Showing posts with label Geopolitics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geopolitics. Show all posts

Thursday, April 17, 2025

China is Ready for Any Type of Conflict and Economic Decoupling | Victor Gao

China will fight to the end, as the government has declared, and it has now imposed a retaliatory tariff of up to 125 percent on all US exports to China. If things are not handled properly, this could mean a complete halt to China-US trade—both ways. No goods will be exported from the United States to China, and everything made in China will cease to be sent to the United States. This is decoupling. 

»
 In essence, China is now declaring that it is prepared to fight to the end
—whether in a trade war, tariff war, technology war, or even a real war. «

If the United States truly welcomes this, China will reciprocate, leading to the breakup of China-US relations. Whether this situation evolves from peace to war remains to be seen, but we must all be prepared. In essence, China is now declaring that it is prepared to fight to the end—whether in a trade war, tariff war, technology war, or even a real war. So, the ball is in Trump's court. He decides, and China will reciprocate. China will never succumb to US pressure.


This is the moment of truth. China wants to defend free trade; the United States wants to destroy it. The rest of the world is watching, and a choice will be made by the end of the day. However, China will not accept being held at gunpoint, forced to swallow impossible demands. China is a country that values dignity and decency above economic gains or losses. So, if you want to hold a gun to China’s head, China will hold a gun to yours. If you want to strike China on the cheek, China will strike back. That is the decision and determination of the Chinese nation.

Ref
erence:

» Americans, you don't need a tariff. You need a revolution. «

They rob you blind, and you thank them for it. That's a tragedy. That's a scam. That's why I'm saying this right now: Americans, you don't need a tariff. You need a revolution. For decades, your government and oligarchs shipped your jobs to China—not for diplomacy, not for peace, but to exploit cheap labor. And in the process, they hollowed out your middle class, crushed your working class, and told you to be proud while they sold your future for profit. 

Yes, China made money. But we used it to build roads and lift millions out of poverty. From healthcare to raising living standards, we reinvested in our people. My family benefited from it too. What did your oligarchs do? They bought yachts, private jets, and mansions with golf course driveways. They manipulated markets, dodged taxes, and poured billions into endless wars. And you? You got stagnant wages, crippling healthcare costs, cheap dopamine, debt, and poverty wrapped in a flag—made in China—while they picked your pocket. 

As part of the growing 'Trade War' TikTok trend, a Chinese factory has gone viral after 
revealing that the true cost of producing a $38,000 Hermès Birkin bag is just $1,400 
— and now, high tariffs are ringing the death knell for Western luxury brands.

For 40 years, both China and the United States benefited from trade and manufacturing, but only one of us used that wealth to build. This isn’t China’s fault. This is yours. You let this happen. You let the oligarchs feed you lies—while they made you fat, poor, and addicted. Now they blame China for the mess they created. You don’t need another tariff. You need to wake up. You need to take your country back. I think you need a revolution.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

NATO Is Now A Zombie Alliance Without Legitimacy | Admiral Cem Gürdeniz

We are witnessing the second great breakdown of a global security order since World War II. The first came after 1990, when the Soviet Union voluntarily dissolved, and Washington rapidly expanded its influence across Eastern Europe. But today, 80 years after the end of that war, the US is beginning its own retreat – shifting its strategic center of gravity from Europe to the Asia-Pacific.

» Israel’s genocide in Gaza, supported openly by Washington, 
shattered any remaining legitimacy. «

[...] Its strategy is no longer about global control but about retrenchment and preparing for great power rivalry in the Pacific, particularly with China. This isn’t a tactical adjustment – it’s a systemic collapse. NATO’s defeat in Ukraine was not just a battlefield loss – it was the end of an illusion.

The post-1990 order was built on the illusion of unipolarity. The US declared liberal capitalist democracy as the universal model. In this system, the West controlled finance, China was tasked with manufacturing, and resource-rich states were expected to supply energy and raw materials. But this model encountered fatal contradictions. US military power failed in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. Instead of stability, it brought destruction. Russia reasserted itself militarily after 2008. China rose economically and technologically, challenging Western hegemony.


And together, they built a Eurasian counterbalance. Most crucially, the Global South saw through the facade. Israel’s genocide in Gaza, supported openly by Washington, shattered any remaining legitimacy. The Western system now lies exposed – economically overleveraged, diplomatically isolated, and militarily vulnerable.

Trump is not the architect of this collapse – he is the product of it. […] He knows NATO is a burden, not an asset. His challenge is not ideological – it’s existential. He wants to keep the American empire alive by cutting it down to a sustainable size. NATO is now a zombie alliance. It exists more as a myth than a functional military bloc. Its expansion has been reckless. Its operations – from the Balkans to Libya to Ukraine – have destabilized entire regions, and its credibility is collapsing.

» 
The way forward is to secure our geopolitical destiny in Eurasia – on our terms«

[…] BRICS is growing. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is expanding. Trade is moving away from the dollar. Regional powers like Iran, India, Brazil, and Türkiye are asserting themselves. This is not a return to Cold War blocs. It’s a rebalancing – a world where no single center dominates.

[...][Türkiye] must abandon the illusion that foreign direct investment and EU integration will save us. That model has failed. It brought debt, privatization, and dependency. Our economy must be built on production, not speculation. This means reindustrialization, food and energy sovereignty, and regional trade in local currencies. We must protect strategic sectors from foreign ownership. Our Central Bank must be independent not just from the government, but from foreign influence. […] The way forward is not to chase illusions in Brussels. It is to return to Kemalist principles, integrate with the rising Asian century, and secure our geopolitical destiny in Eurasia – on our terms, not theirs.

Monday, April 14, 2025

Rare Earth Retaliation: China Chokes America’s War Machine | Gerry Nolan

China just halted exports of key rare earths to the US, slapping export controls on seven categories of critical metals and magnets used in everything from EVs and smartphones to fighter jets, missiles, and drones, delivering a surgical strike to the spinal cord of America’s supply chain. Welcome to the new trade war: geoeconomic strangulation, without firing a shot.

China halts export of key rare earth minerals and develops a ‘regulatory system’ 
to completely block certain minerals from reaching specific US companies.
 
[...] You want to slap 145% tariffs on our goods? Fine. But good luck assembling a single Javelin, F-35, or iPhone without our dysprosium, terbium, and neodymium. China controls over 90% of global rare earth production. Washington just remembered that the hard way. This isn’t just a tit-for-tat move. It’s strategic economic warfare, targeting the soft underbelly of US dominance: the illusion that it can wage hybrid war without being vulnerable itself.

» Dumber than a sack of bricks. «

And now? The US is scrambling: Talking about deep-sea mining, rushing to build stockpiles, and begging Australia and Canada to step up. Canada, eh? Too little, too late. You spent three decades offshoring everything, and now your empire can’t build a toaster, let alone a missile guidance system, without Beijing’s blessing. Ok, maybe you can build a toaster, to be fair. [...] Every chip, every drone, every smart weapon in the Pentagon’s closet runs on components China can choke off in 48 hours. Trump called it “Liberation Day.” 
 
Quoted from:

Saturday, April 12, 2025

The Last Tariff: China Ended the US’s Trade War With a Whisper | Gerry Nolan

It happened with no fanfare. No saber-rattling. No choreographed press conference. Just one quiet statement from Beijing’s Customs Tariff Commission: "Tariffs on US goods will rise to 125% — and this will be our final adjustment. Regardless of future US actions, China will no longer respond." In Washington, they saw a concession. In reality? Beijing walked away from the last imperial leverage DC had left.

 » Tariffs on US goods will rise to 125% — and this will be our final adjustment.
Regardless of future US actions, China will no longer respond. «
China's Customs Tariff Commission, April 11, 2025.

In Trump's chaotic circus, tariffs are sold as economic patriotism, blunt-force trauma marketed as “tough negotiation.” But tariffs are the last resort of a hollowed-out empire that no longer produces, competes, or innovates, only thinks it can still dictate.

Trump’s latest move, slapping a 125% tariff on Chinese goods, was meant to flex dominance. Beijing waited, matched it perfectly, then froze the board. "There is no possibility of market acceptance of US goods in China." Translation: “We don’t need you anymore.” No further hikes are necessary. The US is de facto cut off from the colossal Chinese market. That's not de-escalation. That's de-dollarization in practice. Geoeconomic Aikido, using the empire’s aggression to accelerate the break from it.

Chinese Embassy in the US, April 10, 2025.

Washington still believes in a world that no longer exists. It thinks it can dictate trade terms while running trillion-dollar deficits, threaten its way into solvency while its factories rust, and that China will forever tolerate economic warfare just to retain access to Walmart shelves and US Treasury bonds, bonds that are a ticking time bomb for the hollowed empire.

But that world is gone. China has reoriented trade through Belt & Road. It’s fortified currency alliances with BRICS+, hardened internal markets, and invested across the Global South. Most importantly, it has shifted away from Western export dependency.


So when Beijing says, “we will ignore further US tariff moves,” it’s not a concession. It's sovereignty. The US has already been priced out, there’s no need for more theaters. This is the reckoning of a rentier empire built on financial parasitism, not production.

The definition of narcissism.

America doesn't have the tools to win a trade war, it doesn't make the tools anymore. Wall Street eviscerated its industrial base. Labor was deskilled by decades of outsourcing. Infrastructure crumbled while $10 trillion burned in forever wars. Trump’s 125% tariff isn’t policy, it’s a symptom. An empire in late stage declined. The power of Beijing’s response isn’t the tariff, it’s the refusal to respond again. No escalation. No panic. Just a clean break from a failing system.

A message to the Global South: “We won’t be dragged into Washington’s chaos. We won’t fight over a burning house. We’ll build new ones.” It's multipolar maturity. Let the US isolate itself, tariff its own supply chains, and raise rates until its middle class fractures. Beijing will trade in yuan with the Global Majority, while America tariffs itself into irrelevance.

 » The reckoning of a rentier empire built on financial parasitism, not production. « 

Markets have lost nearly $6 trillion net since February, despite brief rebounds. Wall Street knows: this isn’t 2001. China isn’t cowering. It now holds the keys to rare earths, battery tech, and semiconductors. Trump framed the tariffs as punishment for “ripping off the USA.” 
 
But who really gutted America’s industries? China? Or Goldman Sachs? Who looted pensions, turned homes into hedge fund fodder, and spent trillions on wars that only enriched Raytheon and BlackRock? The real theft wasn’t done in Beijing. It was done in boardrooms, think tanks, and Senate halls under the banner of “free markets” and “security.”

 » There is no possibility of market acceptance of US goods in China. «
The US is de facto cut off from the colossal Chinese market.

This moment isn’t the climax of a trade war. It’s the end of illusion, that the US can sanction, tariff, and bully its way to eternal dominance. Beijing just called time. 125% is the ceiling. From here forward, they won’t play the empire’s game. They're building a new one, with bricks, not bombs. With real trade, not tribute. With allies who don’t need threats to stay loyal.

 
 
Trump economic counselor Peter Navarro accuses China of killing "1 million Americans with fentanyl" and "destroying over 60,000 American factories and 5 million manufacturing jobs". Who prescribes opioids to millions of Americans, leading to addiction? Did China choose to ship these factories offshore and deindustrialize for tax evasion and cheap labor?


See also:

And, of course, no one understands tariffs—only Trump does.

Don't Think That What's Now Happening Is Mostly About Tariffs | Ray Dalio

At this moment, a huge amount of attention is being justifiably paid to the announced tariffs and their very big impacts on markets and economies while very little attention is being paid to the circumstances that caused them and the biggest disruptions that are likely still ahead. 
 
Don't get me wrong, while these tariff announcements are very important developments and we all know that President Trump caused them, most people are losing sight of the underlying circumstances that got him elected president and brought these tariffs about. They are also mostly overlooking the vastly more important forces that are driving just about everything, including the tariffs.  

 The 80 Year Big Debt Cycle.

The far bigger, far more important thing to keep in mind is that we are seeing a classic breakdown of the major monetary, political, and geopolitical orders. This sort of breakdown occurs only about once in a lifetime, but they have happened many times in history when similar unsustainable conditions were in place. More specifically:
 
1. The monetary/economic order is breaking down because there is too much existing debt, the rates of adding to it are too fast, and existing capital markets and economies are supported by this unsustainably large debt. The debt is unsustainable because the of the large imbalance between a) debtor-borrowers who owe too much debt and are taking on too much debt because they are hooked on debt to finance their excesses (e.g., the United States) and b) lender-creditors (like China) who already hold too much of the debt and are hooked on selling their goods to the borrower-debtors (like the United States) to sustain their economies. 
 
» We are seeing a classic breakdown of the major monetary, political, and geopolitical orders. « 

There are big pressures for these imbalances to be corrected one way or another and doing so will change the monetary order in major ways. For example, it is obviously incongruous to have both large trade imbalances and large capital imbalances in a deglobalizing world in which the major players can't trust that the other major players won't cut them off from the items they need (which is an American worry) or pay them the money they are owed (which is a Chinese worry). This is a result of these parties being in a type of war in which self-sufficiency is of paramount importance. Anyone who has studied history knows that such risks under such circumstances have repeatedly led to the same sorts of problems we're seeing now. 
 
So, the old monetary/economic order in which countries like China manufacture inexpensively, sell to Americans, and acquire American debt assets, and Americans borrow money from countries like China to make those purchases and build up huge debt liabilities will have to change. These obviously unsustainable circumstances are made even more so by the fact that they have led to American manufacturing deteriorating, which both hollows out middle class jobs in the US and requires America to import needed items from a country that it is increasingly seeing as an enemy. In an era of deglobalization, these big trade and capital imbalances, which reflect trade and capital interconnectedness, will have to shrink one way or another. 
 
  From Trade War to Financial War.
Chinese Embassy in the US, April 11, 2025.

Also, it should be obvious that the US government debt level and the rate at which the government debt is being added to is unsustainable. (You can find my analysis of this in my new book How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle.)  Clearly, the monetary order will have to change in big disruptive ways to reduce all these imbalances and excesses, and we are in the early part of the process of it changing. There are huge capital market implications to this that have huge economic implications, which I will delve into at another time.  

2. The domestic political order is breaking down due to huge gaps in people's education levels, opportunity levels, productivity levels, income and wealth levels, and values—and because of the ineffectiveness of the existing political order to fix things. These conditions are manifest in win-at-all-cost fights between populists of the right and populists of the left over which side will have the power and control to run things. This is leading to democracies breaking down because democracies require compromise and adherence to the rule of law, and history has shown that both break down at times like those we are now in. History also shows that strong autocratic leaders emerge as classic democracy and classic rule of law are removed as barriers to autocratic leadership. Obviously, the current unstable political situation will be affected by the other four forces I’m referring to here—e.g., problems in the stock market and economy will likely create political and geopolitical problems.  
 
 » Tariffs on US goods will rise to 125% — and this will be our final adjustment.
Regardless of future US actions, China will no longer respond. «
China's Customs Tariff Commission, April 11, 2025.

3. 
The international geopolitical world order is breaking down because the era of one dominant power (the US) that dictates the order that other countries follow is over. The multilateral, cooperative world order the US led is being replaced by a unilateral, power-rules approach. In this new order, the US is still largest power in the world and is shifting to a unilateral, "America first" approach. We are now seeing that manifest in the US led trade-war, geopolitical war, technology war, and, in some cases, military wars.  
 
4. Acts of nature (droughts, floods and pandemics) are increasingly disruptive, and
 
5. Amazing changes in technology such as AI will be highly impactful to all aspects of life, including the money/debt/ economic order, the political order, the international order (by affecting interactions between countries economically and militarily), and the costs of acts of nature. 
 
 Shadowboxing in a hall of mirrors:
On April 12, Trump excluded smartphones and electronics
from his April 9, 125% tariff on China.

Changes in these forces and how they are affecting each other is what we should be focusing on. For that reason, I urge you to not to let news-grabbing dramatic changes like the tariffs draw your attention away from these five big forces and their interrelationships, which are the real drivers of Overall Big Cycles changes. 
 
Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, said mismanaged global tariffs and economic
policies could push the US economy, already nearing recession, into a far worse crisis, April 13, 2025.

[...] I also urge you to think about the interrelationships that are critically important. For example, think about how  Donald Trump's actions on tariffs will affect 1) the monetary/market, economy order (it will be disruptive to it), 2) the domestic political order (it will likely be disruptive to it as it will probably undermine his support), 3) the international geopolitical order (it will be disruptive to it in many obvious ways that are financial, economic, political, and geopolitical) 4) climate (it will somewhat undermine the world’s ability to deal with the climate change issue effectively), and 5) technology development (it will be disruptive in some positive ways to the US, like bringing more technology production into the US, and in some harmful ways, like being disruptive to the capital markets that are needed to support technology development and in too many other ways to innumerate here.)
 

Trump commenting on how much money his billionaire friends made when he paused
tariffs on Wednesday, April 9: "He made $2.5 billion today, and he made $900 million". 
Corruption, insider trading, or just good timing and coincidence? 
April 10, 2025.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Gold Rises Not with Inflation, But with Geopolitical Issues | Martin Armstrong

Comment by FD: Is he breaking the London metals dealers’ hold to suppress the gold price?
 

Reply by Martin Armstrong: I am tired of hearing the same constant nonsense about gold being intentionally suppressed by dealers, and that’s why it’s not at $10,000. I have traded against these people for years. Here is a clip from  The Forecaster with Barclay [Leib], who used to work for me years ago, talking about how he checked me out with Goldman Sachs before taking the job. 
 

Every manipulation these dealers ever pulled off was to the upside – not to suppress gold. They sell 10x more when people think gold is rising, not declining. This BS claim that they were suppressing gold to help the government keep inflation in check is total BS!  
 
[...] Gold rises NOT with inflation, but with geopolitical issues. Here was the National Debt Q2 1980 at $877.614bn. As of Q2 2024, it stood at $36,218bn. The debt has risen 40.29% since 1980. Gold hit $875 on January 21, 1980, in the cash market. If gold rose because of inflation or the debt level, then it should be $35,260 per ounce. The gold dealer could buy all of Wall Street with that price.
 
Gold/USD (Monthly Bars).
Since the start of the never-ending, ever-larger global US War-of-Terror in September 2001, the price of
gold in USD rose from 251 to 3,176 USD/ounce by April 2025 (average annual growth rate: 17.35%). 
The average annual inflation rate in the US from 2001 to April 2025 is approximately 2.7%.
The cumulative inflation rate in the US from 2001 to April 2025 is approximately 74.9%.
In 2001, the US federal debt was $5.8 trillion and rose to $34.8 trillion by April 2025 (annual growth: 9.86%).
Preliminary results of the global US War-of-Terror in 2023: 4.5 to 4.7 million Muslims killed, with millions more wounded and
maimed. 38 million Muslims displaced, and tens of thousands of settlements, institutions, and infrastructure destroyed. Eco-
nomies collapsed, misery widespread, and famines and mass migrations triggered. US budgetary costs: $8 trillion plus interests.
 
These people who make up these excuses [gold price manipulation] are unbelievable. Gold pays no interest, which is why they lease it out. Otherwise, it is a dead asset that brings in no income. It is a hedge against the government in times of uncertainty—that’s it. It is not a hedge against inflation or the size of the debt. That has been a great sales pitch, but that is it.

 
See also:

Friday, April 4, 2025

We Support Trump’s Tariffs. Here Is Why | Dimitri Simes Jr.

We support Trump’s tariffs. They are beneficial for humanity. They will accelerate the collapse of the Globalist American Empire.
 
Economic Self-Sabotage: Tariffs raise costs for US consumers and businesses, resulting in higher prices for everything from cars to electronics. This impacts the average American's wallet, shrinking purchasing power and slowing growth. A weaker economy means less leverage on the world stage.

» Trump’s tariffs are beneficial for humanity. They will 
accelerate the collapse of the Globalist American Empire. «

Alienating Allies: Imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, or 20% on the EU, doesn’t exactly convey a “team player” mentality. Allies are already retaliating—China’s counter-tariffs and Europe’s threats are just the beginning. When your friends abandon you, your influence diminishes rapidly.



The formula Trump's team used to calculate tariffs. 
 Brilliant minds at work: Tariffs = Trade Deficit/US Imports.

Dei
ndustrialized Reality
: The US is no longer the manufacturing giant it once was. Decades of offshoring have gutted its industrial base. Tariffs can’t protect industries that barely exist anymore. Steel mills and factories won’t magically return. Instead, higher costs will simply burden the service-heavy economy that remains.
 
Handing Rivals a Win: China is eager to capitalize. Tariffs push global trade away from the US, and Beijing is ready to fill the void, strengthening ties with Asia, Africa, South America, and even Europe. The more the US isolates itself, the more rivals like China and Russia gain ground.
 
 » The more the US isolates itself, the more rivals gain ground. «

Dol
lar’s Status at Risk
: The US dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency relies on trust and trade. Tariffs breed chaos, retaliation, and currency wars, potentially leading to a push by BRICS nations to abandon the dollar. If this happens, America’s financial power could crumble—especially considering the historically high price of gold.
 
 » History shows that empires don’t survive self-inflicted wounds like these. «

Ove
rreach and Collapse
: Empires fall when they overextend. Tariffs are a gamble; Trump is betting on short-term gains, but the long-term consequences could be a fractured trade system and a US too weakened to lead. History shows that empires don’t survive self-inflicted wounds like these.
 
Trump’s tariffs might seem like a bold move to “Make America Great Again,” but they could end up being a wrecking ball to its global influence. The empire is already on shaky ground, and tariffs could be the final push that sends it crashing down.

 
  


  
»
The problem is that Trump will be blamed for the recession/depression
the world is headed into, which will not bottom until August 25th, 2028. «
 
 
 » They’ve all been living in our house. Driving our car. They open our fridge, eat our food. 
They’ve taken advantage of us. You have to pay. « Unless you are Israel.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, April 6, 2025.