Pictures that paint a thousand words

 

From Whatsapp

 **The Final Showdown Between China and the U.S.: The Battlefield Shifts from Military Hegemony to Global Currency Warfare** 

As the clock struck 3 a.m. on Wall Street, Switzerland’s banking clearing system suddenly flashed a red alert—China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS 2.0), powered by the digital yuan, went live simultaneously across 16 ASEAN and Middle Eastern countries. The first transaction, a 120 million yuan ($16.5 million) payment for auto parts, cleared from Shenzhen to Kuala Lumpur in 7.2 seconds. This speed, faster than a blink, rendered SWIFT’s three-day processing cycle a relic of the "Stone Age." The global financial world finally awoke: a bloodless currency war, armed with blockchain scalpels, had sliced open the veins of dollar hegemony.  

**Behind the Blitzkrieg: What 7 Seconds Upended Beyond Speed**  

The digital yuan’s "financial blitzkrieg" struck three fatal weaknesses of the dollar system:  

1. **Cost Annihilation**: A cross-border e-commerce company’s ledger revealed that a $100,000 payment to a Thai supplier via SWIFT incurred $4,950 in fees (4.95%) and took 72 hours. Using CIPS 2.0, it cost $0.12 in network fees and settled instantly. This shift from "toll roads to data plans" slashed annual global trade settlement costs—worth $30 trillion—by over 90%.  

2. **Technological Supremacy**: In tests by Singapore’s DBS Bank, the digital yuan’s *dual offline payment* function completed transactions without internet, while SWIFT’s VISA/Mastercard systems collapsed. More revolutionary was *smart contract technology*: when Malaysian palm oil arrived at Tianjin Port, the system auto-released payment, eliminating document fraud plaguing traditional trade.  

3. **Security Revolution**: The UAE Central Bank showcased a money laundering case where the digital yuan’s blockchain ledger tracked every cent. A syndicate’s attempt to launder funds through 16 layered accounts was intercepted by AI risk controls in 0.3 seconds. In contrast, 85% of SWIFT’s cross-border money laundering cases require manual tracing, averaging 47 days.  

**De-Dollarization Tsunami: 16 Nations Pivot**  

This financial infrastructure revolution is triggering a chain reaction:  

- **ASEAN** announced that 90% of intraregional trade will settle in digital yuan by 2025, with Indonesia adding the yuan to its core forex reserves.  

- **Saudi Aramco’s** crude oil contract with Sinopec now prices 65% in digital yuan, cutting settlement from T+5 to T+0.  

- The **City of London** rushed to launch a "digital pound accelerator," but Bank of England officials admitted: "We’re at least 2.3 years behind China."  

**Twilight of Hegemony: SWIFT’s Last Stand**  

Facing this tech gap, the dollar system’s counterattacks falter. When the U.S. Treasury threatened sanctions, Malaysia’s central bank retorted: "We refuse to launder money for Afghan opium traffickers anymore." SWIFT’s data shows 23% of suspicious transactions flow to "unknown" entities. Worse, China controls 78% of global rare earth refining and 85% of neodymium magnet production—critical for blockchain miners. This "resource-tech duopoly" fortifies the digital yuan’s defenses.  

**Endgame: When Financial Infrastructure Becomes the New Nuke**  

This revolution aims to democratize finance through technology. As cross-border payments shift from "exclusive couriers for elites" to "instant messaging for all," the dollar’s "monopoly rent from settlement systems" will vanish. Nobel economist Stiglitz noted: "The digital yuan isn’t replacing the dollar—it’s redefining the dimensions of monetary civilization."  

**Final Thought:**  

When 7-second settlements become routine, and blockchain ledgers replace bank credit, how will global currency dynamics mutate? Will this "financial blitzkrieg" accelerate a multipolar monetary system, or provoke a desperate counterstrike from traditional powers? Share your predictions in the comments.  

--- *Chen Chen’s Insight, Baidu Dynamics*

The changing game plan

 1/ China is quietly reshaping global trade.

While the US plays tariff games, China is building a new kind of offshore trade model:

👉 Buy globally, sell globally — without the goods ever touching Chinese soil.

What does that mean? Let’s break it down. 👇

2/ Traditional offshore trade looked like this:

🔹 Foreign buyers ordered from China.

🔹 Chinese companies exported domestic goods overseas.

That’s “Made in China, sold globally.”

But now, China wants to go one step further.

3/ The new model is different:

Chinese companies set up offshore subsidiaries (in Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong, etc.) to:

✅ Purchase goods from any country

✅ Resell them to any other market

🌏 All without the goods passing through China.

It’s global trade, orchestrated by Chinese firms.

4/ In other words: China isn’t just the world’s factory anymore.

It’s becoming the world’s trading hub — a smart, fast, and connected middleman.

From factory to broker. From made-in-China to managed-by-China.

This is economic diplomacy at its sharpest.

5/ Why now? Because the world is fragmenting.

🔻 Tariffs.

🔻 Sanctions.

🔻 Supply chain insecurity.

Instead of retreating, China is adapting:

👉 Decentralizing its trade architecture

👉 Spreading risk

👉 Creating flexibility outside US jurisdiction

6/ There’s also a long-term vision.

If China can:

✅ Orchestrate supply chains

✅ Handle global payments

✅ Leverage its shipping & logistics strength

Then it wins pricing power, data advantage, and strategic depth — even without selling a single Chinese-made product.

7/ This is also part of de-dollarization.

Offshore trade hubs help promote:

🌐 Cross-border yuan settlement

💱 Currency diversification

💳 Less reliance on Western banking systems

It’s soft power through smart trade design.

8/ So while some think China is isolated… it’s actually re-wiring global trade routes.

China is future-proofing its role in the world economy by:

🔹 Building infrastructure

🔹 Controlling flows

🔹 Replacing confrontation with competition

This is strategy, not reaction.

9/ Final thought:

The age of “Made in China” is evolving into the age of “Traded by China.”

That may be harder to sanction, harder to stop — and ultimately, harder to compete with.

The world is changing. 

Watch carefully.

Ai answer to how USA economic slowdown effects Malaysia

Malaysia's economy exhibits strengths and vulnerabilities in its resilience to external shocks. 

While a diverse economy, strong financial sector, and a solid external position (including a current account surplus and ample reserves) enhance its ability to withstand external shocks, 

Malaysia remains highly vulnerable to external factors, particularly fluctuations in global trade and demand for its exports. 

Malaysia's Strengths:

• Diverse Economy:

  Malaysia's economy is not solely reliant on a single sector or commodity, which helps to mitigate the impact of shocks in one area. 
• Strong Financial Sector:

  A robust financial system can withstand exchange rate fluctuations and maintain stability during turbulent times. 
• Solid External Position:

  A sustained current account surplus and ample reserves provide a buffer against external shocks and allow for interventions in the foreign exchange market. 
• Flexible Exchange Rate Regime:

  The flexible exchange rate regime is well-suited to Malaysia's economic structure and allows for adjustments to external shocks. 
• Diversification of Export Markets:

  Efforts to diversify export markets and attract foreign direct investments, especially in high-value industries, are underway to build resilience against trade wars and other external threats. 
• Prudent Debt Management and Fiscal Reforms:

  Commitment to prudent debt management and targeted subsidies ensures a sustainable and strong financial position for Malaysia. 

Vulnerabilities:

• Export Dependence:

  Malaysia's economy is heavily reliant on exports, particularly to key partners like Singapore, China, and the United States. This makes it susceptible to disruptions in global demand or trade conflicts. 
• Vulnerability to Global Demand:

  The Malaysian economy is sensitive to changes in global demand, especially for electronic products, which can lead to slower growth or even recession if global demand weakens. 
• Weak Global Demand:

  Weak global demand for electronics and fluctuating energy prices can negatively impact Malaysia's export performance. 
• Geopolitical Tensions and Trade Wars:

  Potential escalations in trade tensions could lead to increased global inflationary pressures and dampening of growth prospects. 
• High Household Debt:

  Malaysia's rising household debt, with a high debt-to-GDP ratio, is a potential vulnerability that could worsen the impact of external shocks. 
• Structural Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities:

  While manageable, structural macroeconomic vulnerabilities, including a relatively high fiscal deficit, public debt, and external debt, should be monitored. 

In conclusion, Malaysia possesses strengths that enhance its resilience to external shocks, but its vulnerability to external factors remains a concern. 

Addressing this vulnerability requires continued efforts to diversify the economy, strengthen domestic demand, and manage external debt prudently. 

So, to summarise, Malaysia's strength compared to other nations is also it's vulnerability in some ways at same time....since Malaysia's economy is significantly tied to the US economy, particularly through its strong export-dependent manufacturing sector and reliance on the US as a major trading partner.

Anything that impacts it's consumers impacts it.

A US economic downturn can negatively impact Malaysia by reducing demand for its exports, leading to potential job losses and economic contraction. 

Here's a more detailed explanation on those negative aspects of vulnerability:

• Export Dependence:

  Malaysia is heavily reliant on exports, with a significant portion of its GDP derived from manufactured goods, especially electronics. The US is a major destination for these exports. 
• US Economic Downturn:

  If the US economy weakens, demand for Malaysian exports will likely decline, as US consumers and businesses reduce spending. This could lead to reduced production, lower revenues for Malaysian companies, and potentially job losses. 
• Trade and Investment:

  A US downturn could also affect investment in Malaysia, as US companies may reduce their investment in Malaysia if they are facing economic difficulties at home. 
• Impact on Specific Sectors:

  The manufacturing sector, particularly electronics, is heavily dependent on the US market. A US downturn could have a significant impact on this sector. 
• Historical Examples:

  The 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, which originated in Thailand but spread rapidly to other Asian economies, including Malaysia, demonstrated the vulnerability of the Malaysian economy to external shocks. 
• Current Situation:

  One source notes that Malaysia is facing a potential negative impact from weaker US exports and potentially delayed subsidy rationalization. 

China Just Turned Off U.S. Supplies Of Minerals Critical For Defense & Cleantech.

 

April 5, 2025

By Michael Barnard

In April 2025, while most of the world was clutching pearls over trade war tit-for-tat tariffs, China calmly walked over to the supply chain and yanked out a handful of critical bolts.

The bolts are made of dysprosium, terbium, tungsten, indium and yttrium—the elements that don’t make headlines but without which your electric car doesn’t run, your fighter jet doesn’t fly, and your solar panels go from clean energy marvels to overpriced roofing tiles. 

They’re minerals that show up on obscure government risk registers right before wars start or cleantech projects get quietly cancelled.

I’ve been on a bit of a critical minerals kick recently, starting to understand more about them and their roles in our economy. In addition to reading a lot of books and debunking some doomerist nonsense on the subject, I had the privilege of spending 90 minutes with Gavin Mudd, director of the critical minerals intelligence centre at the British Geological Survey, recently for Redefining Energy–Tech, talking about them, the West’s remarkable treatment of them as not critical for the past 40 years, and how hard it is for the West to actually rebuild capacity in the space (part 1, part 2). 

China’s actions led to me going deeper. I’ve also spent a fair amount of time talking to and following Lyle Trytten, the Nickel Nerd, whose career of engineering extraction and processing of minerals spans the globe.

What China did wasn’t a ban, at least not in name. They called it export licensing. Sounds like something a trade lawyer might actually be excited about. 

But make no mistake: *this was a surgical strike*. They didn’t need to say no. They just needed to say “maybe later” to the right set of paperwork. 

These licenses give Beijing control over not just where these materials go, but how fast they go, in what quantity, and to which politically convenient customers.

The U.S.? Let’s just say Washington should get comfortable waiting behind the rope line. The licenses have to be applied for and the end use including country of final destination must be clearly spelled out. Licenses for end uses in the U.S. are unlikely to be approved. What’s astonishing is how predictable this all was. *China has spent decades building its dominance over these supply chains*, while the U.S. was busy outsourcing, divesting, and cheerfully ignoring every report that said, “*Hey, maybe 90% dependence on a single country we keep starting trade wars with and rattling sabers at is a bad idea.”*

*The materials China just restricted aren’t random. They’re chosen with the precision of someone who’s read U.S. product spec sheets and defense procurement orders.*

Start with *dysprosium.* If your *electric motor needs to function at high temperatures*—and they all do—then mostly it is *using neodymium magnets doped with dysprosium.* No dysprosium, no thermal stability. No thermal stability, no functioning motor in your F-35 or your Mustang Mach-E. 

China controls essentially the entire supply of dysprosium, and no, there is no magical mine in Wyoming or Quebec waiting in the wings. 

If dysprosium doesn’t come out of China, it doesn’t come out at all. It’s the spinal cord of electrification, and right now China’s holding the vertebrae.

Then there’s *tungsten*. The metal that *makes bullets bulletproof*. 

Literally. Tungsten is what you use when you need to cut, drill, punch, or penetrate anything harder than stale marshmallow. 

The U.S. hasn’t produced meaningful amounts of it since the Obama administration, and *China sits on 80% of global production.*

Oh, sure, you can try Vietnam or Portugal, but good luck getting those volumes at scale without waiting years and paying triple. 

Tungsten isn’t just in ammunition. It’s *in the tiny vertical connections between layers of circuitry in semiconductor chip, CNC machine tools, and high-performance alloys that go into everything from jet engines to deep-drilling rigs*. 

When China put tungsten behind a licensing wall, it wasn’t targeting one sector—it was targeting the industrial base of a specific big country that’s trying to re-grow precision manufacturing at scale.

Terbium, dysprosium’s equally awkward but equally vital cousin, got scooped up too. You want high-efficiency motors in your EVs and offshore wind turbines? You want night-vision goggles, sonar systems, or magnetostrictive actuators? 

You’re going to need *terbium.* Like dysprosium, *terbium comes almost exclusively from Chinese soil, processed in Chinese facilities, and licensed by Chinese bureaucrats with a nuanced appreciation for geopolitical leverage*. 

There’s no viable substitute that doesn’t involve performance compromises, re-engineering, or violating the laws of thermodynamics.

*Indium* is a quieter casualty but no less critical. It’s *the transparent conductor that makes your screens light up, your fiber optics communicate, and your laser diodes actually lase*. 

Without indium, touchscreens become paperweights, and 5G base stations start to look like 3G nostalgia boxes. 

The U.S. has zero domestic production, and while Canada, South Korea, and Japan produce some, the global market still revolves around Chinese supply. 

Try ramping up your semiconductor fab or solar plant when your indium source just dried up. It’s a fun exercise in learning which of your suppliers used to be dependent on Beijing but never mentioned it in the quarterly call.

And then there’s *yttrium*. The element so obscure it sounds like a typo, but without which *high-temperature jet engine coatings don’t work, high-frequency radar systems don’t tune, and precision lasers don’t align*. 

Yttrium is what makes YAG lasers possible, and it’s also what allows thermal barrier coatings on turbine blades to keep your aircraft engines from melting mid-flight. No YAG lasers, no laser target designators, LASIK, engraving, or spectroscopy. If your military likes flying, it likes yttrium. 

If you like affordable flights, you like yttrium too. *And guess who has a near-monopoly on refining it?* Hint: it’s not Australia, and it’s not Estonia. It’s China. Again.

The impacts ripple far beyond a few exotic gadgets or weapon systems. 

The defense sector is first in line, with guided munitions that rely on terbium-enhanced actuators, infrared imaging that needs tellurium, and stealth aircraft that won’t stay in the air without yttria-stabilized turbine blades. 

It’s not just about whether you can build the next missile. It’s whether your next missile flies straight, hits what it’s supposed to, and doesn’t fall apart from heat stress. 

Precision without materials is just expensive scrap metal. Those thick U.S. military budgets for the technology it depends on for overwhelming offensive superiority are going to be sitting around unspent.

Then there are semiconductors. 

Everyone loves to talk about the CHIPS Act, fab incentives, and America’s glorious return to silicon dominance. 

But no one mentions that your advanced chip process needs tungsten for interconnects and indium for high-speed optoelectronic interfaces. 

No one’s building 5G infrastructure without compound semiconductors, and no one’s building those chips without the post-transition metals China just turned into strategic bargaining chips. 

Oh, and U.S. advanced military systems? They need the chips too. U.S. smart munitions just lost 20 IQ points.

Clean technology is next, and it’s going to hit U.S. dreams of actually manufacturing EVs, solar panels, and wind turbines for its domestic market hard. 

Without dysprosium and terbium, your EV motor gets downgraded to a clunky, less efficient design that eats more power and delivers less range. 

Without tellurium, First Solar’s cadmium-telluride panels—the pride of U.S. solar manufacturing—become unbuildable. 

Without yttrium, the turbine blades in offshore wind projects suffer from higher fatigue and shorter life spans, so shards of GE Vernova’s blades would be washing up on more beaches if Trump hadn’t blown up those projects with an executive order. 

The states and cities trying to decarbonize around the gasoline-huffing federal government that’s currently in power are facing more challenges.

The economic implications aren’t subtle. Prices for these materials have already surged, and downstream costs are beginning to appear in everything from automotive supply chains to defense budgets. Expect cost overruns, delayed product launches, and nervous procurement officers asking if anyone, anywhere, has dysprosium in their garage. Six months ago staunch allies like Canada and Australia would have loved to help, although they couldn’t replace China overnight. But the same tariffs that led to China’s new licenses for critical minerals are hitting the former allies Trump is treating like enemies.

This didn’t need to happen. The warnings were there. The dependency ratios were published. The stockpile gaps were documented. 

But instead of building resilient supply chains, *the U.S. chose to chase lowest-cost sourcing and pretend that critical materials would always be available like app updates or breakfast cereal*. 

Now the reckoning is here, and it’s being administered by a country that understands resource leverage the way a tiger understands a sheep.

*There’s still time to course correct,* although it’s unlikely. 

That would *require Trump to roll back his U.S.-economy destroying, recession-causing, enemy-making tariffs first, and return to the trade agreements* and patterns that the U.S. was so integral to building. 

Then it would require have *a careful bipartisan strategy for rebuilding critical minerals extracting, processing, and refining domestically and in allied states over the next 20 years* (because that’s how long it’s going to take). 

It means supporting recycling at scale and developing substitutes that don’t require a PhD in regret. 

And it means being honest about the cost, and finding a way to square that with Wall Street bros who only care about the next quarterly earnings call.

*So here we are. China has responded to Trump’s tariffs by cutting off U.S. supply of some of the most essential ingredients of the modern world.*

The U.S., meanwhile, is standing in the cold, holding a clipboard and wondering where the magnets went.

Received from social media app....a disgruntled citizens personal opinion

 *OWEN JONES* wrote to *ANWAR IBRAHIM* - don't talk cock (don't talk nonsense).

I am a stout defender of you but I am certainly not averse to giving you a piece of my mind , if it is needed.

First and foremost *Anwar Ibrahim -* 

why were *SPECIAL PRIVILEGES FOR MALAYS* written into the *Federal Constitution ?* 

It was simply because *the Reid Commission* which drafted it believed that *THE MALAYS WERE BACKWARD* and *NEEDED PARTICULAR ATTENTION* for them to catch up with the rest.

*The British* had not seen *the Malays* do hard work as they had seen *the Indians* and *Chinese* do.

This was also evident 

at the professional level. 

What *the British* probably noticed but were too polite to say was that *MALAYS TENDED TO GO FOR EASY JOBS.* 

The fact that *the British* had to bring in others to do the work of developing the land 

or extract minerals was because  *THE MALAYS DID NOT WANT TO DO THEM.* 

*THIS ATTITUDE* *among* *the Malays* was what actually riled *Mahathir* into challenging *Tunku Abdul Rahman.* Tunku was quite happy to be a laid back administrator while others did the hard work.

The fact is *Anwar Ibrahim,* *THERE IS RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS* *DISCRIMINATION* even in the *MOST ADVANCED SOCIETIES.*  *WHY* do you think the *‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’* and *‘SAY NO TO RACISM’* *campaigns* are happening ?

It is because of *RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.* 

But what is worse is that in *MALAYSIA* - 

*there is not only* *RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION* 

but *THEY ARE OFFICIAL* *POLICIES.* 

If a country has laws that *PROMOTE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION* 

that nation is *labelled* as one that has an *APARTHEID* *POLICY* .

 *THE TRUTH* is that *the Reid Commission* had included a moratorium on *the ‘special privileges’ -* *THEY WERE TO END IN 1990.* 

But the *CC* 

*(Federal Constitution Commission)* with a two-third majority in Parliament *AMENDED THE CONSTITUTION* to read as  *"FOR AS LONG AS DEEMED NECESSARY"* so that he and his cronies could continue the rape and plunder of the nation indefinitely.

 

*PLEASE DO NOT PRETEND THAT YOU* *DO NOT KNOW THIS,* *Anwar Ibrahim.* 

Yes *THERE IS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION* *by other communities.* But this is at the *INDIVIDUAL LEVEL.* 

*IT IS NOT POLICY.* *BUT WHY IS IT HAPPENING ?* 

*Those who studied in the* *English medium schools* *never* *saw their fellow students* *as anything else.* 

 *BUT ALL THIS CHANGED* when *the conniving chameleon Mahathir* *became PM,*

*ENGLISH WENT OUT* and *IN CAME A RACIST BRAND OF EDUCATION* *clearly intended to segregate the people.* 

 

What *Mahathir* started in the 1970s *IS WHAT WE SEE TODAY* 

and what most of us including *Tommy Thomas (TT)* have seen.

It was so easy for *TT* to make a comparison because he worked with the crème de la crème in his legal profession and law firm.

 When he entered  the civil service the disparity in standards shocked the life out of him.

This is what the *CC's racist policies* have brought about.

*MALAYS* in high office and high positions, 

*ARE THERE* simply because they are *MALAY.* 

When people are given positions by virtue of *‘SPECIAL PRIVILEGE’* 

and *NOT OUT OF MERIT* for their *knowledge, experience and intelligence,* 

then we know *THE NATION IS IN TROUBLE.* 

Don't forget *Anwar Ibrahim,* that you were tried and jailed by an incompetent judiciary that was just acting on the instructions of its political masters.

And pray tell me, *Anwar Ibrahim,* *HOW MANY MALAY LAWYERS DEFENDED YOU ?* 

Yes, the bloated civil service is full of unqualified people who are otherwise unemployable outside.

 The mediocre education with low marks earning high grades has produced *MALAYS* holding certs that are not worth the paper they are printed on.

Pray tell me *Anwar Ibrahim,* *how many* *NON-MALAYS* *are EMPLOYED in the civil service ?* 

How many *NON-MALAYS are holding SENIOR POSITIONS* *in the civil service ?* 

How many *NON-MALAYS  are holding SENIOR POSITIONS* in GLCs?

*WHY are the GLCs all such FINANCIAL DISASTERS ?* 

*WHY* is it that *ONLY MALAYS* *can lead GLCs* *and govt depts ?* 

How could you expect *TT* *not to talk about the Malays only* when there is practically nobody else in the civil service ?

 Isn't the absence of *NON-MALAYS* itself damning evidence of the *PREVAILING RACIAL DISCRIMINATION* in this country ?

*TT* has stated it as it is. The *civil service* and *the GLCs* are prime examples of *the blind leading the blind* or where *mediocrity is the order of the day.* 

Don't try to defend the indefensible,*Anwar Ibrahim.* 

 

The fact is that *TRUTH IS OFTEN THE MOST BITTER PILL.*  

*TT* is a brave man 

to stand up for it.

 

So, *Anwar Ibrahim,* 

please do not lose the respect of *non Malays* and *right thinking Malays* by attempting 

*a* *puerile coverup of the truth* just to score some political brownie points. 

Anwar Ibrahim have sown the seed of doubt 

as to your leadership qualities.

Perhaps *the* *MC* is right after all - 

that *you have no idea at all about what to do next -* 

apart from *theatrics that appeal to the gallery.* 

*I AM TRULY DISAPPOINTED.* 

 

by 

*Owen Jones*