I'm John Bachelor, Gordon Chang, at Gordon G. Chang, who joins me with my colleague and co-host,

and we're very pleased to welcome our guide on manufacturing and trade these many years,

Alan Tonneson, who blogs at Reality Check.

We go immediately to a Reuters headline in these last hours that is provocative.

Trump's Iran tariff threat risks reopening China Rift. There's a double

hitter story. Alan, a very good evening to you. Trump's 25% risk that he threw out, I believe

on Monday, anybody trading with Iran is going to get a 25% tariff

is said to have affected or to threaten China.

How do you read this, Alan, not Mr. Trump's remarks, but China getting fussy about its trade with Iran.

Good evening to you.

Hi, John, and hi and hi, Gordon. And certainly

China attaches great importance to its trade with Iran. I think, though, it's more for symbolic

or for political reasons than for economic reasons. Iran does provide China with a marginal extra

supply of oil that it needs, but in the larger China energy picture, it's not all that

great, and I think China can pretty easily surmount that.

Unless for some reason Chinese growth accelerates very significantly, which I don't see

happening at all, I think, again, it's more symbolic and more political because I don't

think, well, it's very clear that China doesn't like to be told what to do.

China doesn't like conditions attached on any of its behavior.

And so I think that this is pretty standard Chinese pushback.

And the real question is what China will actually do if President Trump does go ahead and follow through with the 25% tariff threat.

Gordon, you have a comment or question for Alan.

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