Shocking Shift: Italy Bows to US Demands to Restrict Chinese Investments!

Hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Excited to be with you as always. I have an interesting topic. I will be talking about Italy and how it is once again backstabbing China, or stabbing China in the back. So, and I'm gonna provide you a clip from a video that I did a year ago and warned against this. And here we are. So, so this is what I'm going to be sharing with you today, provide you my own analysis about it and, uh, highlight few other things, and we'll just go from there. Let me just have a sip of water here. Excuse me. Uh, before I'll do this, let me say hi to our wonderful community quickly. Coach Ahoy, good to see you. Lean, good to see you. Dave H, good to see you. Meloni, the EU elected her to make Zelensky look tall. Very, very bitter at having been overlooked for promotions. Good one. Abdul, good to see you. Athene Wu, as always. Uh, who else is here? Taiwan Still. Uh, Arcan Electric, good to see you here. And sorry guys, I'm not gonna— Francis Tango, I see you here. So I gotta have to move on because I have a lot to cover. And also have to prepare something for next week because I will be heading out to Asia next week. So, uh, just FYI, remember to join me on Saturday for my conversation with none other than Carl Zah. We got a very, very interesting— we're gonna have an interesting show because a lot had happened since last time we spoke. And usually I go with him over what took place throughout the last 3 weeks or so. So We look forward to that conversation on Saturday at 7:30 PM Central Standard Time. So, um, all right, let's get into it. You know, today I decided to do headlines for you guys because it's also nice to know what's going on around the world before I'll dive in into the topic. So, so I'm gonna start with the first one, and this one, no surprise, we're starting with the US now imposing new sanctions. Yeah, imposing new sanctions on Iran, and yet the US wanted to negotiate with Iran regarding the nuclear program. I just— it's insane. So this is what the US is saying. So US Treasury Department announced, uh, yesterday that the Trump administration has imposed additional Iran-related sanctions targeting 13 entities in Hong Kong, China, United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, along with other aids. So that's insane. And just shows you, you can't trust the Americans. That's just the way it is. So, and by the way, I remember did a survey for you guys, and thank you for taking part of that survey, in which I asked your opinion about do you believe In your opinion, Iran is making a mistake by trusting the IAEA? 92% of you said yes, they are making a mistake. 6% of you said no, and 2% of you said I don't know. They— we had about 1,000, uh, participants in this survey. So thank you first of all for taking part of that, but also highlight your understanding of why Iran is making a mistake. And again, now this proves this one. So, uh, second one I'm gonna share with you, it's a sad one of course, and this one has to do with the famine, uh, that is still going on in Gaza. Well, United Nations finally today officially declared a famine in Gaza. That's to me was like a slap in the face, you know. Where was the UN, you know, few months ago? Where were the Western world? Where were the US? Well, the US is taking part of that. So shame on, on, on my country participating in that, you know, targeting human defenseless civilians. It's, it's, it's a red line. It should be no matter what. Yeah, you might have issues with others, group entities, whatever, but defenseless civilians So shame, and shame on the UN that it didn't take stand earlier. So now finally they are coming officially and saying that it's Gaza is experiencing a famine. And the last thing I share with you, it has to do with Grok. I don't know if you're familiar with the AI one here in the US, but guess what happened? Grok accidentally published chats of about 300,000 users. So the artificial intelligence robot Grok leaked the conversation of 370,000 users through the website of its developer. You know, that is so bad, and it just shows you the lack of incompetency. And yet we wanted to invest $500 billion into the AI because we want to compete with the Chinese. And the Chinese developed the Deepseek that cost only $5 million. You see where this is going. So, so it was very, very embarrassing here in the US for a leak of 300,000, uh, uh, uh, chats, uh, for of the users through the, uh, Grok. So anyway, let's get into our topic, and we're going to be talking about— I don't have pictures of Meloni here, I forgot to upload some, but, but today I'll be talking about Uh, why all of a sudden, uh, uh, Italy, uh, the government of Giorgia Meloni, is now restricting the Chinese investments? And it was only a year ago when Giorgia Meloni herself went to China, and I did a video on that, and I'm going to share a clip with you briefly here just to highlight this point. Take a listen here. Prime Minister, uh, uh, Giorgia Meloni. So I, I put on the thumb— thumbnail, and, and, and please correct me if I'm wrong or suggest something else. I, I put, uh, President Xi looking at her and thinking, can we trust a fox? Yeah, it's not a laughing matter once you understand the ins and outs of these dynamics, as to all of a sudden there is this shift Well, we're gonna have to ask the key question, and here are the key questions here, guys, that I need you to consider as we move forward into this conversation here. So now the first question: why all of a sudden change of heart? And assuming it is sincere, this is where, uh, one of you who mentioned about, uh, uh, you know, second chance, forgiveness and all that— oh, that is good— is the key. The key here is sincerity. You know, we all make mistakes. I'm not denying it. I'm one of those. I've been forgiven in my life. I made mistakes and I went and apologized and I meant it. And, and they said, you know what, water over the bridge, you're forgiven, and it's all done. It's in the past. And of course you don't want to repeat the mistakes again. So sincerity is the key. So why the change of heart? Second question, is Meloni's trip to China a challenge to the US and the EU, because you're gonna have to look at it from that aspect. Because when you consider that it was the US that pressured Meloni to withdraw from the BRI, and she did. So third question is, will China invest in Italy given the EU stance regarding China? Because remember, to China It's a strategic move. You can't react emotionally. Oh, we are mad at you because you pulled out of BRI. It doesn't work that way. You have to put emotions— and if you look at the history of China, they never reacted emotionally. Look, just even what Japan did to Chinese during their atrocities, and yet the Chinese are okay with it. Of course they're not gonna forget. You know, my point is You don't react emotionally to— and this is exactly where I see the strategy of China, and it's going to pay off for China far more than it will be for the EU. And the last question is, uh, did Italy regret pulling out of BRICS or from BRICS? All right, yeah, I'm gonna stop right there. And, uh, just, I wanted to bring this to the conversation that I did a year ago, and again, I was really putting question mark, and this is the exact point I want to make regarding India and China. You know, for the case of India, slightly different than, than Italy, of course. And I keep going back to this. It's because I do see that if India is sincere about this rapprochement with China, two things will have to happen, in my opinion. And that's for me, that's how I judge the sincerity of the Indians moving forward. Two of them. One of them has to do with the border issue with China. It needs to be resolved. India needs to sit at the table and figure this out once for all, otherwise it's not going to work. Second one has to do with show of faith, is if India say, you know what, we are pulling out of QUADS. I don't know whether India will do this or not, but suffice it to say, I just wanted to bring a comparison here and And this, the same thing applies to Italy. And here it is now, Giorgia Meloni was pressured by the US to restrict these investments, uh, uh, even though it was Italy that went to China last year and asked for investments from the Chinese. So, and this also could highlight, and I'm not denying this, but it could highlight also the deepening geopolitical divide that is now impacting the global trade writ large. So, and, and it looks to me like I said last time, Western leaders have no shame whatsoever because they are now coming to grip with the reality, including Donald Trump himself. He's just not going to admit it, but they are coming to grip with the reality of the grappling with economic challenges, you know. And that was evidenced at least by Giorgia Meloni herself when she went to China begging for investments from the Chinese despite— despite— here is where they have no shame— despite Italy's departure from the BRI, the Belt and Road Initiative, under pressure from the United States. And of course, that becomes just a sort of a clear indication Don't, don't get me wrong, Chinese are not naive, but again, where will China draw the line regarding some European entities like Italy? So, so I had a chance to read an article in the Istituto Affari Internazionali. This one is the Institute of International Affairs. Very, very interesting article. It's just what I found very interesting about it is is they referenced exactly the December 2023, which was towards the end when the Italian newspaper of record— it was, uh, there is one that is known as the, the Corriere della Sera. It's well known in Italy. That's the one that broke the news that Rome has finally withdrawn from China's BRI. And guess how they do it? Via a note. They just sent a note to Beijing. There was no— that to me shows lack of respect, you know, when you couldn't face the Chinese, sit down with them at the table and said, you know what, we are pulling out of the BRI. They, Italians, sent a note to Beijing 3 days earlier. And this in addition to the absence of an explicit request to withdraw before the end of December. Why the end of December? At that time, 2023, this is when I did the video at the beginning of 2024. Why? Is because the Memorandum of Understanding was instrumental to Italy participation in the BRI Because if Italy didn't do that, that memorandum of understanding would have automatically been renewed for another 5 years from March 2024, just for you to understand the context of this. So I'm gonna share a link with you from the, uh, the Istituto Affari Internazionali. So this one that published the article and it is translated into English. So feel free to read it should you want to sort of, uh, learn more about the issue here. So, and this is now where you see this new— to me, to me, I was just— I shook my head when I read the headline overseas about Italian's decision. And because when the decision was made, right around the time when Meloni was in Washington, DC, So this to me highlights, of course, the deepening of the geopolitical divide that is now weighing on the sort of global economy or global trade, as you, as you can witness and see. So, and there were some entities in the US that confirmed Italian possession. And I had a chance once again to read on the American side a Bloomberg report about it. Is that the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, his government considering now strict plans to restrict the Chinese investors' stakes in the country's most strategic companies. Yeah, and you all know what it means, because for the Italians, this is an effort to avoid further tensions with the United States. No, no, no, no, no, no, you are not avoiding tensions with the United States. You are bowing to US pressure. Let's just call spade a spade. So, and this is comes in a time when Italian exports are under increasing pressure from harsh US tariffs and rising value of the euro. Makes you just wonder, you know, was she thinking straight, meaning Giorgia Meloni, or it just matter of pressure, being pressured for this? So, and this is again, uh, where I see this, the, the approach of this move. Actually, before I move into this, I'm gonna do a little geography and a little history for you regarding Italy. Then we'll continue with our conversation, uh, regarding the analysis for Italian decision. So let me share a map with you. Once again, it's because I feel compelled to share the, uh, let me get to the link first. Sorry, I feel compelled to share with you the geography and history because it is important, and, uh, and I don't assume everybody knows the history or the geography of, of, of Italy and so forth. So, and again, I'm gonna just be brief on this one here. I give credit to World Atlas for this map you are looking at on the screen. Let me, uh, make this bigger. Here we go. Italy. Where is Italy? Italy is located in South Central Europe on the Apennine Peninsula. Italy shares its borders with many countries. So we start with Switzerland and Austria in the north, with Slovenia in the northeast and with France in the northwest. Now, there are two enclaves inside Italy. We have the Vatican City and San Marino are the two enclaves, sovereign state within Italy. I have a reason for sharing this because, uh, the Vatican doesn't fall under any international law whatsoever. So, and Vatican doesn't pay taxes, by the way. So let that sink in. With its southern border or boundaries extending into the Mediterranean Sea, the boot-shaped Italian peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Sea of Sicily in the south, the, uh, uh, Ionian Sea in the southeast, and the Ligurian Sea Mediterranean Sea in the southwest. The two largest Mediterranean islands in Italy are Sardinia, which is located in the west, and of course Sicily, which is located in the south of Italy. So when you look at— this is Sicily here, and of course you have Sardinia right here, as I pointed out to the— in the map. So very, very interesting. Uh, of course, now once again, the countries that surround it Even though the Vatican and San Marino, we don't consider them as countries, but they are enclaves independent from Italy. So you have Switzerland, Austria, San Marino, Slovenia, and the Vatican. One other interesting aspect regarding the history of Italy, and that is very, very important to understand. So, so I'm going to be brief in this historical snapshot about Italy. So, uh, the first thing you're gonna have to think about is that the history of Italy, which really goes all the way back to, uh, Atraskan— that's how far— the Atraskan civilization, to those who are familiar with it. So it stretches from all the way to Atraskan civilization to the rise of the powerful Roman Republic, and of course, after which the Empire fragmented Italian city-states, into the Renaissance, and eventually the unification of modern Italian in 1861. So of course you're looking at, uh, so many foreign intervention and control by foreign powers and the turmoil that existed of the world wars in Italy, Italy became a republic. Does anybody know what year Italy became an independent state? The year, if you— let me see in the chat box if you happen to know. All right, let me see. It's— there's a delay here, but Uh, so what year did Italy became an independent state? Okay, it's not showing up here, so I need to move on. Oh, oh, oh, Arkan Electric, you got it! It's 1946. Indeed, it was 1946. So, so I'm gonna provide you three periods of Italian history briefly here, guys, then I'm moving into my own analysis here. So So Atraskan civilization, we're talking about the ancient Italy, because you have the ancient Italy, you have the Middle Ages, and you have of course the, the Renaissance and unification. So let's talk about Atraskan civilization briefly here, which started around 900 BCE. So, and how did it happen is that the advancements of the Atraskan civilization emerged in central Italy. That's when it happens first, and that one influencing the Romans, because Atraskan civilizations had the ability to influence the inhabitants of central Italy at the time, uh, through their culture, through architecture, and through religion. Those are the three elements that is very important for you to understand how we shaped modern-day Italy. Then you move into the Roman Empire, or Roman Republic and Empire, during this era. So, and this one started at about 753 BCE. That's when it started, and that's when Rome became a republic in 509 BCE, before common era. And then After that, it became an empire in 753. So that is what's important to understand. Uh, I'm sorry, became an empire in 27 BCE. Because here's the thing, a lot of people do not know that it was something called the Kingdom of Italy. So, and that's during that era, during the Roman Empire, the 27 BCE, That's the one that dominated Mediterranean region, and this era is what shaped the region with the culture, the law, and the infrastructure. So you have the culture, architecture, and religion from the Atraskan civilization, then you have the culture, the law, and the infrastructure from the Roman Republic and Empire. Then comes the Middle Age. Or Middle Ages, that is. And that one, when you start to see the fragmentation of Italy and the Papal States, that's why the role of the Pope has been forever— has that political influence. Yes, it's under the banner of religion, but the papacy has always played and continued to play a role in today's, uh, global politics, believe it or not. So if you only know how involved was John Paul II, the Pope from Poland, how much he was involved in really bringing down the Soviet Union. So you ask yourself, what a man of religion has to do with, with politics? But I leave that to you to decide. Or even for today, Pope Francis— not the Pope Francis is gone— when he was still alive, during the era of, uh, of, uh when, when the conflict started in Gaza? What is the, the Vatican do? Or even the current Pope, uh, uh, what's his name, Leo XIV. He's an American, by the way. You know, what are they doing if, if this religion calls for, you know, treating— anyway, that's what it was. The people states, and this one marked one particular event, and that event was the fall of Rome, because the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, Common Era. And who did they surrender to and fall to? Because of the Germanic tribes. If you remember watching the movie Gladiator. You remember that first scene of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and, and, uh, and, and, uh, what's his name, uh, Russell Crowe? I forgot the name he had in the movie. So that way they were fighting the Germanic tribes at that time. And this is very important for you to understand why. It's because this has led into the sense The fall of Babylon. It's a part— and this one here, that's when you— we notice, or notice that throughout history at that time, that they had various powers, many, many powers, including the Byzantine, okay, and including the astro gods. Why they were struggling, fighting and struggling and all that? Because all of them wanted to take power. The only need for control, that was, that's when you see powerful independent city-states like Venice, like Florence, like Genoa. And if you think about, for example, in Florence, and, and I read a little bit more about this one here, when you think about the finance, because Florence was known for that, and it was one particular family The Medicis. That's why even today, if you go to Florence, you still see the influence of the Medici family, which got involved into the finances. That's why what you call them in historical record, the city-states: Venice, Florence, and Genoa. And those rose to prominence through trade and commerce. Once again, my point for sharing history with you is to highlight to you that even in the past, When you engage in trade, when you engage in commerce, when you engage in infrastructure, economics, and so forth, you tend to prosper. Not when you engage in wars and conflicts and so forth. Then, throughout this time in history of Italy, was the emergence of another power from within, and this one had to do with Papal States. That's when the Pope gained that kind of power using so-called representative of God on Earth and all that, you know, you know how it is. To my respect to some viewers, if they are Catholics, I have respect for all religions whatsoever. Just my point to highlight to you, the Papal States centered in Rome. This is why you have the Vatican in Rome. Also held significant influence. And that leads us to Renaissance and unification. And the Renaissance was a period of la Renaissance in French and Nahda in Arabic. Renaissance sort of was an extraordinary period. Why? Because it exposed the artistic and the intellectual sort of rebirth of the 14th and the 15th— in the 15th— in the 14th and the 15th century. And of course, when you think about this, what comes to mind right away? Leonardo da Vinci. What comes to mind right away? Michelangelo, you know. And if you get a chance to go to Italy, or you go even to some other major cathedrals in Europe, and you see the architecture of, like, for example, in Notre Dame in France, in Paris, when you walk in, you see the architecture That was by Italians, by the way. So, you know, the, the Sixtine Chapel. So when Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, all of them contributed to that era of Renaissance. Then came the foreign invasions, because Italy, Italy suffered at the hand of two major European countries at that time. Can you guys name those two countries if you happen to know? Just remember, 15th, 16th century. Think about who was the most powerful at that time within Europe. Let me just see. And again, it's just to engage you in the conversation, no more, no less. Two major players, two major countries at that time that really, really wreak havoc in Italy and of course took over Italy via wars and so forth. Jason Auburn, you say, "Italy and Spain." You got one right. Which is Spain. I need you guys to get the other country, because remember, it was Italy that was attacked. Spain and Britain. No, not Britain at that time, because Britain was, uh, was, was, was not the same. Oh, you got it! Taiwan still. You got it! France and Spain. Because remember, even UK itself, or England at that time, we're struggling against the dominance of France. I mean, just think about it, the Louis XIV and all that era during that time, UK was not where he, where he became later, but during this timeframe, it was France and Spain. This is why you had to notice the marriage between the French and the Spaniards, you know, because they wanted to ensure the expansion of the empire and so forth. And this is why during that time, Italy became a battleground for European powers, that including France and Spain, through the Italian War. And that leads us to modern-day Italy. But as I said, a lot of people here in the West do not know that it used to be something called the Kingdom of Italy. And in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was formed, leading to a unified nation. That's very, very interesting. Of course You have to move into world wars and the emergence of fascism at that time. So Italy participation in World War I was a disaster. This is why you don't want to engage into wars. And once again, I am highlighting this aspects of history to sort of really provide a comparison to modern-day countries like Japan, like South Korea, like the Philippines, who think that they're gonna think that the US is going to defend them if they get engaged in a war against whomever. No. You look at Ukraine right now, they were under the assumption that NATO is going to just send the troops and, and fight the Russians. No. The same argument happened when Italy got involved in World War I, because it turns out to be a disaster for them. And that created the instability post- World War and also led to the emergence of Benito Mussolini at that time. That's how— so Mussolini, of course, sided with Hitler at that time in World War II. You see how his history really provides us the clues if we only learn from it. So, and after that, Republic of Italy, after the fall of fascism in 1943. And at the end of the war, Italy became a republic in 1946, and the country has since became— of course, they say became a prosperous, uh, uh, an influential member of the European Union. Uh, I will have to, uh, challenge that assertion. Uh, I won't say prosperous, yes, to a degree, but if they were prosperous, why will Meloni will go all the way to China begging for investments? If you are prosperous, you don't need to. So, so that's simple as that. But again, we're just discussing here different aspects for us to have a better understanding. Liking this video so far? Don't just be a watcher, go ahead and hit the like, share, and subscribe button. And don't forget to tap the bell so you will not miss any of my videos or live streams. This way you will be supporting a channel that stands for the truth and objective reporting. The choice is yours. Thanks for your support. Indeed, thank you for your support, and please, please, please subscribe if you have not done so, and I'm very grateful to you for that. All right, let's get into targeting now the strategic companies, which ones Italy is aiming at targeting the Chinese investments within Italy. Of course, the proposed measures, which by the way Italy's Italian government moved forward with it, that includes both targeting the private and the state-owned companies. That's raised a question to begin with. If you are targeting the private sector, that means the private sector has no independence whatsoever. Well, what is the point of being a private entity? To begin with. So this one is considering both. So, and all this, Meloni, which stating the argument is, oh, this stuff has to do with the— our economic security. Ah, hold on a second, hold on a second. That's the same argument they've been making about 5G. You all remember when China rolled out the 5G And what the United States told the Europeans about all the spying and all that stuff, same arguments they making here. And even if we are to go with this, you know, there is a company by the— manufactured by the name Perli. And Perli, which is a state-owned, the Chinese conglomerate SinoCom owns about 37% stakes in this company? Why, you're the one who asked the Chinese to invest. So when they invest with large sums, all of a sudden, oh, this is about our economic security, we can't allow the Chinese to do this and do that. You didn't do that 2 years ago, only when you went to Washington— meaning Maloney in this case— and was pressured by Donald Trump. And this is why, in my opinion, that the Chinese diplomats are also warning Italy, yeah, that this is going to damage the relationship, and rightly so. Like I said last time, are you going to trust— and again, it was the same argument that I made back then, a year ago— and I said, China, be careful as you move forward with these investments, because the specific objective why Meloni went over to China to ask for investments. And by the way, it wasn't just Italy. France did the same. German Chancellor at that time, Olaf Scholz, did the same. The Spanish foreign minister or prime minister, Sanchez, did the same. So, and this is again where you say— and that's what it became clear as to— Washington has warned those companies that sort of— because the Pirelli is a tire company, if you know what Pirelli does. So, and you know what they're saying, what Washington is saying? This is ludicrous. Here's what they're saying. They're saying that the tires are equipped with electronic sensors and you could face restrictions in the US market. It's just ridiculous. It's just ridiculous. So why? Their argument is that this tightening the restrictions on hardware and software from the Chinese-controlled companies, because they are stating— they meaning the US and some Italian members of the government— stating that, oh, what the Chinese are doing is the data collection. That it's almost like saying if you import garlic from China It might spy on you because there are some garlics from China. I used to buy them here. That's how ludicrous it is. But it's what's at the heart of it is the American pressure on the not only Italy but the whole Europe for that matter. You all remember this picture which I kept it for you. You all remember this picture. If this is not humiliation, I don't know what is. If this is not a low level of dignity, I don't know what is. And here she is, Meloni, on the far, far left on your screen. Yeah, the body language will tell you everything you need to know. And that is again because the US is pressuring those European weak states, the whole Europe for that matter. But, uh, Giorgia Meloni's decision now, it's not a reflection only on Italy, it's a reflection of an entire Europe attempt now to sort of, uh, uh, what's the word I'm looking for, uh, to walk some sort of a fine line between maintaining economic ties with China and of course bowing to the United States pressure and directives. Who you gonna prosper with? Is it with economic ventures, or is it with, with bullying and pressure? Choice is clear. You don't need to be a genius to come to this conclusion. And this is why I'm saying this is not about just Italy, but about the entire Europe for that matter. And here is where the, the, the, uh, what's the— I, I can't even find the word— the contradiction The hypocrisy, the double standard, whatever other term you can come up with. While all this happening, the Europeans continue to seek Chinese investments in Europe. That, that's, that's mind-blowing. And this is what I'm saying, where and when will China draw the red line and say enough is enough? I understand to a degree the culture of the Chinese. They don't have this kind of emotional into your face. That's not China. That's not how they've done, uh, how, how they've dealt with the whole issues that and the turmoil they went through and so forth. But on the other hand, Europeans are not respecting— this is what I'm saying— to China. And it's same thing I'm gonna say about India. Because I am seeing a parallel between what Italy did and what India could do. But to find out if India is sincere about this rapprochement and pivot to China, let's start with these two main issues. The, the border tensions between India and, and China should be resolved. And if you want to show sincerity about good faith, then withdraw from a Quad since you're just being used in Quad. This is in part to India. And this is why when the Europeans seek to attract Chinese investments, um, you know, you're looking now at sectors like the electric vehicles, you're looking at battery industries, you know. On the other hand, they wanted to keep away from vital infrastructure such as ports and power grids. Well, you can't have it both ways. I mean, China will decide whatever it wants to invest on. So, and interesting enough is that what China— what Italy end up doing, they end up targeting a list for Chinese investors that including, for example, there's a company by the name CDP Reti, so which holds a controlling stake in Italy's power grid and is about 35% owned by a subsidiary of China State Grid, as well as there is another company by the name Ansaldo. And Ansaldo Energia, uh, this one is a power plant producer. So, uh, anytime you hear something about power plant producer, one thing should come to your mind is the Shanghai Electric, uh, has reduced its— Shanghai Electric is a big company, uh, which has reduced its stake from 40% to 0.5%. So it's just also they are seeing where this is going. So, and the mere presence of the Chinese shareholders has prevented now the company from entering some US bids. So basically we are pressuring Italy, if you even want to have either access to contracts or the US market, we want you to cut off the investment ties with China. That's basically what it amounts to. And Giorgia Meloni, I don't think so. She is, you know, when she came to power, I was hopeful that she will be one to do that because at the beginning she was saying I am not going to go with the sanctions against Russia and so forth. All flipped in no time. So, so you have now— and here's the thing, and don't be surprised— you have about 700 Italian companies that have Chinese shareholders. So however, the government is not focusing on all of those, majority They're focusing on the ones that are involved in energy, transportation, technology, and of course finance. So, but all these directives from the Italian government is not coming from Rome, it is coming from the US, uh, Department, uh, of Treasury, or Treasury Department, that is, because that's what the data suggests as it was reported by Bloomberg. So Because what the US is saying is, wait, wait, wait a minute. If we are to impose these tariffs on the Europeans, the Chinese, the Indians, the South Koreans, Japan, whatever, it's bringing a revenue of about, uh, 273% increase, or about $28 billion. This is what the Treasury Department is saying. First of all, I, I, I question those numbers. That's one. Second, those revenues that's called revenues in tariffs is us, the consumers, that paying that in taxes because the prices went up. So basically, whatever you are targeting or putting the tariffs on other countries, we are paying them here through the, the commodities or products, whatever we buy. So they're just lying about this one here. But, but suffice it to say, we need to understand the position of China into all this, because China put in some investments. But again, how much China can be nice? You know, you're gonna have some time to draw a line and push back. And all this comes on the background of another major development in Italy that just emerged 2 days ago, and this one has to do with the arrest of a Ukrainian suspected of involvement in Nord Stream bombing. You remember the NS2, Nord Stream 2 bombing? So, so the Italians announced yesterday— I find it very ironic— at the same time the government is saying, you know, we're going to restrict Chinese investments, and at the same time they're releasing another information as to, oh, we have a suspect in the Nord Stream bombing. And I'll let you decide for yourself whether this is just a maneuvering. So, so what the Italian authorities announced yesterday, and I got the article, translated it to English, and, uh, because I read it in a foreign language, and, and, and checked that information, and the reporting is accurate in Italy. There was nothing reported here in the US. So that makes me just wonder, but Again, I'm going to share the information with you. So the government in Italy reported that the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen, so suspected of being one of the coordinator of the 2022 bombing of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. I kept an image of a satellite, a satellite image that is right here, and this shows the movements of a boat at that time. Because you all remember, and I'm gonna get into, uh, one other aspects of this, and I decided to keep this because I know it will come handy at some point. So this is considered the first arrest related to the case. So I don't know, I don't know, is, is now the German prosecutors are asking for the extradition of this particular individual because they want to charge him with terrorism. So I don't know, maybe they'll do it, maybe, uh, maybe, uh, his name is, uh, by the way, they didn't put the full name, they put just the first name and first initial, Sergey K. He was 49 years old. I, I tried to get a picture for you, but I couldn't, I couldn't. So, so what they're saying is that in Berlin, in Germany, The German Justice Minister sort of praised the arrest, describing it as a remarkable success. I'm going to be wondering— here is what I'm wondering about, and I want you to pay close attention to this. There will be an upcoming visit of the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to Germany. Do you think, in your opinion, Germany will arrest him? What do you guys think? Because there is an, uh, there is an ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu. So Netanyahu is going to Germany. I got a word about it that he's going. I do not have the exact dates, but I got a word about it that he is going to Germany. Will the German authorities arrest him, in your opinion? Yes or no? Oh, you guys saying no. Taiwan still, you say no. American citizen, you say no. Uh, Jason, you say I hope they will though. Well, Hungary didn't. I, I lost respect for, uh, Orbán because to me a good leader is when it matters. When it matters. Uh, John Salimi, you say no. Uh, CJ, you say no. Yeah, majority of you say no, and I concur with you. There will be no arrest. And again, we all know how the international system is, is it's flawed at its core. So, uh, suffice it to say that I found this very, very interesting, the timing of it. So, and that's where I have to question. And of course, we all remember when the explosion happened back then. And Seymour Hersh, uh, I think I have a picture. Yes, I do have a picture. This is Seymour Hersh, well-known author here, well-known reporter here. And I was aware of his dealings when I was in Washington, and he had access inside the government. They feed him certain intelligence that is not reported yet, but again, to push the narrative one direction. Or another. I'm not saying that he is credible. I'm not saying, uh, that he's not. It's just sometimes the government inside, whether the intelligence or the Department of Defense, wouldn't want to use somebody like that to push the narrative. So, so here is what Seymour Hersh said back in February 2023, and he published a major report on his Substack, and that one alleging that there was the involvement of the US Navy, the divers, with the assistance of Norway. I was aware of that. That includes also the CIA. So, and that's where the planting the explosives on a Nord Stream 2 during a NATO exercise in June 2022. This is why I saved this satellite picture, because that shows the movements of the boat. There was a boat that was moving into this. Norwegians divers, those are part of their equivalency of, uh, of a SEAL team. They do have divers too as well. They do this kind of stuff. So, and that's why the Norwegian Navy P-8 surveillance plane triggered the explosive, because it was remotely triggered. So of course CIA acknowledged reports indicate that the CIA has warned Germany in the summer of 2022 about potential attacks on the Baltic Sea pipelines. And this one was according to Reuters. I, I, I can't confirm or deny this one. I don't know. But I do know that at least back then, Norway and the US were involved. On what capacity? It was never, uh, uh, uh, disclosed. So, and even it was reported that the US has learned of the Ukrainian plan to attack the pipeline 3 months before they were damaged. In other words, before they were attacked. And the intelligence shared was shared by the CIA with their German counterparts and some other European countries. So I, I— it's, it's suffice it to say for now, I found the timing of it questionable. Here you are restricting the Chinese investments, at the same time you are releasing information about Nord Stream 2. I don't know, I'll let you decide on this one here. So, okay, that's all I have to share with you. Uh, let me quickly see Uh, oh, Arch Crusader, once again, many, many thanks for your continued support. I'm very, very grateful to you, and thank you for your note, uh, the email you sent to me. So greatly appreciate your continued support for the channel. Uh, to those who wants to support the channel, and by the way, we still have few more days, uh, for my upcoming Asia trip. I will be greatly, uh, thankful to you if you could support, uh, the— let me copy the link for you and I put it in the chat box. And, and I'm gonna do another live stream for you before I leave next week. So I'm leaving next week, uh, so I will greatly appreciate if you will be— if, if you're willing to support that Asia trip. So, oh, let me say thank you to, uh, uh Oh, Danny, Danny, thank you so much. You wrote, Dr. O, I like to suggest you invite Professor Richard Wolff. I did reach out to Professor Wolff on many occasions, and sometimes they don't respond. I, I don't know, it's, it's— I'll be happy to invite him, and yes, since he is an economist, uh, will be, uh, but I just do not understand why. And I usually, my personality, I don't chase after people. I don't care who the person is. I really don't. I reach out to you the first time, second time I'll say that's it. So again, there's possibility that my email could end up in a junk mail, possibly. But so, so, but again, I am willing to try again. But just to let you know, Danny, I did reach out more than once, uh, extending an invitation to Professor Wolff. So I hope he will respond, and he's always welcome to come on the channel if he decide to do that. So, uh, here is the support for my, the channel if you are willing to do so, and I will greatly appreciate it. And also the link to my, uh, books if you are interested in purchasing a copy of my books. And I'm also going to share with you a link to my speaking engagements if you know of someone interested in having a speaker, I will be happy to address. Of course, I talk about geopolitics and other issues pertaining to global security. So, all right, I wish you a good day, good afternoon, good evening, whatever part of the world you are in, and I look forward to seeing you, uh, next time. And next time will be tomorrow at 7:30 PM for my conversation with none other than Carl Zha. So till then, wish you a good day. You take care. As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, bye-bye.