Welcome to another episode of the GT Podcast with Mulan – a one-stop shop for the Global Times’ take on top China and global news.

In today’s podcast:

The naval forces of China, Iran and Russia on Monday launched an exercise near the Gulf of Oman in a joint effort to safeguard regional maritime security, without targeting any third country.

China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday criticized a series of US' latest maneuvers that Washington says aim to "outcompete China," warning that the US' engagement in malign competition puts the fundamental interests of the Chinese and US peoples and even the future of mankind at stake and will only push the two countries toward confrontation.

In an interview with the Global Times’ Insight Talk program, Mason Escamilla, a friend of Aaron Bushnell, the 25-year-old member of the US Air Force who set himself on fire to oppose the US’ role in the Israel-Palestine conflict, recalled his interactions with Bushnell and what he thinks of Bushnell’s action.

The Global Times looks into how some US politicians’ attempt to play the "national security" card to demonize and drive away Chinese investment from the country, with the recent "land grabbing" fallacy.

In her hands, the pipa seems to come alive. Every time performer Zhao Cong touches the traditional musical instrument, something magical happens. Zhao, nicknamed the Pipa Goddess, shared stories of her ties with the pipa and, as a music diplomat, how she uses it to convey the beauty of Chinese folk music to the world.