China’s having one of those weeks where everything that can orbit, explode, or get audited… does. In this episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast, we dive headfirst into the chaos — from malfunctioning spacecraft and robotic war dogs to political purges and trade truce drama. It’s part science fiction, part spy thriller, and all too real. 

The big headline? China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft is still stranded in orbit after being smacked by space debris — yeah, the same kind of debris Beijing’s been yelling at the rest of the world about. The mission’s been delayed, engineers are scrambling, and the PR spin machine is working overtime to call it a “resilience milestone.” We break down what actually happened, why this matters for China’s ambitions in space, and how it’s turning a near-disaster into a diplomatic talking point at the U.N. 

Back on the ground, Xi Jinping’s military purge is grinding on like a grim reality show. Senior officers are getting cut down faster than a bad batch of propaganda slogans. General Qiu Yang’s new austerity plan — the PLA’s version of “tighten your belt and smile” — is forcing China’s armed forces to live lean. It’s all about control, loyalty, and cleaning house after years of shady deals and ghost contracts. We get into how this reshuffle affects Beijing’s warfighting readiness, morale, and its broader military-industrial complex. 

And yes, the PLA’s still flexing. China’s “wolf robots” — those four-legged, rifle-toting robo-dogs we talked about yesterday — are back on the beach in new amphibious invasion drills. The tech’s half Terminator, half TikTok stunt, but it’s clearly designed to make Taiwan and its allies think twice. Alongside that, Beijing’s hypersonic missile program keeps making headlines with a “morphing” design that’s part engineering marvel, part meltdown risk. We talk about what’s real, what’s hype, and what it says about China’s appetite for high-risk innovation. 

Meanwhile, the Trump–Xi trade truce is looking more like a temporary timeout than a treaty. Tariffs are still biting, soybeans are still stuck, and both sides are spinning the deal as a win. Add in Taiwan’s renewed APEC standoff, Japan’s latest run-in with Chinese spy ships, and the Philippines fast-tracking its first submarine fleet — and you’ve got a whole Indo-Pacific chessboard shifting in real time. 

From space debris to robot dogs, missile physics to military politics, this episode has it all — plus a few laughs at Beijing’s expense. Tune in, plug in, and stay classified.