of over 120 countries.
• He calls the idea that China should reshape itself to look like the United States a patronizing assumption.
• The host links this to older European habits of dividing the world into ‘civilized’ and ‘uncivilized’ peoples.

John Mearsheimer, Red Lines and Living Abroad

Asked about John Mearsheimer’s pessimism on US-China relations, Janssen separates Mearsheimer’s Russia analysis from his China analysis.

• Janssen praises Mearsheimer’s prediction about NATO expansion and Ukraine, comparing it to the Cuban Missile Crisis and red lines.
• He says he disagrees with Mearsheimer on China and does not think China is his area of expertise.
• He argues you do not truly understand your own country until you leave it and see it from outside.
• He challenges American exceptionalism, saying countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany enjoy comparable freedoms.

BRICS, the Global South and Moving Beyond the Dollar

The host asks what holds BRICS together when its members have such different strategic interests. Janssen focuses on representation, trust and trade.

• He notes BRICS represents around half of the world’s population and about 45% of global GDP, according to his figures.
• He argues Global South countries want a stronger voice, pointing to the absence of any African permanent member of the UN Security Council.
• He describes growing mistrust of the dollar after sanctions on Russia and mentions European gold repatriation as a sign of that shift.
• He sees the practical goal as local-currency trade and systems such as mBridge, not a single BRICS currency.
• He discusses the recent BRICS summit in India and Xi Jinping’s first visit there in over seven years.

America, China and the Iran War

Janssen gives a pointed view of the war on Iran, arguing it has damaged US standing while strengthening China’s position as a stable partner.

• He says he opposes the war and argues that Washington’s stated goals have shifted while the Strait of Hormuz remains a problem.
• He contrasts Iran with Venezuela, citing Iran’s 90 million people and its long history.
• He says Iran supplies only around 7 to 8% of China’s oil imports and that China holds large strategic reserves.
• He calls the war a ‘gift’ to China because it makes China look like the more reliable partner.
• He links rising diesel prices to pressure on US farmers and on Republicans ahead of the midterms.

Hong Kong, Chinese Technology and Life in China Today

The final stretch covers Hong Kong’s 2019 protests, accusations of unfair Chinese business practices, language learning and what travelling in China is like now.

• Janssen, who lived in Hong Kong during the 2019 protests, says violence and the later national security law should be understood as cause and effect.
• He argues China has shifted from copying to innovating and cites an ASPI study saying China leads in 37 of 44 critical technologies.
• He says it took him about a year to learn Mandarin basics and about two to reach fluency.
• He notes that AI translation, WeChat and cashless payments have made travel in China far easier than in 2007.
• He says English is now compulsory in Chinese schools for 12 years.

Major Takeaways

• Janssen argues that viewing China through an American lens produces a distorted picture, and that it has to be understood on its own cultural terms.
• He says China never committed to becoming a liberal democracy when it joined the WTO, and that this expectation came from the West.
• He sees BRICS as a platform for countries seeking a bigger voice and more trade in local currencies, rather than a plan to replace the dollar.
• He argues the Iran war has hurt US credibility and made China look like a more dependable partner.
• He says China has moved from copying technology to leading in many critical technologies.
• Janssen believes understanding another country, and your own, requires living and travelling abroad.

About Cyrus Janssen

Cyrus Janssen is a content creator and YouTuber with a large international audience. He is also an entrepreneur and the CEO of Fast Forward Marketing.

He first travelled to China in 2007, starting his career in Shanghai, and later lived in China and Hong Kong for around 14 years. He is a fluent Mandarin speaker, still spends about three months a year in China, and his channel now covers China, the Iran war, Russia, Ukraine and wider geopolitics.

• Chinese culture, business and politics from first-hand experience
• BRICS, the Global South and de-dollarization
• US-China relations and the Western narrative on China
• The Iran war and its effect on the global economy
• Travel, language learning and daily life in China

About Kianistan Podcast

Kianistan Podcast is a long-form geopolitics interview show hosted by Tafhim Kiani. Each episode brings on a researcher, journalist, academic or practitioner to explain world events from perspectives that mainstream outlets often skip.

Episodes like this one reflect the show’s ongoing series on China, aimed at giving viewers in the West a clearer sense of how China and the Global South see the world. Subscribe on YouTube and share your questions in the comments, since viewer feedback regularly shapes who joins the show next.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Cyrus Janssen?

Cyrus Janssen is a YouTuber, entrepreneur and CEO of Fast Forward Marketing who lived in China and Hong Kong for about 14 years and speaks fluent Mandarin.

Why does Cyrus Janssen say the West misunderstands China?

He says Western audiences tend to judge China using American assumptions about freedom and politics, which makes China’s society and goals hard to read accurately.

Does Janssen think BRICS will replace the US dollar?

No. He says a single BRICS currency is unrealistic. He expects more trade in local currencies and alternative payment systems instead.

What does Janssen say about China and the Iran war?

He argues Iran supplies a small share of China’s oil, that China holds large reserves, and that the war has made China look like a more reliable partner than the United States.

Conclusion

This episode is a first-hand account from someone who has spent much of his adult life in China, and it challenges several widely held Western assumptions. Janssen’s views are his own and are delivered with strong opinions, but they raise useful questions about perception, trade and power.

For anyone following US-China relations, BRICS or the Iran war, the conversation is a reminder that understanding how other countries see the world is a prerequisite for understanding geopolitics. Watch the full episode and tell us in the comments what you think.

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