The world is facing its greatest health crisis since the 1918 Pandemic (aka Spanish flu) and bringing the global economy to its knees. I explored the possibility of COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic in “A Harvester of Sorrow – First Wave of the Novel Coronavirus,” with additional references in its Twitter thread to juxtapose the current pandemic with Chinese origins of the 1918 Pandemic. The recent attempt by China to shift blame for COVID-19 to the United States, brings to mind what I wrote about on the trade war on May 15 and June 29, 2019.
“A history of ‘barbarian handling’ influences China’s CCP leadership, which is a tradition of making adversaries become dependent on their economic largesse, subsequently pressuring foreign leaders to shift over to their value systems. The practice prejudices the CCP to see other nations as hegemonic or a vassal state instead of coequals and pushes them to create economic dependence so they can manipulate foreign elite opinions to view Chinese power as advantageous. Those practices result in CCP anxiety that they are always facing the threat of surrender or domestic political disunity. Too many corporate entities and foreign executives that benefited from the boom in China did not seriously consider the downside risks. The CCP was clearly engaging in abusive trade practices for a very long time, and U.S. leadership failed to do anything about it, all the while China had its cake and ate it while ignoring trade rules, laws, and contracts. China has a severe sensitivity to the thought of being pushed around and is unlikely to adapt to a premise that it should behave like everyone else… What is missing from discussion in the Western media is China’s motivation and perspective based on their history, as they appear not to accept that economic integration with other countries through globalization has consequences and will inevitably weaken national sovereignty.” – TraderStef
Bill Ackman’s plea to the POTUS to save the U.S. from coronavirus’ economic destruction and broadcast live on CNBC today was certainly a stunner for the peasantry.
Beijing Fears COVID-19 Is Turning Point for China, Globalization… “While the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, China is fighting a propaganda war. Beijing’s war aim is simple: shift away from China all blame for the outbreak, the botched initial response, and its early spread into the broader world. At stake is China’s global reputation, as well as the potential of a fundamental shift away from China for trade and manufacturing. Also at risk is the personal legacy of General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has staked his legitimacy on his technocratic competence. After dealing with the first great global crisis of the 21st century, the world must fundamentally rethink its dependence on China.” – Real Clear Politics, Mar. 2020
The attention should turn to China and it is about time the CCP be challenged on its history. The POTUS spoke candidly about his reference to a “Chinese Virus” and became a victim of criticism by politicos and the mainstream press. During a recent press conference, he called out China without hesitation or regret. https://youtu.be/ncd6LcHbh1A Beijing claims to be clueless about the origins of Covid-19 and that misdirection feeds into unsubstantiated theories that foster more divisiveness, such as a genetically tailored bio-weapon that was released from a bioresearch laboratory in Wuhan. There is also rampant speculation that Bill Gates acquired a patent for the coronavirus and that theory was debunked with factual research.
The Virus is Yet Another Reason to Rethink the West’s Relationship With China… “There is plenty for us to consider. Coronavirus is the third major public health scare this century that can be traced back to China. First, we had SARS, and then we had swine flu, now we have Coronavirus. There is nothing to suggest that the COVID-19 virus is a deliberately created virus. This is not the same as saying that its emergence is free of all human involvement. Experts have warned of appalling hygiene conditions in Chinese wildlife markets for years, with living, dead or dying creatures as diverse as bats, pangolins and other are held in close proximity, their body fluids and all the bacteria, viruses and parasites they carry mixing and mutating in direct contact with human shoppers. It seems to have taken this crisis for it to dawn on China’s government that something was amiss. Vietnam also got the memo and announced it will be closing down all such markets with immediate effect.” – NewsWeek
Chinese Regime Should Stop Spreading Coronavirus Disinformation… “The false information being spread by CCP officials, as well as medical professionals linked to the CCP and state-controlled media outlets, is irresponsible and dangerous… Citizens—not just in the United States, but around the world—deserve clear and accurate information as we face this pandemic together.” – Epoch Times
Chinese Regime to Expel US Journalists Working for New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal… “In early March, the U.S. State Department designated five Chinese state-run outlets as ‘foreign missions,’ and slashed the number of Chinese staff allowed to work at the media outlets’ offices in the United States. An administration official previously labeled those outlets, including Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network, as “explicit propaganda organs of the Chinese Communist Party. At the time, senior U.S. administration officials said such actions were an act of reciprocity against Beijing’s continued use of ‘intimidation to silence members of a free and independent press.’” – Epoch Times
China was slowly shaping a narrative since President Xi called the coronavirus epidemic in China a war and that a “people’s war” needed to be launched. He also described the virus as a demon. Despite Xi being a Confucianist, he used terminology that references the supernatural and afterlife judgment. When wrapped into a Chinese cultural context, devil means “white devils” or “foreign devils.” When the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian publically blamed the U.S. Military for seeding COVID-19 in China, it was a signal what the CCP propaganda machine was doing. The U.S. State Department summoned the Chinese ambassador over a ‘blatant’ disinformation campaign.
The pandemic in the West has businesses and lawmakers intensifying their efforts to shift supply chains and manufacturing away from China, which is a process that began due to trade war fallout and the realization that excessive interdependence is a serious national security risk. The Institute for Supply Management reported last week that 62% of companies experienced delays in receiving orders from China and 53% are unable to acquire information on what is actually happening inside the country. Companies that were able to deal with disruptions caused by massive quarantines in China are those that diversified their supplier base before the pandemic took root. The combination of tariffs in the trade war and the pandemic fallout has accelerated the move out of China, as companies that were sitting on the fence have gotten the message. It is time to diversify and return to business friendly environments in the USA and elsewhere.
The days of bowing to China’s brand of socialism for the sake of globalization and profits is nearing an end, as barbarian handling exposed itself when the CCP suppressed information about the outbreak of COVID-19 and infected the whole world for the sake of itself. An “Ice-9” event is on the verge of destroying the global economy and human lives, a prediction that Jim Rickards warned about. Get gold and silver if you can find a supplier that is not out of stock, and get ready.
Plan Your Trade, Trade Your Plan
TraderStef on Twitter, Gettr / Website: TraderStef.com
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