Hi mhaze,
But Trumps tariffs are simply a tax on U.S. businesses and consumers.
It will hamper business profitability, and entrench personal debt, exasperate the cost of living, not to mention doing so at the expense of other western economies, should they go along with it

Meanwhile China and other BRICS countries will expand their trade with each other without having to pay more, and reliance on the West will be reduced.

I'm not sure that Trumps tariffs and sanctions will improve it's situation overall.
Rather it may actually hasten the end of the dollar as reserve currency.
Gold and crypto might continue to be a good investment though if Trump increases debt and expands the money supply, but I'm no financial guru.

This is why China is winning.
http://x.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1875138464070660379

Hi AC,

The flow of Chinese hardware into Russia is the sole reason the invasion of Ukraine continues. The golf carts get attention, but that is the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure that all the engines in the clapped out Russian armour and Shahed drones are Chinese.

The belt and road initiative has been a big flop, which might be why Xi's focus has shifted to a military buildup.

What I wonder about is how things will change for China if sentiment changes for wind and solar? Given the technical limits and hype, it probably will, and hopefully soon.

Hi Fester
"The flow of Chinese hardware into Russia is the sole reason the invasion of Ukraine continues."
Hmmm, how should I respond.

I guess I'd start by saying, 'Yes, so what?'
Russia does get plenty of stuff from China, but Ukraine has the might of 31 NATO countries hundreds of billions from the U.S. who spent 8 years preparing for a war, and they're still being annihilated.
Russia and China are friendly nations to each other (like that's a crime), Xi says China's relationship with Russia is more than just an alliance and that Putin is his best friend.

Russia and China are great fit for each other, what each one of them lacks, the other one has, and it was the West who responsible for driving the two together.

"I'm sure that all the engines in the clapped out Russian armour and Shahed drones are Chinese."
- Russia still has a huge technical ability inherited from the soviet era and fairly large military industrial capacity of it's own.

Maybe you've fallen victim to the Western lies that told you 'Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country'.

The same crap that told us Russia is using chips from washing machines?

"The belt and road initiative has been a big flop, which might be why Xi's focus has shifted to a military buildup."
- Russia and China are not stupid. They know the wests intentions, and are actively preparing for any eventuality.

Russia hasn't yet had a general mobilisation, they're not really in a full scale war, it's just a special military operation.
The Russian people know the cost of war, every family was touched by it in WWII. Putin is going slow because a full general mobilisation would result in pushback from the citizens, right now he has their full support. Russia is more stronger now than it was at the beginning of the war. Wages have increased the Russian people are now a proud, unified people defending their sovereign nation defending against Western aggression.

As for the Belt and Road initiative, it sounds like you want people to not be able to have the same living standards as we all enjoy?
The West is actively using terrorists, overthrows and every trick in the book to hamper it.

It's actually pretty strange you know when you think about it.
Is america for or against terrorists?

It has no problem using them funded by the CIA to serve their foreign interests, but when it happens at home, then it's against it.

Here's some Headlines for you.

Zelensky: Ukraine Army Exhausted, Desertions; Budanov: War Lost; EU Gas Price Surge
http://youtu.be/Zg9UX87dWgY

BRICS Success in 2024 Proves We're Living in a MULTIPOLAR WORLD
http://youtu.be/EgWHlUnQACU

Economic BOOM! Why Industry is Driving Russia's Growth
http://youtu.be/Cks-BcDcvj0

Gold, Bitcoin & Oil Prices Will Spike As Global Economy Crashes!
http://youtu.be/KyvFX3mFKO0

China Now Has Zero Fear; Major Warning For G7 Economies
http://youtu.be/40va8SQOnGo

Hi AC,

"I guess I'd start by saying, 'Yes, so what?'"

I think it the general consensus that when you see someone set upon violently for no good reason you don't rush to the aid of the perpetrator. Did you see that the Russian puppet government in Georgia had an election poster with an image of the Tiblisi skyline next to an image of a leveled Ukrainian town and a caption along the lines of "Elect a Euro-centric government and Russia might make your home look like this."?

Putin's meat wave tactics may yet win out, but it has cost him most of his ground based hardware and a million lives so far. His popularity is due to a state based propaganda empire. Vlad would be well aware that such control even made Hitler popular.

My guess is that Trump's ultimatum to Putin will be "Get out of Ukraine else free Ukraine joins NATO.". There is a lot of talk that there is little Russian armour left. I'm sure that the Ukrainian military is keen to see if beam weapons are effective against glide bombs.