Geopolitical Economy Report

Donald Trump has been a China hawk for years, and he waged a brutal trade war against the country. So why did the US leader invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington, DC for a summit? The White House dinner, featuring the CEOs of top corporations, helps explain why. Ben Norton analyzes the complex state of US-China relations following Trump's failed trade war.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueqdJ8vjInE

Topics
0:00 Xi Jinping visits USA
1:20 Cold War Two
2:07 Cold War One history
3:16 USA sees China as threat
4:48 Trump's trade war backfired
6:02 US-China economic integration
7:10 Trump's tariffs hurt manufacturing
8:05 Rare earths and critical minerals
9:52 Strategic stability meaning
11:26 Trump-Xi summit in Washington
12:16 Corporate CEOs attend dinner
15:53 Scott Bessent met at JPMorgan
16:33 China: largest consumer market
17:47 Trump's trip to Beijing
19:26 US corporations want market access
19:51 Windows loses market share
20:34 Apple faces restrictions in China
21:44 Tesla makes most cars in Shanghai
22:12 Google kicked out of China
22:43 Meta wants access to Chinese market
23:54 AI arms race
25:17 Trump: "Whoever wins AI, wins!"
26:31 Silicon Valley demonizes China
27:08 China's open-source AI models
28:26 Chip war
30:35 US attacks blow back
31:57 New cold war continues

Gasoline prices are skyrocketing, breaking records, after the US war against Iran caused the biggest oil supply disruption in history. Ben Norton explains the geopolitical and economic reasons for the energy crisis, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, sabotage of the Saudi East-West Pipeline, Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries and diesel storage depots, China's reduction of crude imports and renewable energy policies, and falling global oil reserves.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTSgA8qwIZ8

Topics
0:00 Largest oil crisis in history
1:30 Price of gasoline skyrockets
2:03 Diesel prices break records
3:07 US midterm election approaches
3:59 Inflation and Donald Trump
5:09 Fed raises interest rates
5:49 US bond market problems
7:13 Trump is unpopular, and desperate
8:19 Saudi oil pipeline attacked
10:59 Bab al-Mandab Strait
11:34 US-Saudi war on Yemen backfires
13:59 US deal with Houthis (Ansarallah)
14:45 Crisis in Saudi Arabia
16:11 Ukraine hits Russian oil facilities
17:37 China reduces crude oil imports
18:56 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs)
19:41 China's solar and wind power
20:33 China increases oil imports
21:39 Global oil reserves running low
22:27 US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
23:23 Energy crisis will get worse
25:09 Outro

The USA uses the dollar as a weapon to control countries, by imposing sanctions; cutting governments, banks, and companies out of the US-dominated financial system; and taking over the oil revenue of nations like Iraq and Venezuela. Ben Norton explains how US financial colonialism works.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkza5cRBuG4

Topics
0:00 US empire
1:16 CIA-backed coups
1:42 US sanctions one-third of world
2:23 Why sanctions are so destructive
4:23 US financial attacks blow back
4:49 BRICS seeks alternatives
5:56 Petrodollar system in crisis
7:02 How USA controls Iraq's oil revenue
10:26 USA threatens Iraq over Iran
12:12 Economic difficulties for Iraqis
13:34 US colonial scheme in Venezuela
14:39 China, world's biggest oil importer
15:18 Iraqi plans to sell oil in yuan
17:07 US attacks China-built schools
18:34 Trump attack on Iraq in 2020
20:08 US military occupation of Iraq
21:00 Iran attacks US military bases
21:49 Petrodollar system is breaking
25:30 US bond market problems
27:15 Iran war fuels inflation
27:50 US aggression is backfiring
29:16 Outro

Trump's attacks on BRICS have backfired, forcing China, India, and Russia closer together. The Global South-led organization held a summit in New Delhi, where leaders discussed plans to challenge the US dollar system, by connecting new payment systems using local currencies. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feQmxuMB2xw

Topics
0:00 Rise of BRICS
1:04 BRICS summit in New Delhi
2:52 China and India improve relations
5:10 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
7:28 BRICS challenges US dollar system
9:32 Local currency payment systems
14:13 Debates about replacing US dollar
16:19 Central banks stockpile gold
17:43 Gold overtakes US Treasuries in reserves
18:40 Trump threatens BRICS
19:10 Trump's aggression against India
20:29 US strategy to recruit India against China
23:28 Modi, BJP, and Congress
25:41 US attacks on BRICS backfire
27:18 India-Russia relations
29:40 BRICS+: 10 members and 10 partners
30:28 BRICS: 56% of world population
30:51 BRICS: 44% of global GDP
31:56 BRICS overtakes G7 in economy
33:21 Indonesia's PM Prabowo
33:55 Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed
34:35 Vietnam participates in BRICS summit
35:52 Malaysia's PM Anwar supports Iran
37:20 India balances between Iran and Israel
38:27 Internal conflict: UAE attacks Iran
39:43 BRICS agrees to joint statement
40:46 Reform of UN Security Council
42:32 US unilateralism strengthens BRICS
43:12 Outro

More and more US politicians are promoting crypto rug pull scams targeting their own supporters. Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, created a meme coin called the Laptop token, the price of which crashed by 99% an hour after launching. Donald Trump and his wife Melania also launched meme coins that immediately imploded, with fans losing their money while insiders cashed out. Ben Norton explains the extreme corruption in the United States, which is spreading to other countries like Argentina.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCf0Kd7w57g

Topics
0:00 US financial schemes
1:11 Hunter Biden's Laptop meme coin
2:26 Hunter Biden's excuses
3:57 Extreme hypocrisy
5:20 Cynical US politics
6:37 Trump meme coin rug pull
7:15 Melania meme coin rug pull
7:46 Trump family makes billions on crypto
8:31 Impunity for US politicians
9:03 NYC Token of ex Mayor Eric Adams
9:46 Javier Milei promotes Libra token scam
10:54 Argentina's political scandal
12:14 Blatant corruption in Washington
14:07 Trump tries to buy midterm elections
15:08 Insider trading in US Congress
16:54 China imprisons corrupt billionaires
18:40 Rule of law: China vs USA