China Sanctions US Defense Companies!

All right, hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Very excited to be with you as always. Got an interesting topic today, we're going to be talking about China sanctioning the US. Yeah, like I put in the description, whoever thought the day would come, well, the day is here. Uh, I'm gonna go into the ins and outs of, uh, the importance of this, or the significance that is of these sanctions. What does it mean for the future rivalry and strategic, uh, competitiveness or competition that is between the two, uh, superpowers? So this is what I'm going to be delving in today. First, let me say hi to all of you, whoever here. Uh, Jacqueline Knopf, good to see you. Coolwalk, good to see you as always. Michael Marshall, Uh, I won't make it on time again, but surely watched it. Thank you, Michael. No, so Peter, good to see you. Anthony Long, uh, CHW, I don't know how to pronounce it. Uh, Brestas, good to see you. You too, Z Super. Dr. O, good to see you. Good to see you as well. Uh, I don't know what you meant by knowing about China, Japan, uh, and Republic of Korea, something like that. So, uh, what is that one? Free Speech, whoever that is. So good to see you, George Vasquez. Good to see you. What time zone is 10:00 AM? Uh, if, if it is from where I am, that's the Pacific, that's the West Coast. So they're 2 hours behind. So Willie Holman, as always, Kampak Lay Khan, good to see you. Ahmed CD, Truth Seeker, Lucio Delgado, Sal Canales, good to see you. Masian Dorsi, as always. Hank, Francis Tango from Netherlands, that is. Lori, Farhad Razavi, John Smith, Jane, Juan, Farhad Razavi again, Francis Tango, and all of you here, good to see you guys. We are very excited to be with you as always. All right, let's, uh, first of all, I want to remind you about, uh, the interview on Friday with, uh, uh, Professor Dr. Yan Liang. I look forward to that conversation. Actually, we're gonna be, uh, when she's here on Friday, I'll be touching on this aspect as well because that's part of her academic background. So, all right, let's, let's start with actually, for those who might not know what the topic is all about, so we're going to be talking about, uh, uh, uh, the sanctions China imposed now on 12 US defense contractors. There are about 3 or 4 that are major, the likes of Northrop Grumman, uh, Lockheed Martin, and so forth, General Dynamics. And, uh, but there are others. There also the sanctions are applied on the CEOs. So, and the question that I have here, uh, which to me makes more sense, again Like I always say, it makes more sense to ask this kind of questions. How significant are the sanctions? So will they bite? In other words, will the sanctions be sort of— will have an impact, or it will be just a, a symbol, symbolic per se? Then the key other thing is the optics of it. And the optics of it, you think about it from in terms of the day has come when another country sanctioning the US Because it was always one way, right? We, we're even threatening now European banks with sanctions if they, they do business with banks in, in Russia. That shows you right there. But again, it's not about just the US, it's about how weak the Europeans are that allowing themselves for that. So that's the West. And the last question is, which is to me, it falls within my academic background here, is is the strategic thinking as to where the US-China rivalry from a geopolitical and strategic perspective is headed. This is what I'm gonna be covering for you today. So, but I'm gonna do something slightly different this time around by, uh, doing a brief history about the US. In this case, of course, it's a long one. I'm gonna just provide some very short, brief To put things in perspective, I provide you the link for the full— because when I used to teach, uh, government, I will touch on briefly on history, but from a political perspective, to understand, for example, when the colonies back in New England— excuse me— in New England, how they form rebellions under the Captain Shay at that time, and so forth. So I decided to do this briefly for you. So, and we're gonna, we're gonna be touching on this one. So now we comes to the— we come to the idea of the Chinese government announcing their sanctions on 12 US armed companies, uh, uh, and they're of course their executives and so forth. And why that is, it is because China has an argument. Now whether you agree with that argument or not It's your decision to decide on that. What I'm gonna do, however, is to share with you— there are two main reasons, okay? Two main, uh, uh, reasons for why China decided to do that. The first one is, is the US continuation of selling arms to Taiwan, which basically breaks protocol with what we agreed with the Chinese as far as the three communiqués we signed that we're gonna sort of observe that two systems, one China, uh, one rule, two systems. Yeah, one rule which is by the, the mainland China, but for the two separate systems. Even though the big problem with this now becomes the idea of arming the so-called— now some will use the term separatist, some will use Taiwan, some use whatever But that's one of the reasons. Second one is the US sanctions on China. So the, the China sanctions have two objectives. One is counter-sanctions, okay? And the other one has to do with the sale of weapons to Taiwan. And this is what I'm gonna be breaking. I have some pictures for you guys. Uh, this is a recent picture of, uh, Yeah, yeah, the hat doesn't fit. You know, some people— I'm one of those— I, I, I don't put hats because I just don't look good in them and they don't fit me right. So, so I don't wear them. So, but again, he's free to do whatever he wants. So, uh, but before I'll delve deeper, let me go to the history because I wanted to share this with you, and it's very, very important to understand, uh, why A lot of us here in America do not even understand our own history in depth. So here's the thing, when compared— if you take the United States and you compare it to other major powers, because the US doesn't have a long history, you know. I, I remember when I used to go to Europe and go walk around, I used to walk a lot. I like to walk into the old streets in, in, in Bédaing in the Netherlands, or or, or France or Germany or Sweden or Denmark, whatever, or Poland for that matter. And what you see, the architecture, you see the history, how old the— for us it's not 200 years is nothing. So this is one thing we don't know here in the US, or we don't understand rather. So, so when compare the US to other powerful nations, the likes of back then France, Portugal, Spain the UK, the history of the United States, which starts in the 17th century. I think I have some maps here that I can share with you if I— yeah, something old here from, from way back. So 17th century, which is short, relatively very, very short in comparison. However, as a nation, you know, it was— which was created, by the way, the United States was created out of thin air. Because the land belonged to the Indians to begin with. And I'm gonna get into that briefly just to give you an idea here. It's the same thing. And why I wanted to share this, especially this expression, out of thin air, because it's the same thing we're doing with the financial aspects. We're printing so much money, but there is nothing to back it up. So everything is in thin air, basically, which is true. A lot of Americans do not understand, for example, that there are about $2 trillion in credit cards circulating without nothing to back it up. In other words, if the system collapse financially, which a lot of analysts and a lot of experts that they understand the financial market saying it's gonna happen one way or another, we will be something far worse than what happened during the Great Depression. So even the history of America It's kind of— or the creation of America, rather, it was created out of thin air, no? And it was one of the first to be based on republic ideals. Remember, they remain just ideals. So US history, even though it is rich and eventful, studying it will make us understand and have more sense, uh, to understanding how the world is today and why the US behaving is the way we behave. However, while it's true that US history can certainly be understood as a sort of a triumph of so-called democracy and liberty and all that stuff, we must always remember, which most, a lot of us Americans do not, we must always remember that history is written by the winners. And another word, the victor who get the spoils end up writing that history. I'll give you an example of World War II. So, because why am I saying this? Because when you look at inequality, whether racial or economic, is ingrained in every fiber of American history. Go back to the slavery, go back to in history, and you know why. And it has played a significant role in the development of what many now consider to be the superpower because of that inequality. So I'm going to share brief, uh, just brief periods of history about America, then I'll jump into the analysis about the Chinese sanctions, uh, of, uh, of, uh, US firms. So, so you think about the Native American society on the eve of the British colonization, and by the way, I'm going to provide you a link It's not Wikipedia. Don't count on Wikipedia, guys. If you only know the manipulation that goes into Wikipedia by the government, by the way, which nothing gets disclosed here. So, so I don't depend on Wikipedia, of course, because as an academician, I wouldn't want to use Wikipedia in my references anyway. So in Renaissance time, Europeans were not the only ones accomplishing great things at that time. No one can deny the beauty of, let's say, Michelangelo's brushwork, or even the brilliance of Shakespeare, because nobody can, can deny this. But societies elsewhere also flourished. It wasn't just in Europe. And as the modern world turned back in 1600, it seems as though each corner of the world, for that matter, has its own sort of evolution, renaissance, creation, whatever you want to call it. So the Native American societies here in North America, we're not— we're no different. They had diverse cultures and languages, much like Europe, which of course we don't read in the books of history here in the US. So when the British stacked their claim to the East Coast of— and this is what you're looking at, the map there, guys— is the East Coast of the modern United States. They could not have dreamed of the complexity of the people they were soon to encounter. So let me share a brief thing with you here. There are between 140 and 160 different American Indian tribes. So there is, to those who might not understand the real American history, there is no single Native American language. Okay, it will be as difficult for, for example, the Mohawk Indians of the east of the United States to converse linguistically with the Zuni Indians of the west as it will be, for example, for Germans to converse with the Turks. That's how important for you to understand, because it's very, very, very important. Now you think about the idea of, uh, uh, uh, Brit— because Britain was the first one to come in into the East Coast of the United States. I'm going to share a map, a picture with you, I guess, if I, if I can find it. Uh, map right here. There are so many maps, I have to go through the, uh, yeah, right here, guys. This is the map, and the square you're looking at on the northeast of the United States, that's where most modern American citizens consider Great Britain to be their European parent country. This is why now the role has reversed. Now Britain will have to bow to the US, not the other way around. And of course, Britain had a hard time accepting that truth when they lost the colonies. So, so, however, by the time British arrived in the New World and established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown in 1607, much of the continent had already been claimed by other European nations. So it wasn't just— to give you guys an idea from a historical perspective— it wasn't just the British, there were other Europeans. All of— when you look at this, all of the modern— yeah, listen carefully, guys— all of the modern Southwest of the United States, including Texas and California, had been peopled by Spanish settlers for about a century. This is why Texas never belonged to the United States. So Texas belonged to, uh, Mexico back then. So, so the entire expanse of land between Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains had at one point been claimed by France. This is why you are seeing, for example, in Louisiana, you still have some French Quarter, uh, in, uh, in, in Louisiana. They speak French there and so forth because Louisiana, uh, France sold it to the US later. Many factors contributed to Britain tardiness. England was not the most powerful European nation in the 16th century. Which one was it, guys? I want to, I want to test your knowledge here and just share the knowledge with you. Which, uh, country at that time was the most sort of profound, uh, uh, as far as, uh, uh, influential around the globe at that time? Remember, 16th century. That should give you a hint. Let me see here quickly. I know it takes a while here for this to show up. Oh, Dave, uh, David K. No, yeah, David K got it. It was Spain. Uh, Tennis, you got it. It was Spain. E Walker, you got it. It was Spain. And also, while I check in chat box, I saw JF put a super sticker there. Thank you so much, Jeff. Truly, truly appreciate you, man. Uh, now the reason why you need to understand this one: Spain at that time, along with Portugal, dominated the New World exploration in the decades that followed Columbus. Columbus didn't discover America as we have in the history books here in America. No, no. Then comes France, France, then the Netherlands, and Sweden all showed greater interest in Western Hemisphere than England did. So this is where the hypes of England— and it's been exposed that England was nothing. Yes, they had good naval assets and, and, and all that, but no, nothing happened at that time. Uh, I got another picture here that I need to share with you guys because I need you to be aware of certain thing. And again, I'm going to provide you the link because it's very, very lengthy. Uh, and when I used to teach government, I will address this kind of, uh, aspects of it as well. So what you're looking at, you're looking at, at, uh, a sort of, uh, a British adventurer. He was a captain. His name is Sir Walter Raleigh. So, well, what happened, uh, uh It was a voyage by John Cabot on behalf of English investors in 1497 which failed to spark any great interest in the New World. England was divided in the New World at that time. So England was divided in the 1500s by great religious turmoil. This is where the religion played the role in manipulating and controlling the masses. And once again, no offense to any religion or religious beliefs, I respect them all. So this is when, uh, when Henry broke with the Catholic Church in 1533. A decade of religious strife ensued, and finally, under Henry's daughter Elizabeth, the English were prepared to stake their claim. Now, this, this kind of stuff, it's very, very important, uh, uh, and I'm not going to get into, uh, most of— one thing you need to know about this part of history, it has to do with the New England colonies. So of course, the founders of the New England colonies had an entirely different mission from Jamestown settlers Although, although economic prosperity was still a goal of the New England settlers. Once again, why am I sharing history here? Is to highlight to you the importance of economic developments. They were after economic incentives here because it's the economy that is help, uh, societies move forward. It was no different back then, it is no different than today. So Although economic prosperity was still a goal of the New England settlers, their true goal was spiritual. That is, fed up with the ceremonial Church of England— because Church of England was controlling the process— Pilgrims and Puritans sought to recreate society in the manner they believed God— however you perceive God to be, by the way— truly intended to be, uh, design. This is why the Pope still maintains that title of he's representative of God on Earth. I don't believe in that. I don't buy that argument, but I respect people who are following this kind of stuff. So what happened after that, guys? Religious strife reached the peak in England in the 1500s when Henry at that time broke with the Catholic Church of Rome. And one thing led to the next, and you all know the rest of history of that. So it's a very, very lengthy one. I will be happy to do one day just a, a live stream on history for that. As a matter of fact, one of you asked me to do a, a, a brief historical geopolitical snapshot of World War II era, and I'll be happy to do it. And I, I'm gonna be digging into the records and all that stuff, and I'll share that with you guys. All right, let's get into our analysis here as to really what this means for the Chinese now sort of imposing these sanctions. And like I said, I just get a note here, somebody bought me coffee. Thank you so much. I can't see, uh, who the person was, but I, I say thank you. Um, to me it's straightforward, it's straightforward. It's because we are not holding our end of the bargain regarding the deals we had with China, central government that is, when we signed the three communiques. And you all remember the pictures I shared with you of Nixon and, uh, uh, the signature between Carter and at that time Mao for the second, uh, communique. And all of them converge on one particular theme or one particular premise, and that is to respect the unity of One China. Now, to me, and I feel comfortable saying this, I look at it as an internal matter for China to deal with Taiwan in whatever capacity and whatever way they want to deal with Taiwan. Now, will they use deadly force, whatever? Yeah, they could. But again, It doesn't make sense to me, and I speak for myself here. Now, China can do whatever it wants. It just doesn't— the optics of it, it's like now the optics of sanctions. Tell me, you guys, tell me, was there any country before that sanctioned the US? Please just answer that one, yes or no, in the chat box. Tell me if I am mistaken. Provide me a name of a country that ever sanctioned the US. Let me see what you guys putting down here. Oh, uh, Antoango, you wrote, I feel like I am in school again. Well, I hope you enjoy it, so I wouldn't want to be boring you, because that's how I usually used to keep my students engaged. You know why? I was always sort of challenging their thinking. Always like, like ask them hard questions. It's like, for example, even for American history, when I will start the introduction of the US government and so forth, I'll ask them one question. And you know what was the question, guys? I always say, who's American here? And everybody raised their hands, and I, I just smile. Of course they don't get it. It's till the end of the semester, and I'll reask them the question again. Who's American here? Nobody raised the hand. And my point was, we all came from somewhere. So to those now who make that argument, immigrants this and that, it's nonsense. Because who's American here? I mean, let's face it, we all came from somewhere, whether you're born here or not. First, first, second, third generation, doesn't matter, you know. But on the other hand, Now when you get the issues of immigration we have, which is almost to the border of lawlessness, that becomes a problem. I have nothing against immigrants because I'm an immigrant myself, but I have a problem with if you don't follow the rules and all that, I'll be the first one to tell you pack your stuff and get out. Simple. So when other countries like Hungary don't want immigrants, it's their country. They can decide. So, so let me see what you guys put in here, uh, in the chat box. Oh, most of you say no. UK. Yeah, yeah, that, that, that's indeed. So it's the idea of, uh, to the Chinese, they were thinking in terms with what the heck wrong with Americans? Why are they flip-flopping? Why are they changing after signing sort of the agreement? So anytime you sign an agreement, you are bound by its clause. It's what they call— we call it the spirit of contract. That's what it is. So, and, uh, so this is where the idea that I said the UK might have imposed sanctions back on the colonies back then for the taxation I'm talking about contemporary time. Tell me, from World War II to today, was any country ever impose sanctions on the US? And this is the importance of the optics of this. China now declaring openly, we're gonna put sanctions on 12 specifically US defense contractor. Now there is one thing I need you to understand. Despite this, I'm still gonna be wondering Will the sanctions bite, or China decide to take the easy way by using 12 companies that they don't do much business in China? But again, could the calculation of China— as an analyst, I have to think outside the box. As an analyst, I'll be saying to myself, could China just be testing the waters? Which to me, I'm leaning towards that seeing how things gonna go with only those 12 US defense contractors. Remember, there are only 3 of them that are major, and I'm gonna disclose the names with the pictures. But could it be that China thinking long term? And there is a reason for that, and you know what that reason is? The US dollar. Till China said to the US, sure, we'll do trade with you, it's just we don't want to accept the dollar. Till that happens, then we will be seeing a different game altogether. So for now, suffice it that those sanctions, in my opinion, is a reflective of now the geopolitical tensions between China and the US. No matter what you hear, no matter what you read, there are tensions behind the scenes. Of course, for now, the administration— we are coming to an election season, you know, and they want to appear tough on China. You use political rhetoric to do whatever. Chinese do it for different reasons because their system is different than ours. They don't run through elections every 4 years, you know. So heck, we could see President Xi for, for life. And if that is what they want, then be it. So it's their country. So for us, it won't work. And the reason it won't work, because look what politician— when someone gets to the presidency, what he or she— he, because we never had she— when he gets there, how corrupted he get in 4 years? Can you imagine what he will do in 20? This is why corruption runs so deep in American system. And the idea of, uh, where, where is that? The idea of where the sanctions are centered on is because it tied to one aspect, which is Taiwan, of course. And this sanctions is a direct a response, that is, what, to the US, uh, for, for selling weapons to Taiwan. And the second one has also has to do with the sanctions imposed by the US on the Chinese companies that deal with Russia. Well, wait a minute, who are we to dictate what a country they can do business with? So, and because the weak arguments is what they providing, uh, support for Russia. So what they want to enter into, that's why I had the conversation yesterday when I was invited on, on, on, on, uh, on the, uh, RT, uh, channel. And now they want to have a, a conversation on a monthly basis, believe it or not, guys. And I'd be happy to show up there and share the knowledge with them. So Uh, it's the idea of if, if, if China was— companies of China doing business, then be it. Same thing if we're doing business with whatever. So I just don't see the logic of our arguments. We want to sanction a country for doing business with Russia, but we kind of don't like it when it's done to us. Well, this is what China is dealing with right now. It's, it's putting the cards on the table for everybody to see. Remember the effectiveness of this strategy. It might be just symbolic, the sanctions might not bite, but it's not the objective. The objective is to put it on the global table for the rest of the world to see. Wow, someone is sanctioning the US. That's why I had the title the way I had. We will sanction you too. That is the point of it. So now, the 12 defense, uh, uh, uh, US defense contractor, uh, companies and 10 senior executives, including prominent companies, the like of— and I have some images here for you guys. Like the, the likes of Lockheed Martin. You have also Raytheon, which is, by the way, the corridor right here in, in Texas. Then we have also, I believe, General Dynamics. I don't know if I have a picture of them. I don't. Then there is, of course, Northrop Grumman. So all, all those companies now, uh, they're gonna be sanctioned as far as certain. Because here is the problem that again Western media is minimizing. They're saying where the sanctions going to impact this and that, but, but the, the— I don't want to use the term lying because I don't like to use the words loosely. They are manipulating. What they are not saying is that you're all familiar with F-35, right? And you're all familiar with the problems with F-35. I used to go to a location where I used to do some other work back then, and on the base that was part of the training for the test flights for the F-35. I used to see them there, over there, and it has been problems ever since. We're talking about way back. And let alone the cost of it. I mean, to build one plane— how much the cost do you guys think to build one, uh, F-35? I want you guys to share, uh, your knowledge here. Just give me a figure. Just guess. Give me a figure, a number, that is. And still till today, we still have problems with F-35s. Uh, $150 million. Why? Hey, good try. Uh, who else? Jane One, $2 billion. That's too much. Alice Kane, $130— no, it's about $800 million. Now when you add here and there, you will almost reach— for a plane that doesn't operate properly and the maintenance of it But here is where the kicker— you know what the kicker is? Is that some parts are produced in China. So, uh, so you can just see now where the problems is going to be compounded here in the US soon. So now you think of China also being strategic. Why did China didn't do this let's say a year ago. Why did China didn't want to wait till a year from today? Is the timing, the upcoming elections, but also the reaction to the visit of the, uh, what's his name? I always like to call him governor, the, the, the Taiwan guy here, uh, Chai Lai. Somebody helps me, by the way. With the linguistic pronunciation. Lai Chai Tea. Lai Chai Tea. That's, that's the— for him, because he met with— now this guy, the one you're looking at a picture on the left, he's from my state of Texas, and he is the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In other words, he's the one dealing with the sale of foreign— of American weapons to foreign countries. His name is Michael McCaul. He's the chairman of the House Foreign Relations. And the meeting, by the way, just took place 2 days ago right here in the US. So that is one of the reasons why China is reacting, uh, uh, to that. So what China end up doing now— China, the sanctions that China is imposing on, on the likes of, uh, uh, Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman or, or all the CEOs and all that, which by the way, China put them under what's called Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law. So, and this one now, China's going to freeze all the assets of the affected businesses. Any business transactions or, or money, whatever, is going to be frozen, okay, within China, in addition to denying a visa to the sanctioned individual If, uh, uh, uh, like, as you may know, guys, for us Americans, if we want to visit China, we have to apply for visa. It's their country. That's the only country in Asia that require visa. Hey, it's their country. So, uh, uh, and I'm dealing with that stuff right now. And by the way, the sanctions, guess what, they are also extending to their immediate families. To me It's now not only this tit for tat, we got in a feel of what it's like to be sanctioned. So, and all this comes within— remember, you have to put events in, in their proper context. And I'm gonna take you back to last September. What happened last September? This company right here This company, uh, was awarded the defense contracts from the Pentagon for about $412 million to do what? To upgrade Taiwanese military radar as part of one $1.1 billion pocket package of US arms sales to Taiwan, because it's no secret Taiwan buys majority of its weapons from the US. It's considered by, by some, some standards here in Washington, is considered one of the biggest and officially ally. So, so, and this is where the issue for us as to what we say to the Chinese government in Beijing as far as is sovereignty over Taiwan versus what we do. Two opposite, sending sort of the wrong message here. So China finds it, well, if you're gonna be continue selling arms to Taiwan and if you're gonna be sanctioning Chinese Americans— uh, I'm sorry, Chinese companies— then we have no other option but to sanction you. And that's exactly what the Chinese government decided to do. And like I said, it included those major players because those are major— Lockheed Martin, it's one of the leading global security and aerospace company. Raytheon Technologies, uh, General Dynamics, uh, all of them are major defense contractors, part of the MIC. Military-industrial complex, as you all know. Now we think in terms of the implications of the, the sanctions. Now, as an analyst, and the type that I see with the sanctions, it might not matter much, and once again, because the volume of the business those companies do, they don't do it in China. They do with the US government, they do with other countries. Yes, they selling few millions here and there of weapon to Taiwan. It's nothing comparison to what they do with the contracts inside the Pentagon. But again, is this symbolic? How symbolic this is? So because now with this act by China is saying to the world, we're gonna be now exposing those US defense, uh, companies, okay? And we're gonna be sanctioning all of them under US, because they are American companies, you know, even though it might not be to the extent like what the US and Europe did to Russia, or what the US did to China regarding the chips. However, you have to think also long term. This is the way I see it. Those sanctions do have some other impact, whether on Lockheed Martin, whether on Raytheon, whether on, uh, on, on Northrop Grumman or General Dynamics. It won't matter. This is, by the way, an F-35. Uh, which is horrible anyway, let alone the cost. You wonder why now, uh, the US, uh, made the decision by telling Ukraine to pull out the tanks, US tanks, from the field, frontline. You know, uh, the arguments of course we got was, oh, we don't want them to fall in the hands of the Russians. It's a lie. They already did. Russians were displaying those on— do you remember the military's, uh, parade during the, uh, anniversary? And it just tells you right there. Pardon me. So it's the, uh, the quality. This is why Arab countries in the Middle East buying so much American weapons that they realizing it's useless. Because they couldn't defeat the, uh, missiles that were coming from Yemen back then. So, uh, so what was I going to say? Yeah, the strategic thinking of the Chinese, the act in itself by China disclosing publicly, openly, that we gonna— we are, we are imposing sanctions on the, on the United States, the defense contractor Because it is perceived as a clear sign, okay, of what? China's now readiness to really go toe-to-toe with the Americans, and also a sign to the US that China is going to defend its sovereignty. When I say sovereignty, I'm referring to the territorial. That's what the, uh, the signal to all this It has far more strategic implications than, than just impacting the US businesses on— no, it's not about that. Is the strategic thinking, vision down the road, years from today. But also the sanctions add now to the already the complexity of the US-China relations economically, geopolitically, strategically, you name it, technologically. Which, by the way, I just find out that, uh, uh, the, the, the project that the US was talking about to Taiwan, TMC, to relocate to Arizona is going nowhere. It's going nowhere. We don't have the brain power for that. Yeah, we have the money, we can print, it's all it is. We don't have this because here is the importance to understand about the sanctions. Those companies, they are very crucial, uh, uh, uh, uh, player into the US defense business, very. And there are products they produce in China. And mark my word on it, I'll give it few months. It was the same thing that happens with the chips till you start seeing problems here with the automakers in the US, with all the other equipments they use, microchips that were produced in China, start having a problem right here in the US. Of course, the sanctions are tit for tat. Because we went ahead and sanctioned, uh, Chinese tech companies. Of course they went ahead and moved forward with their own production of their own chips. I do not know. Now, I do not know, guys. Please, uh, just share with, with the community if you do know. If you know based on facts, it's not speculation, please. If you know for facts, did China achieve the production of the 3-nano technology? The 3 nanometer, nanometer, uh, chips. The last one I was aware of is the 5, and I was thinking they were working on the 4, but the 3 is what some companies like, uh, uh, uh, ASM, ASML, which is the company, the, the company in Netherlands that has the particular equipments that makes the 3 nano. In Taiwan, they produce the 3 nano. The, I think South Korea if I'm not mistaken. And China didn't have that, but the last one I saw. Please, if you know for fact, share it on the, on the chat box for the rest of the community, uh, to know, because I'm, I'm curious to know. Uh, YT, you say so far officially no. Uh, uh, 1KC, you say not yet. Tamputra, you said not yet. So, so thank you guys for sharing this one. Uh, Patrick, real estate, you said not yet but will be in 2025 or 2026, uh, which makes more sense. Oh, TSMC, thank you for correcting me. Uh, you're absolutely correct because this kind of technology, it's not overnight. And this is why that project in Arizona ain't going nowhere. It was nothing but lip service from the president, US president that is, to the public, domestic consumption, no more, no less. Look what the Europeans now end up holding the end of the stick, economically speaking. And now they're going to be paying financially for it because we will impose sanctions on them if they continue doing business, the banking system that is. Basically what it is, we wanted to control the financial market in Europe because remember Remember, remember, to those who live in Europe, and I'm gonna take you back to the '80s, whether you were born there or not, uh, which currency was used back then? Each country has its own. The, the, the Dutch mark. And I usually, I used to travel at that time, and when I'll go to Germany, I'll have to exchange money, use the Dutch mark. When I go to France, of course, where I have my family, I will use the the, the franc. When I go to, uh, uh, Denmark, I think I use krona. You know, each country has its own. All of a sudden, it was a push from behind the scenes to create a unified currency. It wasn't about simplifying the transaction, it's about controlling. Little long, you add countries that are within the eurozone to use the— within the European Union to use the eurozone. Well, I got, I got a problem with that. I'm not a financial analyst, but it just makes sense to me. When you take a currency the like of Greece— no offense to Greece or Italy or whatever— and compare it to the Deutsche Mark, they're like here. And now with the EU, they're with the, the euro, they are equal, which is problematic because the economic output of a country like Greece in comparison to that of Germany. But now they're all sinking in the same boat. And that's the same argument that can be made about where do sanctions that China impose on the US moving forward— your big sign, I'm telling you here, guys, your big sign is when you hear the Chinese government announce we no longer accept the US dollar. The moment you hear that, you know it's over. Nail on the coffin for the US dollar as far as the US-China transactions. So now, of course, we all know the Taiwan issue remains sensitive, but it remains sensitive because we want it to remain sensitive. Because that's the pressing button we used whenever we feel like. This is why the likes of Philippines, the likes of South Korea, the likes of Australia, the likes of Japan, the likes of even New Zealand, they are not thinking in terms of the next 10, 20 years, 25 years down the road. The geopolitical calculus is going to change And for them, they will have no strategy in place how they're gonna, uh, manage this change. Of course, they're gonna be left with the US, because what we're gonna tell them— we're gonna tell them, oh, you are under our security umbrella, don't worry. And when the fight breaks out, guess who's going to be in the front line? I'm gonna be asked. So, so, so, and this is where, when you have, uh, uh, the, the recent visit of, uh, uh, Lai Chai-te, Lai Chai-te. So US is saying that the support for Taiwan is crucial. Listen to this, and I put it in quote: US support is crucial for maintaining its defense posture against potential Chinese aggression, end of quote. You can just see the manipulation in the wording here. We all know China will take over Taiwan if he wants to in no time militarily. But again, I just don't see Beijing embarking on something like this because the optics of it. Second, Taiwanese are Chinese. Might be different ethnic group, whatever, still all of them are Chinese. And this is where that challenge that's going to be moving forward and how we intended to address that. The way I see it moving forward is we're going to keep fermenting more tensions there and we ensure— but here is the thing, guys, What is going on right now in Taiwan in the legislation? More and more pro-China are dominating the legislation. Give it a few cycles, it'll be over. It's because this, this, this, this ain't gonna hold forever. We maintain it through sending our special ops. Yes, we do, and we did. Train them there or whatever. And, and this is what I was saying last time— how long China can be so nice? For how long? At some point it's gonna say enough is enough. And it looks to me that it's getting to that point slowly, because remember, a country behaves according to its history. Look what our history is, and I only shared with you a fraction of that at the beginning. What we did. If we only— if only Americans come to grip, and some of us do come to grip with the dark side of our government history regarding the Native Americans. It's no different than what Canada did. It's no different than what Australia did to Aborigines. And as a matter of fact, it was one of, uh,, uh, our viewers, uh, share with me. His name is Jeremiah Morrison 2914. I'm going to share it with you guys. He said, and I quote, in a comment, likewise, sir, I hope my nation, the Torres Strait, will proceed with the Chinese influence to help our sinking islands and follow suit like Samoa and Tonga did. I wish Paul Keating was our prime minister again. He supported us Indigenous Australians like no other leader. End of quote. So this is why I'm telling you guys, this is why I am telling you in our community, we need to understand and help each other. And part of it is this conversation we have. Conversations aren't meant to just waste time. Conversations are meant to help each other understand, uh, expand our horizon intellectually per se, and start to see solutions to issues. So here, to me, it was, it was, I, I was so, I was so happy to see a native watching this channel in Australia, a native. And this is what's important. And the same argument I always say about China regarding Taiwan is the history of China has never been aggression. This is why I don't see them going, embarking on a military venture regarding Taiwan. But Taiwan, sort of those separatists, needs to get their act together also, because they're gonna— if, if, if Taiwanese politicians, those are thinking that we're gonna come to their aid, they are mistaken. We will do no different than what we did in Vietnam, than what we did back for in the Korean, than what we did in currently in, uh, in, uh, in, in Ukraine, or what we did in, in, in Afghanistan and Iraq, or Africa for that matter. We won't, because the objective has never been to get involved directly You create tensions, like I— and I said it before, guys, and I'll repeat it for those who might not know— the decision was made after the 1952 or '53. What happened that, that year? What was happening during that time in history? Major war. Which one was it? I just want to want you to share the knowledge with you guys. What made the Korean War? Jane Huang, you got it. The Korean War, the decision was made right after, actually 1950 to be exact, moving forward decision by the— me, I remember I had, uh, in one of my laptops, I have few, and one of them had this, uh, uh, it wasn't classified of course because I— you can't have classified information Nation. But I had knowledge of the— you— are you guys familiar with— let me type it for you here and tell me if you do. That was, that was a group of individuals that include scientists and high-ranking generals at that time. You probably will not— yes, yes, Vedgar, that is correct, that is correct, Majestic 12. And right after that time, the Majestic 12, the decision was made: we're gonna have to keep creating conflicts and drag them on. The objective is not to win a war because we haven't been in a war. That's why we won't know how to fight. If there is a war breaks out right now, we wouldn't know what to do. We would think counting on our satellites and and, and missiles and all that. Fighting, we can't, because we have never been in one. All the conflicts we've been involved in is just to drag them on, from the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War I, Gulf War II, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and soon to be Far East. That was the whole idea of it, guys. And this is what I need you to understand. If you happen to be an American, you should be aware of this. Because the government ain't— but, but just to wrap this up, because I'm going to open it for your questions, guys, uh, uh, just to wrap this up, the idea of the sanctions is the optics of it. Like I always said, in international relations, optics matters. Always remember this: in international relations, optics matter, the optics of it. China was shrewd enough, they hitting two birds with one. We're gonna sanction defense stuff, even though it might not be this harsh sanctions, but also we want to send the message, the optics of it. Shrewd strategy, in my opinion. So, and this is one thing the Europeans now Believe it or not, once again, you're not going to read it, you're not going to hear about it. European now are as divided as they could be. You know what is about? What to do that now majority are pivoting east. As a matter of fact, there is an upcoming trip of some Arab leaders, they going to China. I'm gonna do a video for you once I confirm certain information. And because Middle East is part of my academic background, that's one of the books where— that's my first book over there. I don't have a picture of it. And I'm gonna be talking to you about how come this— and the key countries. And you'll find out. And you, by the time I share that with you, you link that to the recent trip of Bahraini King to Russia. Like I always say, think of geopolitics as a big chessboard where the movements are very strategic. So, all right guys, I am done. I said what I need to say to you. Uh, uh, oh, Army with Harmony, you're right. Conversations, uh, conversations should influence our behavior as long as it's in a positive way. Uh, in positive way. To me, I look— I agree with you, influence in a good way, but not to the point of reaching conclusion for others. Can't do that. I don't believe in that. This is one thing I am very familiar with as to what mainstream media is doing. They reach a conclusion for you because they don't want you to think, because the moment you start to think you become a threat. So, so I agree with you. All right guys, let me scroll back up. As always, I want to extend my thanks to, uh, the channel supporters and all of you for that matter. Should you decide to support the channel, here is the link. Uh, I'm gonna put the PayPal here and I'll put the other one for Buy Me a Coffee. Where's that one? So, and thank you all for your support. Truly, truly appreciate it. All right, let me take a question or two or three or whatever that might be. Uh, uh, right away showed up in front of me. Why? Hey, let me, let me show on the screen so you know. Uh, Doc, do you think the sanctions made by China on the military, uh, uh, military complex, industrial complex, that is US, is also directed and conscious act from China to support the Palestinians. Uh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What, what's gonna be supporting the Palestinians is now China's gonna host this upcoming meeting between those Arab leaders coming, going— not between, all of them going to China. This is not between, this is Arab leaders seeking China's support because they know the US cannot be an honest broker. No, but for this one, no, it doesn't go for that one because China already made it clear and they announced it as far as the Palestinian states and so forth. You got 3 European countries already, uh, I think Norway, Ireland, and Spain already declared Palestinian state. So, all right, let me, uh, I'm scrolling all the way Uh, oh, Francis Tango, once again, thank you so much for your Super Sticker. Truly appreciate you. And by the way, you wrote it was raining a lot in Holland, right? When I used to travel to visit the family, yeah, you won't know when it's going to rain, surprisingly. All right, your question: what will happen if China does not trade with the dollar? We will have war as, uh, uh, We will have war as in Libya. No oil dollar. Oh, I see, I see what you mean. No, it won't be that way. It just, it will be very problematic for us. Problematic. And I'm not laughing out of laughing, I'm laughing out of concern, because products will start to cost so much if we decide not to pay in, in the currency that the Chinese wants. Because the Chinese will say Sorry, we're not selling. And you start seeing products here that cost, let's say, uh, an item, let's say just, uh, whatever, something like this, $10. By the time China stopped using dollar, this will jump to about $40. So you become having a— you will, will start having a hard time with just affording the basics. That's the problem. As far as going the same way with Libya, no. Like the Libya scenario. The Libya scenario was different. The Libya scenario was about— what was the Libya scenario about, guys? Do you know? Does anybody know? If you can type in chat box quickly, what was the Libyan scenario was all about? Let me see in the chat box. Wow, we got a lot of viewers here today, guys. So, oh, Boon, good to see you. Boon just got free to come online now. We'll listen from the beginning. Thank you, Boon, and I truly appreciate you, man. And I understand all of you guys for work and the timing and all that. It's, it's, it's the beauty of it, it's recorded so you can always look at. So let's see, what was the Libya issue was all about? If anybody can tell me. Oil, yeah, but what way? What way? Okay, between Hamad CV and YouTube Super, if you guys can coordinate your Actually, uh, got it. Good to see you, Luca. The golden dinar, because Libya started to circulate the conversation about accepting the dollar for its oil and of course the currency in Africa. We didn't like that, and that you all know the rest of the history, even though the Europeans themselves didn't want to go that far. You know why? Because Libya, Libya's oil, which is used for jet fuel, because they have a good quality oil. This is where Europe gets its jet fuel from, and because of the proximity. But we end up, we end up sort of doing what we did and neutralizing, uh, uh, uh, Muammar Gaddafi at that time. So Uh, let me see. Jane Wan, thank you so much for your Super Sticker. This gives wider perspective and angles. Indeed, indeed. We look at— that's the whole idea. And your inputs— this is the reason, guys, why I asked you questions. It's not to put you in a spot. We're beyond that kind of thinking. It's your input, because I do not know everything. I'm— I find I learn things from you guys. So, and that's how it works. So, so thank you so much, Jane. Truly appreciate it. Uh, E Walker, I see question from you. Do the sanctioned defense contractor do business with Taiwan? If they are sanctioned, does the One China policy come into play? They cannot do business with Taiwan. Yeah, here is the thing, the Chinese— and I looked at it, I looked at, uh, under, uh, and I'll put the link for you guys, what the Chinese government, the restrictions they put to the Chinese government, Chinese businesses not to do business with those sanctions. Now, when they say Chinese businesses, that's what I do not know, and I don't have the answer. Are they meaning the Chinese forward slash Taiwanese, or are they saying just Chinese in mainland China? I do not know. I do not know that one, except that, uh, uh, whatever transactions, no company will get involved into that. And I'm going to look into this one. Great question. I'm going to look into this to see if it applies to, to companies in Taiwan. That's interesting because nothing was said about this. Uh, Boone, I see question from you here. Do you think change is possible in the leadership in the US, or are we in set spiral downward? I'll go with the latter. With the latter. People here thinking that Trump's gonna Trump is no different. Trump is for Trump. I have nothing against Trump, but Trump is not qualified. We don't have leaders. We don't have anybody who can presume the position of a president. Being a president is not a status. Being president is a responsibility for your own people. How can a president— we lay in bed at night sleeping in the comfort of whatever and his people are struggling. Some of them don't even have food to eat. Some of them cannot buy medication. Some of them cannot afford basics. What kind of leader is that? And some of them don't even have anything to eat for the day. So for us here in the US, no, it's going down. All we're gonna see is just meet the new boss as the old boss. It's the end. The end is here. It's just a matter of time and the fashion by which we're gonna go out. Don't get me wrong, guys, it pains me to say this for my own country, but again, I can't shy away from the truth and I can't sugarcoat it, and I don't do that. I know those criticize me for, you don't like America. It's nonsense. It's a weak, weak argument. I care from where my country is headed, but my country is doing wrong because we don't have qualified leadership that can think how to engage other countries. So we're gonna just be the same. As a matter of fact, Trump already mentioned he's gonna impose tariffs on, uh, Europe And of course extend the tariffs on the Chinese. It tells you right there, meet the new boss as the old boss. All right, I'll take one more question because I have an interview I have to go, uh, get ready for. And, uh, YT, it's not a question, uh, you wrote your knowledge and wisdom motivates and touch many in the community. I, I am hoping You know, when RT reached out to me, they're like, Dr. O, would you please come on our show? I said, sure. I, I know they are limiting this channel from, you know, my objective is to reach the world. Yeah, the world, for the sake of raising awareness. That is what's all about. It's because I'd rather have people around, doesn't matter what nation doesn't matter what part of the world, becoming aware than just worry about my own. You know, it becomes, it becomes the question of what are you here for? What are you doing in this life? What is your objective truly? Is it about just getting up, eating a lunch, breakfast, whatever that is, and go to work and sleep and watch TV? What kind of— it's a hollow existence. If you couldn't, you know, each one of us— by the way, guys, each one of us contributes in his own way. Don't ever underestimate your ability. And I'm not saying it to be Mr. Nice, okay? You have something to offer. All you need to do, dig deep inside you and find out what that is. And that requires reflection, That requires to— for you to sit quietly and listen to your inner voice. We all have something to share. I found mine on this today. I don't know what tomorrow brings, but thank you, YT. So I appreciate it. All right, let me scroll one more or two before I— and remember, guys, uh, don't miss the Friday interview with Professor Yan Liang. So I look forward to that conversation with her. Okay, one more, one more, one more, one more, one more. And by the way, guys, to those who asked me about Carl, I did send, uh, uh send him a message on X. I haven't heard back yet, so I'm sure he's busy and he'll let me know whenever works for him. We'll do the conversation we always do. Yeah, Carl is nice to listen to from a historical perspective. Okay guys, I am gonna sign off here. Oh yeah, I see one quickly here from Kurt 2014. Uh, our containment of China has failed. What should we do next? Uh, you, you're right. You know, I argued about it back in 2015, and I'm gonna dig some article and send it to you guys or post it for you. When I used to write at that time for the Huffington Post, and I post one that containing China ain't gonna work the same way we did with the Soviet Union. Because China is not the Soviet Union. China learned from the mistakes of the Soviet Union. For one, the Soviet Union trusted the Americans, and let alone the approach to the economic, uh, perestroika, which at that time Mikhail Gorbachev embarked on, which to me, uh, I mean, I know he wasn't, uh, uh, appreciated in, in, in Moscow Uh, in Russia, rather, uh, or Soviet Union, they didn't care much for the guy. He didn't realize he was being played. So, so to China, yeah. And I said back then, the containment, it's not gonna work for one reason: it's too late. You would have been able to contain China if you would have done it 30 years ago. It's too late. That train has left the station. China has already built the infrastructure needed for it to move forward. It is moving forward. This is why now China is strengthening its military. Why? Because time has come for it to prepare a force to protect that infrastructure, which is its development, same way we did after World War II. So containing China now, it's too late. So what's next? What's next is going to be the tensions. Creating pockets of tension in South China Sea, Taiwan, Philippines, here and there and so forth. But all that also will come to an end at some point because Filipino people might end up voting for someone else, get rid of Marcos Jr. You know, that's the country they can decide. Australia, Australia, it's a basket case, but if they get someone like Paul Keating or even Rabbie You know, you all remember Robbie, right? You know, the Citizen Party. Well, guess what? He will do a far better job than Albo. Mark my word on that. But the establishments in Canberra will not let it. You know, the same with South Korea, the same with Japan. So, so you're gonna be seeing pockets here and there, but at some point, at some point, you have to fight fire with fire. That means China will have to make a decision and, and, and, and put the, the dots on the letter, as we said. Either this or that. To me, I'm starting to see the signs. This is like sanctions, even though those are symbolic for now, but China moves slowly because that's part of how the culture is, a reflection of Patience, that is the key, something we don't have here in the West. So, all right guys, I thank you so much for being here. I always enjoy our conversation and I look forward to seeing you next time. As always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys, bye-bye.