Well, no. I mean if you look at history, USA has tried all those things in China as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_espionage_in_China

China is just better at handling it. There's reasons for this, but that's a whole separate topic of conversation. Suffice to say, look at what happened in 2010. That's why China can do it, not the nukes.

Pump and dump baby. Classic insider trading scheme. Just on a national level with the largest economy in the world at the moment. He's probably going to be a trillionaire after this. Also, he's feeding his friends info on signal, so probably more money selling info as well.

Whaaa? Blocking social media requires nukes? What's going on in Iran then?

Antagonizing USA requires nukes? What's happening in Venezuela?

Waiting out your opponent requires nukes? Well at this point I point to the entire planet waiting out USA's tariff plan.

Not sure where anything I said doesn't have an analogous example of a country doing exactly that and they do not have nukes. It's just no one does all at once which is as I said the real reason China is winning.

Jesus, did no one study history? It's not nukes, not even close.

There's literally too many things to list. China is massively powerful because of a enormous litany of reasons.

Let's start with social media. Way before USA realized social media could be a national security issue, China blocked US social media. At the time we complained it was a free speech issue, now we know that social media is being used by western nations as propaganda tools, Arab spring anyone? Good thing China blocked that shit.

Another thing China did was antagonize USA to see what they would cut off. Before Chips, it was the Wolfe act that blocked China from NASA. China took that opportunity and now is the only nation with a space station that isn't falling out of the sky.

Now we are seeing China implementing Sun Tzu's win without fighting. Basically if you keep antagonizing your opponent, they'll eventually waste all their resources to compete with you. Thus, winning without firing a shot.

So yeah, it's a huge mix of strategies.

Trying to force the EU to buy these at gun point. The problem is the EU is calling their bluff.

In a normal situation, no. But thanks to Czar Trump, USA has disassociated itself with its allies who used to help foot the bill with military purchases. This coupled with the idiotic trade war, the US might actually run out of money now. What was inconceivable just a month ago, maybe something we get to celebrate in the near future.

I mean I hate to say this, but the world looks like it might turn in a horrifying way that would make your argument completely null. All Trump has to do is say I got a great deal with China, we're going to let them take Taiwan and sell Russian weapons. They've agreed to buy our bonds with the Russian war payments to fund our economy, best deal ever.

Now suddenly it's completely and utterly hopeless. Just a few months ago I would have assumed this to be impossible. But today...

Going to make money off it. Once he flip flops on the tariffs, he's going to make a shit ton of money in the market. But good news, all his corrupt billionaire friends will too, at the expense of the common man who voted for him. But don't worry, he'll spin it as a victory and the foaming at the mouth followers will eat it up like candy. /s About it being good, not the actual events.

Obviously. The right answer is to submit completely. You can't have a war if you convince them you need to be alive if they want to keep raping you and your children in the ass. /s

Oh I know, I'm just pointing out that China has no reason to make the first call, which some how, and this blows my mind, Bessent seems to believe that somehow it's going to be so bad for China that China will call first. Why would the winner call first? What strange world would this happen?

It might not be sustainable for USA, but China is doing just fine. Their stock market is flatlining and they expect growth to drop 2.2% to 3% growth. Not great, but definitely sustainable. That seems to be a big problem for US negotiations.

This is what people are missing. China already built up their logistics in Vietnam and Mexico most famously. This is transhipment. Every since Trump term one, they have been planning this day.

So while your right, in normal conditions it should be impossible. In our reality it's what's already happening. Just wait till we get "Spanish" cars. This was always the plan.

Oh yeah, completely agree. Misunderstood that my bad.

I think differently actually. And unfortunately, I'm not sure it's going to work out for Zelensky, but I don't blame him for trying.

So China is not directly supplying weapons. Zelensky implied as much so far. What he's saying is China is supplying gun powder and artillery shells. With the obvious implication that Russia is filling the shells with the gun powder and making them live. This had probably been happening the whole time. This is the complaints about dual use.

So why now? Well, it's a good time to get China riled up so they'll comment. Zelensky needs weapons, even if China doesn't stop selling to Russia, selling to Ukraine as well would be good. In which case Zelensky can turn around and say then come talk to us, if your neutral you'll let us buy too. Which might have been a good plan if USA wasn't completely fucking insane and keeping China from even talking because they got other shit to deal with.

And USA is tariffing everyone. But China the hardest. Forcing all nations to have to trade heavily with China just to survive now. This trade war is USA's greatest gift to Xi ever.

I don't have proof, but I'm pretty sure China and Russia bought the current US government. It's the only thing that makes sense. And the heavy China tariffs are here just to put the nail in the US coffin while convincing idiots to cheer China bad.

And thus the cycle starts to repeat. It seems an eternal problem that people can't separate individuals and their leaders, which always ends up one side violently killing the other for the actions of the few.

Zionists do not represent all Jews, this needs repeating.

Your right. It could be both. I mean, my wife said to me the other day that she heard Trump was doing the tariffs to lower the bond interest rates. I said while in some types of recessions that's true, that wouldn't work in this case and you'd have to be an idiot to think it would. Sure enough the next day Trump puts a stay on tariffs to most of the world because the bond market got rocked. All I could think of is omg, are they really that fucking stupid?

I wish it was that. No, this is actual evil, not incompetence. Trump has turned the US economy into the largest pump and dump scheme ever. Worse, he's bragging about how his friends made billions. I can't even believe this is happening. I'm in utter shock. I knew Trump would be bad, but straight up flaunting corruption like it's a joke and even bringing the SCOTUS on board with this. I'm just gob smacked.

That's not a bad way to put it. Yes, and bonds will sink slower. It just still will sink. I mean, if I were investing at all, it'd be in bonds. However, I'm not going to pretend it's safe either.