Trump 2.0 official thread

[henrik]

US Treasury Building.

May not be related to Tariff but likely discussion on status of Treasury Bills hold by China. The last known amount of T Bills hold by China was $760 billion as at end of January 2025. Has China reduce the amount further from Jan to March? The meeting's agenda could be anyone's guess unless it was disclosed by either party.

Technically meeting on T bill is not related to Tariff unless China weaponise it as a response to Tariff war. Remember that the Fed is operating independently from the White House. Fed is not part of Trump's administration and the president has no authority to instruct Fed to fight for his tariff war.

Hong Kong also has about $260 billion of Treasury Bills in its foreign reserves.

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

What's next? Every ship that doesn't belong to the US must pay to travel through the Panama and Suez Canals?

 

[Barefoot]

What's next? Every ship that doesn't belong to the US must pay to travel through the Panama and Suez Canals?

View attachment 150769

Basically, yes; pay with their lives if it comes to it.

The US has to do this sort of thing if it hopes to defeat China's peaceful rise

Also, the whole Pakistan/India axis is vitally important (hence getting rid of Imran Khan and the rise of Hindu nationalism, UK PM Sunak, JD Vance and so forth). Unless it's all just coincidence.

 

[enroger]

Basically, yes; pay with their lives if it comes to it.

The US has to do this sort of thing if it hopes to defeat China's peaceful rise

Also, the whole Pakistan/India axis is vitally important (hence getting rid of Imran Khan and the rise of Hindu nationalism, UK PM Sunak, JD Vance and so forth). Unless it's all just coincidence.

China made a mistake letting Imran Khan get couped through inaction, it is obvious Pakistan is a basket case now

 

[FriedRiceNSpice]

To be fair, Indo-Europeans have proven this ability as a group, even if it's a different group of Indo-Europeans each time.

From the conquest of most of Europe, West Asia, Central Asia, and northern India ~4,000 years ago, to Alexander and the Roman Empire ~2,000 years ago, to the British and American empires ~200 years ago.

From the above, their cycle of regional / world conquest is about 2,000 years. So probably not much to worry about once the most recent cycle is ended. Given the pace of technology development, it's not likely humans will have another 2,000 years before the singularity arrives.

The cycle being discussed has nothing to do with conquest. It's about rise and fall of a society due to internal issues and wealth/power distribution.

 

[solarz]

There needs to be a fundamentally systematic way of separating capital and political power for it to last.

Power exists when you have something others want and they can't take it from you by force.

 

[lcloo]

Comparing to the dire states of Los Angeles port traffics, traffics in Singapore port in April has actually increased. Singapore is an important port between Far East of Asia to and fro Europe, Africa and Middle East.

Singapore's port traffic in April 2025 has actually increased compared to the previous week. The number of port congestion calls rose from 971 on April 7th to 1,048 on April 14th. This suggests that vessel activity remains strong rather than slowing down.

 

[Xiongmao]

What's next? Every ship that doesn't belong to the US must pay to travel through the Panama and Suez Canals?

View attachment 150769

Hang on, isn't that like saying the American transcontinental railway system would not exist without the labours of a large number of Chinese workers, so China's military and companies should be allowed to travel free of charge on it? Or have I got it wrong?

 

[plawolf]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1916177259632988233

Don’t be surprised if a significant proportion of Chinese suppliers reply that it’s too late, stock has been resold and production schedules rebooked.

China has been incredibly quick in announcing support for domestic firms impacted by the tariffs, one of the core measures is to help suppliers find new customers.

It’s been nearly a month since the tariffs were announced. Especially if American business represents a significant proportion of a Chinese manufacturer’s order book, they would not have been just sitting on their hands staring at the phone desperately waiting for a call back like a Hollywood damsel in distress, or Trump. They would have been hyper proactive in seeking to ensure the future of their economic welfare by seeking alternative customers for their wears.

Even if they have existing inventory they can dispatch now, it would be the height of folly for them to not actively seek to move away from the US as a major customer due to all the political instability Trump has already demonstrated beyond all possible double, so expect a significant supply shock on top of price hikes.

 

[Ringsword]

Hang on, isn't that like saying the American transcontinental railway system would not exist without the labours of a large number of Chinese workers, so China's military and companies should be allowed to travel free of charge on it? Or have I got it wrong?

Works for the westoids not Chinese -"do as I say not as I do" apparently-Monday will be interesting-it's exhausting actually but so fun-most importantly DO NOT let USA/Trump off the hook-any sympathy ,any mercy will be seen as a weakness and not received in gratitude/thanks(they have none)-deep cut(s)-let them bleed out without too much fuss lest they lash out-be prepared for that contigency too.